Pro Wrestling Ponderings

CM Punk made his WWE (technically ECW, but work with me here) debut on August 1st, 2006 in the Hammerstein Ballroom competing against ECW Original Justin Credible. The reaction for Punk was astonishing, as the ballroom greeted Punk with cheers, chants, and all sorts of fanfare that a debuting wrestler never gets. This fanfare was the result of a couple factors. First off, WWE had done a tremendous job of building Punk’s character on television. For months now, Punk had cut promos around the 30 second mark telling people that he was a master of many fighting styles such as Jiu-Jitsu, Muy-Thai, etc. as well as informing the fans of his straight-edge lifestyle. While he didn’t preach this in his promos, he most certainly let us know that competition was his addiction.

The second reason was of course CM Punk’s tremendous history on the independent circuit most notably in IWA: Mid-South and of course Ring of Honor. CM Punk became known in the early 2000’s in IWA for his mic work, his matches with Chris Hero, his partnership with Colt Cabana, and for being somewhat of an unpleasant person both in regards to how the fans perceived him, and how the “boys in the back” perceived him. Regardless, you couldn’t argue his talent which is why he was picked up by Ring of Honor in October of 2002. He started off a face in a friendly rivalry with Colt Cabana, which while entertaining didn’t put a spotlight on him like you would expect. Then Raven stepped in and it became a whole new ball game. Punk began spewing his straight-edge lifestyle as if it were the gospel. Raven played the perfect foe to Punk with his sordid un-clean lifestyle being made very aware to the “smart” fans who attend(ed) Ring of Honor shows. Mostly competing in hardcore type matches, CM Punk moved on from the feud in the upper-echelon of Ring of Honor. He cemented his name there when he gave Christopher Daniels, a guy who main evented the first Ring of Honor show, the Pepsi Plunge from off the top rope through a table. Daniels wouldn’t be seen in Ring of Honor for a year and a half after that.

Punk’s success picked up with a small feud with AJ Styles in regards to the new ROH Pure Championship. Although Punk ultimately lost, he tasted gold for the first time soon after when he and Colt Cabana won the Ring of Honor tag team titles on ROH’s debut show in Chicago Ridge, IL. Punk began opening the eyes of the wrestling world soon after for two reasons: 1) His feud with wrestling legend Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and 2) His three astonishing ROH World Title matches against Samoa Joe. Because of this, it wasn’t too long until the WWE finally came knockin’. In Summer of 2005, rumors began swirling that WWE and TNA had offered contracts to three of Ring of Honor’s top dogs: CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and Bryan Danielson. Joe took the contract with TNA which meant he’d still be able to compete for Ring of Honor. Danielson chose neither, and spent the summer off to take a break and reengage in scholastic activities. Punk obviously chose the WWE, which is why no one expected that CM Punk would win the Ring of Honor title before he left. But he did. On June 18th, 2005 CM Punk defeated then Ring of Honor World champion Austin Aries to become the fifth champion in the company’s history. And thus began the best angle Ring of Honor has run.

Although it is only seven shows long, “The Summer of Punk” is widely regarded as one of, if not the best period in the company’s history. Punk changed his attitude becoming a WWE lackey. Punk went as far as to sign his WWE contract as it sat on top of his Ring of Honor title. What would happen? Would Punk take the belt with him to WWE? If not, who would beat him? ROH threw many different challengers his way, including one Christopher Daniels who returned at this time to exact a measure of revenge on the man who took him out of Ring of Honor back in January of 2004. It surprised fans that James Gibson, who also had been recently rumored to have signed with WWE, defeated him in a Four Corners Elimination match on August 12th, 2005. On August 13th, CM Punk had his final ROH match against Colt Cabana. It was 2 out of 3 falls, and Colt was able to score the upset. Although Punk cried and all the wrestlers and fans celebrated with showers of Pepsi, they all knew Punk was off to greener pastures.

