CM Punk
Punk would go to feud with Daniel Bryan starting at Over the Limit when Punk was able to retain his championship after he reversed Bryan's finishing submission hold, the "Yes!" Lock, into a pinning combination. The replay, however, would show that Punk had visibly tapped out moments after the match finished. On the SmackDown before the pay-per-view, Bryan would interfere in the non-title match between Punk and Kane to attempt to frame Punk for attacking Kane with a steel chair, which started a three-way rivalry. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown, a match between Punk and Kane took place for the WWE Championship but it ended in a double disqualification after Bryan ran in and attacked both men. Bryan's ex-girlfriend AJ would turn her affections towards both Punk and Kane. The feud ended when Punk was able to defeat Bryan and Kane in a triple threat match at No Way Out after AJ distracted Kane. Punk was able to defeat Bryan to retain the championship in a No Disqualification match with AJ as the special guest referee at Money in the Bank.