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Top CM Punk Rivalries

CM Punk has not only been one of the most dominant wrestling stars of the past 20 years, but he also became famous for making lots of enemies.

 

During a career that has included runs in TNA, Ring of Honor, AEW and WWE, Punk has routinely produced top rivalries through his microphone skills and laser focus on always coming out on top.

For this list, we're focusing on storyline rivalries Punk had with wrestlers and non-wrestlers alike, not speculating on what may have happened backstage. So if you don't see Jack Perry or Tony Khan on this last, that's why. However, some of Punk's feuds happened both on and off camera, which we'll attempt to cover as appropriate.

In counting down the Top 50 CM Punk Rivalries, Wrestling Merchandise and Memories looked at the following criteria:

 

  • How prominent was the rivarly?

  • What type of stage(s) did it play out on?

  • How memorable were the matches and/or segments?

  • How much did the rivalry do to advance either person's career?

 

Ready? Here we go!

50.

Kane

WWE Hall of Famer Kane was a steady thorn in CM Punk's side, ranging from the relaunched ECW brand to Punk's reign as World Champion. The two battled in more than a dozen singles and tag team matches over the years.

48.

Edge

WWE Hall of Famer Edge had a dozen matches with CM Punk over the years. By far their most famous encounter was in 2008, when The Straight Edge Superstar cashed in his Money In The Bank opportunity against The Rated R Superstar to win the World Championship.

46.

The Miz

The Miz faced off against CM Punk about 20 times between 2007 and 2012. Punk defended his ECW title against Miz at 2007's Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, and the two also battled on Raw when Punk was World Champion.

44.

Kevin Nash

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash was the person who attacked CM Punk at the aforementioned SummerSlam 2011 match. This led to several heated exchanges between the two men, with Punk believing Nash to be working on behalf of his lifelong friend Triple H.

42.

John Morrison

John Morrison had dozens of matches against CM Punk. The feud began at Vengeance 2007 when Morrison (a last-minute sub for Chris Benoit) beat Punk to win the vacant ECW Title. Later that year, Punk defeated Morrison for the gold.

40.

The Rock

The Rock has only had a couple matches against CM Punk (at least, to date). The Great One ended Punk's lengthy WWE Championship run at the 2013 Royal Rumble, and defeated him again at that year's Elimination Chamber.

38.

Ryback

One of Rey Mysterio's career lows was when he lost his mask in 1999 during a WCW match involving WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash. Mysterio got his revenge on Nash the following month, pinning him cleanly on an episode of WCW Nitro.

36.

Jon Moxley

Rey Mysterio and Samoa Joe had a vicious feud in 2019 over the United States Championship. Mysterio failed to unseat The Samoan Submission Machine at Fastlane and WrestleMania XXXV, but did win the U.S. Title at Money In The Bank.

34.

Chris Hero

Rey Mysterio has found himself opposing The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) many times over the years. Notably, Rey and son Dominik faced The Usos at both Money In The Bank and SummerSlam in 2021. Mysterio also teamed with Santos Escobar against the twins.

32.

Colt Cabana

EXCUSE ME? Vickie Guerrero was once a trusted ally of Rey Mysterio's, particularly when fought for the honor of her late husband in Eddie in 2006. Soon after, however, Guerrero sided with her nephew Chavo and other heels in their battles against Rey. 

30.

Chris Jericho

When Finn Balor joined The Judgment Day in 2022 and immediately kicked Edge out of the group, Rey and Dominik Mysterio were there to even the odds for Edge. Mysterio and Balor have since had several singles and tag team matches.

28.

Rey Mysterio

While Rey Mysterio has crossed paths with every member of The Judgment Day, Rhea Ripley is one that frequently given him a tough time. In addition to interfering in his matches, Ripley has constantly been in the ear of his son Dominik Mysterio.

26.

John Laurinaitis

Much like Kidman, WWE Hall of Famer Edge is better known as a tag team partner of Rey Mysterio than an opponent. Still, the two feuded in 2008 and 2009 on SmackDown, and briefly in 2022 when Edge formed The Judgment Day.

24.

Cody Rhodes

Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes had a rivalry in 2011 when Mysterio kneed Rhodes in the face with a knee brace, prompting Rhodes to wear a protective mask. This led to a match between them at WrestleMania XXVII.

22.