Punk came in and really didn’t do too much of note for about his first year. He teamed with DX and the Hardys at the Survivor Series which took place in Ring of Honor’s hometown of Philadelphia, PA. He wrestled in Money in the Bank, and finally won his first WWE title when he defeated John Morrison for the ECW Championship on an episode of ECW on Sci-Fi in September 2007. Punk would hold the belt for a few months eventually losing to Chavo Guerrero the week before the Royal Rumble in Charlottesville, VA (a show I was in attendance for). Punk won the World Heavyweight Championship in summer of 2008, then won the World Tag Team Title and Intercontinental Titles soon after. Still, with all these accomplishments, CM Punk didn’t really arrive to the WWE until July 31, 2009.

That night, Jeff Hardy, who had just defeated CM Punk to recapture the World Heavyweight Championship the previous Sunday, put the title on the line against John Morrison in an incredible match. CM Punk came out, and patted John Morrison on the back as he headed down the aisle. He grabs the microphone, says very few words, and then bashes Jeff right in the head. For weeks now, Punk had been teasing his heel turn, by beginning to spout his straight-edge rhetoric in the WWE, most notably a promo at Night of Champions in Philadelphia, PA right before he lost the World Heavyweight Championship. But tonight was the night. Punk tossed Jeff to the floor and wasted no time following up. After a vicious attack on Jeff, it was clear that CM Punk had arrived.

The next week, Punk opened up Smackdown! with a promo explaining his actions and once again talking about his ideology. Jeff came out for their title match, which escalated quickly and was screeched to a halt. Later that night the match took place with Matt Hardy as the Special Enforcer. Matt cost Punk the match, and once again Punk struck Jeff tossing him into the steel steps. But the best heel stuff Punk does, is the little things. For example, the pat on Morrison’s back before he came down to attack Jeff the week before was such a great, slimey heel tactic. I also loved how Punk made the EMT’s go the long way around the ring to get to Jeff, causing Jeff to lay in pain even longer. Punk’s reaction to Teddy Long signing him to a TLC match for Summerslam was perfect, and the fans are gobbling up every piece of it.

Even though Punk has been a former World Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion, ECW Champion, and two time World Heavyweight Champion, he has just now arrived in the WWE. The CM Punk that the Hammerstein fans were clamoring for back on August 1, 2006 has finally made his presence known in the WWE. Even though Punk has his fingerprints all over the WWE’s history for the past three years, his impact now will be far more substantial. We all know what Punk is capable of with the character he is portraying now, and I think he’ll be the top heel in the company for years to come. With Edge out of the picture, and Jericho embroiled in his tag team with The Big Show, Punk now stands as the top heel on Smackdown! and rightfully deserves the World Heavyweight Championship to give his push more value. I say Punk defeats the fans hero Jeff Hardy at Summerslam and we see 2009 close as the true Summer of Punk.

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-Todd Grisham welcomes us to the show, tonight coming from Fresno, California. Tonight we have the Smackdown fallout from the Bash.

-The show begins with CM Punk coming the ring to explain his kicking of the referee at the Bash. Judging by the reaction of the live crowd, Punk’s turn fully to heel is imminent. After explaining how the errant kick he threw at the referee on Sunday night at the Bash was due to him being unable to see because of an eye injury, Punk admonishes Jeff’s actions after the match and asks him to come down to apologize.

-Teddy Long enters the ring and says that Jeff and Punk will have a rematch at Night of Champions later this month. He also states that Vinnie Mac liked his shaking up of things so much at the Bash that he’s decided to team Punk and Hardy up to face the new unified tag team champions, Edge and Chris Jericho tonight as the main event. Hardy and Punk then face off, with Hardy calling bullshit on the whole eye injury thing. Punk then tells Hardy that instead of hitting him, Jeff should “Just say no.” All in all, a pretty good segment and Punk’s sign off line was a nice touch. Hopefully we’ll have the fully-fledged, straight edge, heel Punk in our lives again soon.

-Finlay vs. Ricky Ortiz
Barely five minutes long, this match ended with Finlay hitting the Celtic Cross for the three. Short and pointless, but no harm done.

-We see Dolph Ziggler and Maria backstage, reminiscing about their date the previous night. Ziggler’s attempting at acting cool around Maria give me the impression he’s going to be gold at some in the future. I was laughing just by looking at him.

