Column Of Honor 8.20.05
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 08.20.2005
The Independent Buy In, The CM Punk Memorial Issue, 8/13 Results, 8/20 Preview
THE INDEPENDENT BUY IN
Earlier in the week, Larry Csonka wrote a column about the constant mediocrity in WWE programming and how we, the audience, didn’t have to take this in stride. There are other options available to us as wrestling fans, especially the internet audience, to get access to alternatives to WWE programming. Over the years, I’ve read plenty of other posts and columns that express anger and frustration over the WWE and its spectacular ways of remaining overall unspectacular. at other times when I read this type of column, it was easier to rationalize the argument that the WWE was doing something wrong because there were enough things the WWE was doing right to balance out the equation. This time, this type of column really got to me, especially because I was essentially thinking the exact same things. In the wake of quality PPVs by TNA that are based on wrestling as competition and in the wake of the “Summer of ROH”, where ROH has once again hit a huge stride in compelling and quality wrestling shows, WWE is by comparison woefully average.
Don’t get me wrong, WWE does get the big picture right, for the most part it always has. Main event and dream matches are WWE’s forte, as seen by Angle-Michaels I and II, and this month’s build up to four huge main event level match ups including Undertaker-Randy Orton, Hulk Hogan-HBK and John Cena-Chris Jericho. However in that same time span, its clear to see that while WWE gets its big picture right, the many little pictures that accompany the main event are completely jig sawed and messed up. The title divisions, with the exception of the Heavyweight titles are a mess… there is no competition or value in the tag divisions or the upper card. Angles involving Chris Masters, Viscera or Divas are boring, offensive or just a waste of time. On the other hand TNA and ROH were involved in some of the bigger storylines of the respective companies’ history. But its more than just this particular period of time, on an everyday basis, it seems that TNA and ROH always have not just the bigger picture in mind, but THE WHOLE PICTURE in mind with the wrestling programming they provide to their audience.
Now, this is the dilemma—the WWE is too big a company to effect an overall change in its philosophy. If one person stops buy its product—no big deal. Even if a couple of hundred fans on the internet start a boycott of the product, its not enough to make some heads swivel in the corporate offices or on the creative team. There’s really only a very few number of people who can effect that kind of change nowadays in the WWE—the main man has always been Vince McMahon, and in 2005’s WWE you would include Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and John Laurenitis in that equation. 2005 WWE is the way its gonna be unless those four people decide to do something to change it, and John Q. Public won’t make an impact by buying out of the product. So I am not asking for anyone out there on the internet reading this right now to stop watching WWE. Hell, I’m not going to stop watching WWE cold turkey myself, even if the product currently makes me walk out of my living room to do something else more often than any other time besides mid to late 1995.
What I am going to ask you out there to do is to consider your position right now. Right now, you are on the internet, viewing a web column about one of the bigger independent wrestling companies currently salient in today’s wrestling climate. Chances are if you clicked onto this column, you are either a fan of ROH, want to know more about the company, and you are probably a bit wiser, a bit smarter about wrestling—check that, GOOD wrestling--than the average fan. You probably spend the dough on some or all of ROH wrestling video releases, and you may or may not follow some other indie companies. Or perhaps you just like to read columns at 411 and other wrestling websites, following wrestling companies via the internet, without spending the money on the product. I know I was like that for the longest time before I put down the bucks and bought into the ROH (and later on, TNA) product.
If you are as upset, aggravated, annoyed, disappointed or as furious as I am about how mediocre the WWE can be, I’m going to ask you to do something about it. Because as Larry C. pointed out in his column, there ARE other alternatives out there besides WWE wrestling, and it’s easier now than it ever was before to get your hands on it, especially if you are on the internet.
If you truly want to start or to continue to watch quality WRESTLING programming, I’m going to ask you to BUY IN. Buy into an independent wrestling company. Find a company you are curious about and buy just ONE of their videos and see what you think about the product. It doesn’t have to be Ring of Honor, it could be TNA if you’ve never watched them before, it could be PWG, JAPW, IWA-MS, NWA-Cyberspace, whatever. BUY INTO one of those companies and compare to what you would normally find on a WWE show. Chances are, despite the lesser production values and video quality, you will find a BETTER wrestling product per show compared to the WWE. Spend some money, maybe twenty dollars or so—which is only a little more than half of what a WWE PPV will set you back—on that product. If you are uneasy about spending that much on just one release, take advantage of sales that many companies run.