Ultimo Dragon

Because of their similar cruiserweight styles, Rey Misterio Jr. and Ultimo Dragon were often matched against each other in WCW. This was capped off by the opening match at WCW Spring Stampede in 1997, where Misterio won.

20.

MVP

MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter) wasn't the first person to underestimate Rey Mysterio. But at Armageddon in 2007, MVP intentionally counted himself out to avoid losing his U.S. Championship against Mysterio. They resumed their rivalry in 2019, when MVP returned to WWE.

18.

Roman Reigns

The rivalry between Mysterio and Roman Reigns dates back to 2013, when The Shield battled Mysterio and The Usos. Things took a more violent turn when Reigns went after Dominik Mysterio, leading to a Hell In A Cell match against Rey in June of 2021.

16.

Brock Lesnar

While Rey Mysterio battled Brock Lesnar a few times over the years, their primary rivarly took place in 2019, after Lesnar destroyed Rey's son Dominik Mysterio. This led to a No Holds Barred Match with Lesnar at Survivor Series. Mysterio lost, despite a valiant effort.

14.

Matt Hardy

In 2003, Rey Mysterio pursued Matt Hardy for his WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Whenever Mysterio got close, Hardy had his Mattitude Followers interfere. Mysterio finally had his chance for revenge at WrestleMania XIX, yet couldn't get the job done.

12.

Psychosis

Throughout the years, Rey Mysterio and Psychosis have done battled numerous times, including a series of matches in AAA, Japan's WAR promotion, WCW and even once in WWE. Famously, the two competed at WCW's 1996 Bash at the Beach.

10.

Juventud Guerrera

According to Cage Match, Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera have done battle nearly 50 times (and likely far more) over the years. The two luchadors took their rivalry from AAA to ECW and from WCW to other promotions over the years.

8.

Konnan

While Rey Mysterio and Konnan have usually been portrayed as best friends (including Konnan inducting Mysterio into the WWE Hall of Fame), they feuded in 1997, when Konnan was part of the nWo, including a Mexican Death Match.

6.

Kane

Rey Mysterio has feuded with WWE Hall of Famer Kane more than once over the years. In 2008, their bad blood led to a No Holds Barred Match at Cyber Sunday. A couple of years later, they feuded over the World Heavyweight Championship.

4.

Chris Jericho

While Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio faced one another in WCW, their primary rivalry took place in WWE circa 2009. Jericho attempted to unmask Mysterio, which led to an Intercontinental Title vs. Mask Match at The Bash PPV, which Mysterio triumphed in.

2.

Randy Orton

Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio have had several matches against each other over the years, but things became incredibly personal in 2006 when Orton implied Mysterio's late friend Eddie Guerrero was in hell. The two faced off at several PPVs that year, including WrestleMania XXII.

49.

Jerry The King Lawler

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry The King Lawler challenged then-champion CM Punk to a steel cage match in 2012, following taunts by Punk. They also faced off in a tag team match the night Lawler later suffered an on-air heart attack.

47.

Stephanie McMahon

While Stephanie McMahon never had any type of match against CM Punk, they did exchange heated words, particularly when Triple H was involved. Notably, Punk called The Billion Dollar Princess "idiotic" during a memorable segment at SummerSlam 2011.

45.

Alberto Del Rio

At SummerSlam 2011, CM Punk had just defeated John Cena to become WWE Champion when Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase to dethrone him. They had rematches, including at that year's Survivor Series.

43.

The Big Show

In 2010, CM Punk was leading his faction The Straight Edge Society and had his head shaved earlier in the year. The Big Show entered the scene here, not only defeating the entire faction at once, but unmasked Punk (who was trying to hide the embarrassment of his new hairdo).

41.

Brock Lesnar

As fellow Paul Heyman Guys, it was only a matter of time before Brock Lesnar would battle CM Punk. It happened at SummerSlam 2013, when Heyman sided with The Beast as he defeated The Best In The World in a high-profile grudge match.

39.

Eddie Kingston

Eddie Kingston carried years of behind-the-scenes ill will with him when he went on a tirade against CM Punk in 2021. A war of words led to a match between the two at that year's Full Gear event, which Punk came out on top of.

37.

Vince McMahon

Rey Mysterio made his WWE pay-per-view debut against WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle in 2002. The two men would go on to have several big matches over the years, including being two-thirds of a World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania XXII.

35

Hangman Adam Page

Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit began facing off against one another in WCW, mostly in tag team matches. They took their feud to WWE in 2002, where both were members of opposite teams (Benoit with Kurt Angle and Mysterio with Edge) in the famed SmackDown Six. 