-J.R tell us that Rey Mysterio will be facing Kane tonight in a non-title match tonight. Could have done without knowing that.

- Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth
A short, pretty entertaining back and forth match ends with Ziggler hitting his finisher for the win. Looks like Dolph’s getting a bit of a push which could be pretty good. He seems to have quite a lot of potential for entertaining shenanigans.

-Next it’s Cryme Tyme’s “Word Up” segment. I enjoyed making a cup of tea and sandwich at this point during Smackdown last week but now I actually have to watch it. This was an unforeseen hardship. Tonight, Cryme Tyme hide behind some large pot plants and spy on Layla. More unnerving than that is the fact that, while they’re doing that, Shad appears to have his hand on his genitals for the duration. Then Jesse, formerly of Jesse and Festus fame, showing up and talking shit. This was total balls.

- Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
After his tremendous matches recently with Chris Jericho, I’m sure Rey Rey was just as disappointed as the viewing public when he found he was going to be competing against Kane tonight. Still, the match isn’t bad. Kane destroys Mysterio for the most part, eventually picking up the win with a chokeslam after a nice ending sequence. My initial thoughts were that WWE had made the I.C title look terrible by having their champ beat in a meaningless TV match but it appears as though they’re trying to build Kane again, and J.R did put over the fact that Rey competed in a great match just a few days prior at the Bash so it wasn’t that bad. Just as Kane’s about to unleash a post-match beating on Mysterio, The Great Khali lumbers down to the ring with a chair and breaks it up.  So it has come to pass. Khali and Kane are going to feud. And I have to watch it all unfold. Someone up there really likes me.

- Next up is Josh Matthews in the back with Jericho. Jericho once again delivers an awesome promo, even slipping the word ‘obsequious’ in there. Not only is this man the best heels in WWE, he has a tremendous vocabulary as well. Jericho is all kinds of awesome. He goes on to say that he’ll be invoking his Intercontinental Title rematch clause next week on Smackdown next week, so we’re in for some more Mysterio-Jericho greatness in a week.

- Cryme Tyme vs. The Hart Dynasty
Cryme Tyme twice in one night? Smackdown, you are truly spoiling me. Pretty solid match on the whole though, just standard tag team fare. Cryme Tyme pick up the win.

- Melina vs. Maria vs. Michelle McCool vs. Layla
Cryme Tyme’s win was quickly followed by some diva related action. This was a good match overall, with only Layla being slightly hard to watch in the ring. Not that she was sloppy or anything, she just didn’t look especially smooth. Michelle McCool and Melina did some great work though, with McCool working more of a ground game and throwing some holds into the mix and Melina being…well… just really bendy. Melina pins Layla after hitting the Primal Scream and gets the three count.

-Next up we see a segment with John Morrison and Teddy Long in Long’s office. This basically revolves around the two of them singing Michael Jackson songs and then Morrison interpreting the lyrics to fit the situation last week when he pinned CM Punk clean. It was entertaining for about 20 seconds but got old pretty quickly. The segment didn’t end with any resolution to Morrison’s issue either, over being rewarded for his victory over Punk. He just basically sang some songs, talked about beating Punk and left. Strange. I was loosking forward to seeing more of Morrison this week but alas, it was not to be.

- Edge and Chris Jericho vs. C.M. Punk and Jeff Hardy
It was now main event time for this week’s Smackdown. Punk and Hardy took control of the tag champs early on, with Punk being visibly hesitant to tag Hardy in. Shortly after this, Jericho takes control and Hardy goes for the tag. Punk acts as though his eye injury is bothering him and doesn’t tag in. After some more action Jeff hits the Twist of Fate on Edge and tags Punk before he notices. Following Punk battling with Jericho, he goes to tag Jeff but Jeff falls to the arena floor feigning an eye injury. Punk manages to hit the GTS on Jericho but not before Jericho blind tags Edge who runs in and hits the spear on Punk for the win. Hardy continues feigning injury until he gets to the top of the ramp, where he reveals it was all just a cunning ruse as the show goes of the air. Another good match involving these four men with some sound story telling throughout.

