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The Rock’s WWE return in the 2010s had its ups and downs, but his matches were often strong, and fans will likely remember to point out the bouts he had during that stint. His return tag team match at Survivor Series against Awesome Truth, his two WrestleMania matches against John Cena, and his Royal Rumble WWE Championship win against CM Punk. These were all memorable matchups at some of WWE’s “big four” PPV events, but there is one match that is never spoken about by fans. The Rock had one more match in this run, and that was a rematch against CM Punk at the Elimination Chamber PPV in 2013.
The Rock And CM Punk Initially Battled At The Royal Rumble
In 2012, following his huge win against John Cena at WrestleMania 28, The Rock set his sights on the WWE Championship ahead of the Royal Rumble 2013 PPV. CM Punk managed to outlast a sea of challengers on his way to the event, setting up a blockbuster clash between two huge names from different eras. There were many fans who were against the prospect of The Rock ending a record-breaking reign from Punk, especially as it looked to set up a predictable rematch between him and Cena for WrestleMania 29.
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In the build, Punk managed to counter all of The Rock’s insults, jibes, and jokes, and pulled out some phenomenal promos to make it clear he was on the same level, with the infamous “your arms are too short to box with God” line being one which fans look back on with great fondness. The match at the Royal Rumble was fairly simple but entertaining given the dream match scenario and quality of Punk, but it did end in some controversy as The Shield attacked Rock, allowing Punk to win, only for the match to get restarted with The Rock managing to make a comeback and score the victory and get crowned with the WWE Championship after a People's Elbow. It felt as though The Rock would now hold the title until WrestleMania, saving himself for the big rematch with Cena, especially since there was only the b-show Elimination Chamber PPV in between. However, this wasn’t the case.
CM Punk Was Furious With The Result And Wanted A Rematch With The Rock
Following the shenanigans at the Royal Rumble, Punk emerged furious on the following edition of Monday Night Raw, claiming to have beaten The Rock, only for him to get screwed out of the gold. His tirade carried on until he was interrupted by Vince McMahon. Punk wasn’t finished there though, as he interrupted The Rock’s speech later in the night as he celebrated becoming the WWE Champion for the first time in over a decade. Punk once again stated that he was the real champion, and that if The Rock didn’t give him back the title, then he challenged him to a rematch at Elimination Chamber, to which The Rock accepted.
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This was quite a surprise given The Rock’s part-time nature, with the Elimination Chamber PPV feeling like it was perhaps below him. However, he lived up to the billing of being WWE Champion and did in fact face Punk at the event. The Rock was absent the following Raw, but on the go-home show he and Punk brawled to build up their PPV clash. The build wasn’t anywhere near as strong as the Rumble event, and the result did feel incredibly predictable, which hurt the anticipation for the bout too. Punk would also manage to steal the title ahead of the show.
The Rock And CM Punk Had A Near-Identical Rematch At Elimination Chamber
Punk made his entrance first for their match at Elimination Chamber, and came out billed as “The People’s Champion”, carrying the WWE Championship with The Rock’s name-plate on it. The match was once again wrestled in quite a basic manner, but this pair of great performers made it entertaining, and their star power managed to keep the crowd invested all throughout the match. Much of the match, in a similar way to their Rumble encounter, saw Punk methodically beat down The Rock, only for the babyface legend to make a valiant comeback and win, solidifying his place in the main event of WrestleMania against John Cena.
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In many ways, their two title matches were a carbon copy of one another, with this match at Elimination Chamber not having anything really distinct to make it stand out, which could be a big reason as to why fans either don’t remember it or don’t talk about it. Their respective ratings on cagematch.net reflect this too, with very similar ratings. There were plenty of big finishers and near-falls at the end of the match which the crowd popped for, until The Rock managed to overcome several referee bumps and cheating from both Punk and Paul Heyman to hit a Rock Bottom and retain his WWE Championship. It was a strong match, though it is pretty hard to pick a superior one out of this and their battle at the Rumble, especially since they were so similar.
