When CM Punk left WWE in 2014, most people presumed he would be back at some point. Yet, six years later, there is still no sign of Punk making a return to the company, which just leaves the memories of Punk's past matches. Thankfully, CM Punk's in-ring quality was very high, which means that the matches for fans to enjoy tend to be very good.
Because his departure was so random, there was no pre-planned storyline in place creating iconic matches before he left. Instead, he was just in the midst of a feud with The Shield, which led to some fun matches prior to him leaving. But when looking back at his final 10 matches with the company, which were the best?
10 Royal Rumble Match (January 26, 2014)
This was CM Punk's official final match in WWE and, at this moment, there doesn't seem to be any chance of him changing that. Unfortunately, it wasn't a great final match, with this entire bout being a disaster throughout.
Punk's treatment in the Rumble was terrible as The Authority got in the way of him winning when Kane put him through the commentator table. Things were made worse with Batista winning and being booed out of the building, which made this one of the worst Rumble matches of all time.
9 CM Punk Vs Billy Gunn (January 20, 2014)
This was CM Punk's final match on Monday Night Raw and while Billy Gunn is a legend of the industry, at that point in his career, this was never going to be a classic match for the history books.
However, it was certainly a serviceable match for Monday Night Raw, lasting less than 10 minutes. They went back-and-forth, with Punk ultimately picked up the victory in fairly decisive fashion.
8 CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws Vs The Shield (January 13, 2014)
WWE brought back The New Age Outlaws again to team with CM Punk for this match which certainly was a ton of fun for this particular episode. However, the babyface return of Billy Gunn and Road Dogg didn't last long.
This match was a lot of fun, which isn't a surprise considering the names here. The Shield were on fire at this point. But with the Outlaws turning on Punk and leaving him, the finish did feel slightly flat, although it worked to tell the story at that time.
7 CM Punk & The New Outlaws Vs The Shield (January 10, 2014)
This was a very fun SmackDown match that saw all six-men put together a really competitive match against each other. Because the New Age Outlaws didn't turn heel and betray Punk until the following Monday Night Raw, this was just a strong six-man tag.
While Billy Gunn and Road Dogg weren't in their primes at this point, they also weren't past their best either, which meant that this was a very serviceable and fun encounter.
6 CM Punk, Big E. Langston, & John Cena Vs The Shield (December 17, 2013)
The pairing of CM Punk, Big E. Langston, and John Cena is certainly quite a random one, but it's one that certainly worked for this match. They paired up to battle against The Shield and it made for a fun match.
While this wasn't one of the greatest six-man tag team matches that have ever happened on Monday Night Raw, it was certainly good enough for a random bout, and it was one of Punk's better final matches.
5 CM Punk & John Cena Vs The Shield (December 18, 2013)
When it is done right, a handicap match really can be fantastic and this was a great example of that. With CM Punk and John Cena on the same team, there was tons of star power involved here and they really worked well together.
While they were outnumbered, they certainly held their own, and it was easy for fans to buy into that because of who they were. Both men worked with The Shield a lot so they had great chemistry, which led to a fun bout together.
4 CM Punk & The Usos Vs The Shield (December 29, 2013)
The Usos really are one of the greatest tag teams in history and while they hadn't hit their peak at this stage, there's no doubt that they were still great here. This contest saw six of WWE's very best wrestlers all compete in a fun match where they really didn't hold back in the slightest.
The Usos brought the high-flying aspects, with Punk having the technical side, while The Shield was just the dominant trio that everyone grew to know and love.
3 CM Punk & The Usos Vs The Shield (December 16, 2013)
While CM Punk had wrestled this exact same match twice during this period, there's no doubt this was the stronger of the two. That's mainly down to them having more time, plus the fans voted for The Usos to be Punk's partner here, so they were far more invested in this match compared to their other tag match.
The Shield were reeling after a rare defeat and that meant that the group was slightly on edge, which led to a great performance from the trio. But The Usos and CM Punk certainly brought plenty of fire to this contest as well in what was a match that had no rest periods or slow moments, and instead just kept the pace with a really exciting encounter.
2 CM Punk Vs Roman Reigns (January 6, 2014)
This match took place on an 'Old School' episode of Raw, which made it a slightly big deal as it was a relatively important episode of the show. Both Punks and Reigns certainly are capable of better, but this was still early on in The Big Dog's tenure on the main roster, especially in-terms of singles matches.
However, the pace did eventually pick up in this one and they had a competitive match which helped to put over Roman. The fact that Jake Roberts made his return to WWE immediately after this contest certainly helped to make the night memorable as well.
1 CM Punk Vs Seth Rollins (December 30, 2013)
CM Punk wrestling Seth Rollins is something fans would always be happy to see, mainly because they are two of the best wrestlers of the modern era. It's a classic ROH style match and that is exactly what they delivered inside the ring.
It was a competitive back-and-forth match as they showcased just how talented they both are. When it comes to Punk's final 10 matches in wrestling, this is certainly the best of the bunch.