CM Punk (c) vs. Ryback vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship (Survivor Series 2012)
2012 was a challenging year for John Cena. He lost to The Rock during his “Once in a Lifetime” dream encounter at WrestleMania 28. This was followed by a miserable feud with John Laurinaitis and a Money in the Bank contract win that brought him embarrassment.
It was time to turn things around towards the end of the year at Survivor Series 2012, where he faced CM Punk, who was closing in on a year as WWE Champion, and the indomitable Ryback. Truth be told, the Leader of the Cenation was a side-character in the Punk- Ryback saga, and Cena was solely there to eat the pinfall and add star power.
There was nothing particularly special about the match, but it will always be remembered in high spirits for the debut of The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose debuted during the Triple Threat Match and obliterated Ryback with the Triple Powerbomb through the announce table. Punk pinned a fallen Cena for the pinfall win.