If you are an ROH fan already, be brave enough to try one more indie company. You probably already know that ROHwrestling.com offers releases from other wrestling companies, go ahead and sample one or two. Chances are you’ll enjoy that product as well. That goes for anyone else who follow an indie already—try something else. If you are a TNA fan solely, then be brave enough to try an ROH release. If you’ve never purchased a wrestling product on the internet before, be brave enough to try it—it’s not going to kill you to shop on highspots.com or other websites. Read Ryan Byers’ column, Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People and get some good advice on how to get wrestling for inexpensive prices.
Believe me; in these times where money means a lot, I know that it’s asking a lot to buy more product. However, that is what it will take to keep quality wrestling out there as an alternative to WWE. We’re not going to be able to change the big guy, but we can help give some back to the little guys. More than any previous time, I think this is the opportunity for a larger percent of the wrestling audience to be able to find and to support GOOD wrestling. It’s easy to bitch and complain about the WWE and keep watching without doing anything about it. In 2005, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES. The independents are the alternatives to mediocre wrestling and they are right at your fingertips. Go find one and rediscover some of the passion you have for this business.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 8/19/2005
ROH World Champion—James Gibson (champ since 8/12/05, NEW CHAMPION)
ROH PURE Champion—Samoa Joe (champ since 5/7/05, 5 successful defenses)
ROH Tag Team Champions—BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs (champs since 7/23/05, 2 successful defenses)
August 15th: New ROH World Champion James Gibson has vowed to stay in ROH until he loses the belt and Gibson says that he will hold it for a long time. Gibson says that winning the ROH World Title was the most important moment of his career and he cherishes the fact that he is ROH World Champion. Gibson says he will defend the belt with honor and pride. However, Gibson is irate at his former best friend Spanky. Last Saturday in Chicago Spanky turned on Gibson and demanded a shot at the title. It looks like Spanky's plan has worked as this Saturday's Gibson vs. Homicide match in Morristown, NJ at the Mennan Sports Arena has changed. It will now be a Three Way Elimination match with the World Title on the line pitting James Gibson vs. Spanky vs. Homicide!!!
August 15th: To raise the stakes of this Saturday's Cabana vs. McGuinness match ROH officials have decided that the winner will get to choose whether they want to go for the Pure or World Title in Buffalo on August 27th.
The title picture for the next few shows is shaping up. Gibson is a champion with honor who will uphold the belt’s prestige, but Homicide and Spanky are two dishonorable wrestlers in his way. Spanky’s turn was a bit surprising, as the story between Gibson and Spanky seemed to implicate Gibson getting irate at Spanky at costing him a title and turning on him, but that train of thought stopped once Gibson one the big won. Now Spanky turned on Gibson out of his desire for the world title. I’m sure Gibson’s response would be much like Hulk Hogan said to Shawn Michaels a few weeks back on Raw-- “All you had to do was ask, BROTHER.” Ok, minus that brother part. Homicide is the very dangerous part of the equation; like Spanky he too is one of ROH’s founding fathers who has previously come close to holding the ROH title and has not done so as yet. McGuiness or Cabana should prove to be a good one-off challenger for the world title if that is the direction either takes on 8/27. They have each failed to win the PURE title off of Samoa Joe, so perhaps they would choose that goal to accomplish. Of course Christopher Daniels could defeat Joe for that PURE strap…but either way we shall see if there is more belt hopping in ROH or if the belts stay stable this coming week.
August 16th: ROH officials are concerned with the amount of no-contests, interference, run-ins and other shenanigans on recent shows. ROH was built on clean finishes with clear winners and losers and we haven't forgotten that. For the first time in ROH history, ROH officials are considering signing a well-respected authority figure to restore order.
So that rules out Vince Russo, Dusty Rhodes, Roddy Piper, Mick Foley, William Regal or Larry Zbysko as options. I know who it is—it’s John Walters, making his long awaited return after a successful tour in Ghana as Minister of Pugilistic Activities. It’s a great choice if I may so myself.
August 16th: Matt Sydal earned a spot as the new member of Generation Next last Friday in Dayton. Sydal has just been added to the Oct. 1st New York City and Oct. 2nd Philadelphia events since he is now a part of Gen Next.
August 16th: AJ Styles suffered a knee injury at last Sunday's TNA PPV and is taking things day by day. There is a good chance that he might miss this Saturday's event. ROH officials are urging AJ to take the show off if AJ isn't able to perform up the level that the fans expect and if there is risk at further injury. The final call will be made on Friday. We will keep you updated right here at ROHwrestling.com. If AJ Styles is unable to wrestle on Saturday Roderick Strong will take his spot and team with Austin Aries to take on The Embassy of Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley with Prince Nana.