33.

Daniel Bryan

During their respective runs on the SmackDown roster, Rey Mysterio often found himself on the opposing end of Finlay. Mysterio battled The Man Who Likes To Fight at both No Mercy and Cyber Sunday in 2007, the latter of which was in a Stretcher Match.

31.

Samoa Joe

The odds were already against Rey Mysterio when he captured the World Heavyweight Title in 2006, and became even moreso when he had to take on the massive Great Khali. Mysterio was pinned clean by Khali in a non-title match on SmackDown in one of their encounters.

29.

Paul Heyman

Much like Finn Balor, Damian Priest has been a constant thorn in Rey Mysterio's side through The Judgment Day. In addition to tag team matches with other members of the group, Priest and Mysterio have met one-on-one many times.

27.

Randy Orton

While Rey Mysterio was better known for teaming with Billy Kidman (both in WCW and briefly in WWE), the two had a series of matches over the WCW Cruiserweight Championship in the late 1990s.

25.

The Undertaker

While Rey Mysterio and The Miz met a handful of times in the late 2000s (mosty in tag team matches), years later the two were often pitted against each other, including the finals of a 2011 tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. 

23.

Andrade

Between 2018 and 2020, Andrade was one of Rey Mysterio's most frequent opponents on SmackDown. This included a fantastic Two out of Three Falls Match, which was spoiled by the interference of Samoa Joe.

21.

Alberto Del Rio

Rey Mysterio was Alberto Del Rio's first opponent when he joined WWE in 2010. The two had several matches on SmackDown, as well as later on in AAA and even on a WhatCulture Pro Wrestling show in 2017.

19.

The Big Show

Talk about a mismatch: whenever Rey Mysterio met The Big Show, he always at a massive disadvantage in size. Following their brutal match at Backlash in 2003, Big Show picked up Mysterio (who was on a stretcher at the time) and slammed him into the ring post!

17.

John Bradshaw Layfield

Rey Mysterio battled WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield numerous times in the mid-to-late 2000s, usually with JBL getting the victory. However, Mysterio pinned JBL in 21 seconds to win the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania XXV, prompting JBL to announce his retirement.

15.

CM Punk

When CM Punk formed his faction The Straight Edge Society in 2010, he targeted Rey Mysterio by insulting Rey's family. This led to a match at Over The Limit, in which Mysterio shaved The Straight Edge Superstar bald as per a pre-match stipulation.

13.

nWo

When the nWo was created in 1996, Rey Misterio Jr. was a cruiserweight contender who stood up for the ideals of WCW. He was constantly ambushed by the nWo because of this, including a famous moment where Kevin Nash used his head as a lawn dart against a backstage trailer.

11.

Seth Rollins

Although Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins faced off a few times over the years, their primary feud was in 2020 when Rollins targeted the eye of Mysterio. This led to an Eye For An Eye Match at Extreme Rules, in which Rollins (allegedly) removed Mysterio's eyeball.

9.

Dean Malenko

Throughout 1996, Rey Misterio Jr. and Dean Malenko were frequent rivals, battling over the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. This included bouts at Clash of the Champions, Hallowe'en Havoc and The Great American Bash.

7.

Chavo Guerrero

Between 1996 and 2018, Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero were often in opposite corners from each other. This includes a Cruiserweight Title match at 2001's WCW SuperBrawl Revenge, and a feud in lengthy WWE feud in 2006.

5.

Dominik Mysterio

Rey Mysterio had a one-of-a-kind rivalry with his son Dominik Mysterio, which began in late 2022 and cultimated in a match at  WrestleMania XXIX. Since then, Dominik has been a constant thorn in his father's side, even crashing family events with his Judgment Day brethren.

3.

Batista

Following the Chris Jericho feud, Rey Mysterio had another classic rivalry with his longtime friend Batista. Following the WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view, Batista turned on Mysterio by saying "I'm gonna rip your head off!" leading to a brutal match at that year's Survivor Series.

1.

Eddie Guerrero

While Rey Mysterio and his fellow WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero were often paired as best friends, they also feuded many times in their career. In WCW, they had a Title vs. Mask Match at Hallowen Havoc 1997. In WWE, their championship tag team run fell apart in early 2005, leading to a six-month feud that including them battling over the custody of Rey's own son Dominik.

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