-Final thoughts
A good Smackdown certainly, but Morrison’s limited involvement damaged my enjoyment of the show a touch. The Cryme Tyme segment I could also have lived without but hey, you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. Talking of rough, as I said before, the prospect of this Kane-Khali feud is going to haunt me. I have absolutely no interest in Kane and Khali’s terrible in the ring. This is a recipe for disaster is you ask me. Or, at the very least, some fucking horrible PPV matches

More interesting though is the man event scene. With news breaking last night that Edge injured himself during a house show match with Jeff Hardy (a suspected Achilles tendon injury) it will be interesting to see where this takes with regards to the tag team titles and the main event stories. Look for some sort of development on RAW addressing this on Monday, with a possible title change in the works.

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-We should be having a new Smackdown reviewer for next week, so this will likely be my last one. Last week, Jeff Hardy and CM Punk each defeated the men involved in the “Mask vs. Title” Intercontinental championship match. This week, we get a cage match and Punk in a non-title match with John Morrison. Sounds like more goodness. With that being said…

-Taped from just another Chicago suburb

-Your hosts those guys… you know the ones

Vince McMahon opens things up. Well, there goes this show. I’m reviewing the show off Hulu this week, so there might be a little less detail this week. Boy, that evil face of Vince McMahon really is too creepy. He makes fun of Wisconsin. He says the crowd is scared of him. He talks about jobs. Two days from a Pay-Per-View and we get this garbage. I know McMahon would never ever read this article or this review. I know he’s a successful businessman who’s re-made the wrestling business and killed WCW. I also know’s an egomaniac and that his continued presence onscreen only reveals his insecurities. Speaking of revealing insecurities, he then dresses Teddy Long down. And since we can’t call it a “cage match” because it’s too southern wrasslin’ it’s a “Rage in the Cage” match. Great, Teddy Long is on probation You know, fuck Vince and fuck this shit. Moving on…

-R-Truth comes out rapping, but Vince won’t say What’s up. After a commercial, Sheldon Benjamin comes out and speaks. Benjamin says some stuff that confirms that all the writers have to be white. Stuff about education and speaking properly. The delivery wasn’t so bad. What he was saying just continued to drag down this show further.

- R Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin

Since I can’t rewind or fast forward that easily, no times this week. The good news is this match got a fair amount of time and had a chance to develop. The bad news is that it was dreadfully boring because Sheldon Benjamin on offense does not equal success. He wrestles with so little aggressiveness and passion that it’s hard for me not to tune out. The best example was this backbreaker that he executed. He put so little effort into it that it killed the match even further. R-Truth might not be technically sound sometimes, but at least he’s exciting and brings some personality forward. R-Truth wins with what JR called “The Lie Detector.” It’s just his spinkick thing.

Winner: R-Truth

-More Vince. He talks to Rey Rey. Rey Rey speaks Spanish. Teddy Long is next to Vince as Vince points out we only speak English on Smackdown. Racial overtones and now this? What did President Obama do to piss him off now?

- Alicia Fox and Michelle McCool vs. Gail Kim and Melina

Cause this is going to help the show out at this point. Melina and McCool will meet at “The Bash.” I’m sooooooooooo excited for that. Melina gets kicked in the face by McCool, and her post-show plans must now be changed. I love how Gail Kim, chick who can actually wrestle, gets jobbed out. McCool wins with the Fairthbreaker. Gim loses to the bastardized version of the Styles Clash for a third time. I really hate Vince McMahon.

-Two worst words in the English language put together at this point. More Vince. This time he talks with CM Punk. Punk gives this look at the camera as if to say “Look at this goof.” I laughed heartily at this. That redeemed this segment, even when Punk spouted the garbage about being addicted to competition. He says it in such a mocking way that I can’t even be angry anymore.

-Brief discussion of The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler  match that takes place Sunday. Again, thank God I’m not spending forty bucks on that show.

-It’s now time for the first edition of Cryme Time’s Word Up. I guess this is a new weekly segment that’s intended to be funny but isn’t. This was so mind-boggingly awful. They basically rip off Urban Dictionary by defining some word that is something resembling English but really just further bastardizes our language. Jesse interrupts and raps. Great, we have another John Cena rip-off. Where’s Vince to fire all three of these yabos?