And in fact, AJ Styles is now off the 8/20 show and is questionable for 8/27 with that tendon injury. This is a disappointment considering the “dream tag” aura Aries and Styles would have had together, but Gen Next keeping it in-house makes the most sense to me. Matt Sydal as the newest member of Gen Next is fine by me, as he is deserving of a spotlight to shine and he fits right in with the newly baby face aligned GNext. Plus, he’ll make an excellent patsy if/when Gen Next decides to go back to their nefarious methods.
ROH Results (Credit: ROH Boards and ROHwrestling.com)
Here are early details and information about last night’s ROH event.
August 13th, 2005—Chicago Ridge, IL Matches
Student Matches
-Bobby Dempsey Def. Smash Bradley in a student match.
-Brad Bradley Def. Shane Hagadorn in a dark match.
-Antonio Blanca Def. Davey Andrews in a student match.
Angles and Developments
-Before the match, Punk got what was described as the "biggest streamer fest ever." Subsequent pictures have proven that to be the case (see below). Punk was noted to have been visibly emotional and crying during his entrance and after his match. Punk did a farewell speech, with all sorts of ROH wrestlers and officials out at ringside, including Colt, Samoa Joe and Gabe Sapolsky. They all had champagne glasses filled with Pepsi. Colt poured Pepsi over Punk’s head (ala a Gatorade bath). Punk's parents also came out during the speech.
-Spanky’s turn on James Gibson occurred during the match, as Spanky super kicked Gisbon. He then set up and hit Sliced Bread # 2 and walked out on the match.
-More massive chaose ensued during the Rottweilers / Joe and Lethal match, including Joe unloading a massive number of chairs in a row (given to him by fans at ringside) onto Homicide. I’m sure that will be a must see moment on the DVD. Low Ki jumped off the bleachers and nailed Jay Lethal with a Ghetto Stomp. Yep, another must see moment for the DVD. This feud has been filled with plenty of them.
-Chad Collyer is now sporting a Mohawk. Word is he is auditioning for Droz’s spot on the Legion of Doom 2005.
-Fans in attendance are really talking up the Joe and Lethal tag match, the main event and also Roderick Strong vs. Matt Hardy as MUST SEE matches. Lots of praise for the quality of Strong vs. Hardy, but we’ll have to wait for the videotape to be sure. Strong now has a huge bragging right by being the only person to defeat Hardy while in ROH.
Your Mid-Column Olay
OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY…. OLAY, OLAY…
OLAY! OLAY, OLAY, OLAY… OLAY, OLAY…
This has been your mid column Olay.
***HOT Matches: The Future Is Now 6/12/05 New York, NY***
Whenever I can I’ll try to highlight some of the hipper, must watch matches from the latest ROH home releases. These will be quick blurbs on the match and a star rating, although those are subjective, so take it or leave it.
***CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong*** - A very simple equation in this match—combine massive chop battles with mat work technique, mix in equal parts, stir and watch the crowd come to its feet. Almost all of the crowd (with a few notable exceptions) is PRO-Punk, as word has come out that the 6/18 show is probably his last. The match begins with an avoidance of Strong’s well known powerful chops by CM Punk, which leads to a short exchange of big moves that are countered. Punk works on the arm and neck while Strong works on the back, but the strategies of each are diverted by the chop exchanges. The chop battles pick up pace and strength with each exchange, emitting some of the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard. CM Punk’s entrance and post match promo are some of the most emotional moments I’ve ever been witness to-and it’s scary considering the other CM Punk moments to come. ***1/2
***Austin Aries vs. Low Ki (Non Title) – This match continues several developing stories—one being the issue between Ki and Aries. They fought to a 20 minute time limit draw at All Star Extravaganza 2, which resulted in Aries getting a title shot and winning the ROH belt. Ki claimed he was getting robbed by ROH officials and that led to him hitting a ref and being suspended indefinitely. Several months later, Low Ki returned to his hometown of New York for ROH Manhattan Mayhem, managing to hijack ROH’s first national TV time on a channel 11 morning news broadcast. Problem number two is Aries’ neck, which had been talking damage all along during his reign as ROH World champ, but was especially exacerbated by a Samoa Joe muscle buster during the 6/4 New Frontiers show. Aries reaction coming into the ringside area, surrounded by Low Ki’s gang of thugs, is just priceless, like one of those “holy shit, how did I get into this?” type of looks. This is a hard hitting, back and forth match, basically these two just unloading their arsenal of high impact moves and stretches on each other. Aries use of Ki’s double stomp goes over huge with the crowd. One thing that holds this match back a bit from being above four stars is the officiating—if the match is non-sanction, why are rope counts enforced? Why are gang members being thrown out of ringside area? That lack of continuity is hard to ignore, but the in-ring action does help to alleviate the worry about the matter. Ki is just one stiff ass mofo in this match, and that’s a good thing. A monster Ki Krusher from the top rope ends this match with a victory for Low-Ki. Post match incidents to look out for include an attack by Jay Lethal, a brawl between The Rotweilers and Gen Next, and an insane spectacular MUST SEE double somersault dive by Jack Evans***3/4
The whole 6/12 card is a lot of fun, including opening match shenanigans by Colt Cabana, an insane bump ONTO a ladder in the Carnage Crew vs. Dunn and Marcos match (right in front of where I was sitting!) and two other very good matches in Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuiness and Homicide vs. James Strong.