- NON-TITLE MATCH: CM Punk © vs. John Morrison

Thank God. Very slow build before the commercial. Always appreciated since that means this is getting 15 minutes. The crowd kinda sat on their hands, but by the end they were going bonkers. Some great maneuvers here as they improved on their series of matches from 2007 ECW.  The ending was also very creative as it ended up being a series of reversals leading into Morrison holding Punk’s  shoulders together for three. Great great match that I almost enjoyed more than Morrison’s with Edge because it leaves the door wide open for these guys to do a match at the following Pay-Per-View. They didn’t even hit any of their big moves, but found a way to have a great wrestling match. Morrison is not all the way there as a babyface, but by continuing to have these kinds of matches, he’s going to be a world champion very soon. The show is saved from an abyss of suck.

Winner: CM Punk

-Punk goes to shake Morrison’s hand… and he plants with a Go 2 Sleep. He then puts his hands to his head as if to wonder what he has just done. This only leaves more doubts about whether he’ll turn or not. Honestly, I don’t think the WWE is quite sure at this point. If Mysterio and Hardy were staying for sure, I think Punk would complete this subtle turn Sunday, but I’m not quite sure at this point. He could still very easily turn, but I’d rather see them wait.

-Josh Mathews interviews Chris Jericho. He asks a dumb question about why Jericho wants to unmask Mysterio. Josh has been paying far too much attention to ECW and not enough Smackdown obviously. One final go home promo that serves its’ purpose as Jericho adds another layer by pointing out how he saved himself and wants to save Mysterio once and for all.

-JR and Tool Grisham talk about “The Bash.” Glad it’s no longer a secret. Here’s the card:

- John Cena vs. The Miz

- NO DQ Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali

- WWE Women’s Title Match: Melina © vs. Michelle McCool
- IC Title vs. Mask Match: Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
- Unified Tag Team Title Match: Carlito and Primo Colon © vs. Legacy
- ECW Title Scramble Match: Tommy Dreamer © vs. Christian vs. Finlay vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry
- World Title Match: CM Punk © vs. Jeff Hardy
-WWE Title Three Stages of Hell Match: Randy Orton © vs. HHH
- (The 1st Fall is a Regular Match, The 2nd Fall is Falls Count Anywhere Match, If Needed, the 3rd Fall is a Stretcher Match.)

-The cage comes down, and here we go.

-Vince and Teddy talk to Jeff Hardy.

-Punk looks like a moron in the referee’s shirt with no pants.

- CAGE MATCH: Chris Jericho and Edge vs.  Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy

Very odd rules since you could by pinfall, submission, or one person escaping the cage. This was another really good match as the heat segment was on Mysterio. Basic tag team wrestling within the cage as Jericho and Edge work quite well together. Of course, the guest referee becomes involved as Punk gets speared by Edge after Hardy ducks. Punk sells the rib injury for the rest of the match. Hardy hits a Twist of Fate but with Punk behind him isn’t trusting enough to finish the job. Edge hits the spear on Hardy for the three count. Punk was noticeably reluctant to make the count.

Winners: Edge and Chris Jericho

Final Thoughts: Between Sheldon Benjamin’s speech, the way Vince was treating Teddy Long, and Cryme Time, that was an awfully uncomfortable first half. The Vince McMahon stuff was awfully disturbing too. I’m just so tired of his ego infesting every show he’s on. Honestly, he screeches to a halt any show he’s on. I can see the ending a mile away. Teddy keeps trying to impress, but it doesn’t matter. Teddy is going to get fired. He’s going to get humiliated. Vince will entertain himself, play the bully once again and no one else care.

Thankfully the new Smackdown six of Edge, Jericho, Punk, Hardy, Mysterio, and Morrison save the show once again in the second half. I cannot emphasize enough how awesome these six guys have been with their matches. The interviews have a little to be desired in some cases, but the match quality makes up for it. And in some cases, Jericho is so awesome that Mysterio doesn’t need to say a word to get the fans on his side.

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