8/20 Morristown, New Jersey Preview
'Do Or Die V' Afternoon Event
Four Corner Survival
Winners of the four qualifying matches will compete for a spot in ROH!!!
Qualifying Match #1
Sal Rinauro vs. Antonio Blanco
Qualifying Match #2
Davey Andrews vs. Steve Madison
Qualifying Match #3
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rainman
Qualifying Match #4
Jay Fury vs. Jerrelle Clark
IWC Super Indy Title
John McChesney vs. Sterling Keenan
Women's Match
Sumie Sakai vs. Lacey
Evening Event Mick Foley Will Be In Morristown!!!
Foley will be there to confront someone about something he didn’t like at a recent ROH event. That must be the vaguest description in the world, but that’s all I’ve got to go on. This may be a one-off deal or the start of a new angle with Foley involved.
ROH World Title Elimination Match
ROH World Champion James Gibson vs. Homicide vs. Spanky
This is Homicide’s best chance in quite some time to get the gold. Realistically, if there is going to be a hot shot of the title, now is a good time, as it gets the title onto an ROH mainstay and one guy whose story with the title would be extremely interesting to run with. Homicide can take advantage of the animosity between Gibson and Spanky and strike at will. Gibson is looking for redemption against both men; he lost to Homicide in singles and tag competition and of course was betrayed by Spanky last week in Chicago. Someone could get hurt in this match.
Pure Title Match
ROH Pure Champion Samoa Joe defends vs. Christopher Daniels
This has not so coincidentally become a preview of upcoming TNA matches between these two grapplers. These two are at the top of their game right now, so no doubt this will be an excellent match. This is probably the first match where it seems Joe could likely lose his title, which is also another coincidence since it was Joe’s big match against Daniels at Glory By Honor 2 that was one of the first big match moments where people pegged Joe would lose the ROH World Title. We know how that one turned out, will the result be any different two years later?
Grudge Tag Team Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley with Prince Nana & Jade Chung
The substitution doesn’t take away from Generation Next’s side of the equation—this is a very even match up, but DA EM BAH SEE are down 0-2 so far in this feud, so I’d expect a comeback win here.
Stip To Be Announced By Cabana The Night Of The Show
Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
The stipulation will be loser has to go to the Transgender Bar in England (if you saw CM Punk and Samoa Joe’s shoot and the story about Steve Corino you know how that experience goes). It looks like this feud is coming to an end, and I’d go with the face to take the feud in that situation. It’s a shame this feud has to end as it could have gone to the next level by become a violent blood feud, but the European Rounds match seems to have cost this pairing enough momentum that it should end here.
Weapons Match
Carnage Crew of Loc & Devito vs. The Ring Crew Express of Dunn & Marcos
This is supposed to be the last match in this long and storied rivalry between these two teams. From the first few shows to this year’s reigniting of the feud, its been about The Carnage Crew giving hellacious beatings and the Ring Crew taking those hellacious beatings. The RCE cost the Carnage Crew 90 days worth of ROH paychecks when they won Scramble Cage at the 3rd Year Anniversary Show part 1, and TCC made them pay for it when they returned at Manhattan Mayhem. This weapons match certainly means one thing: Dunn, or Marcos, or both of them, will be bleeding by the end of the night. Its not a matter of if they can win the match, but if they can survive the match so that they can do what they always do at the end of the night, which is to take down the ring.
Special Challenge Match
Jay Lethal vs. Ricky Reyes
Otherwise known as a “we won’t book you to win against the leaders of the Rottweilers but we’ll give you a token win against a guy who hasn’t even been in ROH for most the year” match. Seriously, Lethal needs to win against Homicide or Low Ki sooner or later. A win here won’t really do anything for Lethal, because I and many others very well expect him at this point to be able to take Reyes out in a singles match.
Bonus Attraction Match
? vs. Puma
Originally this was supposed to be against Roderick Strong, but with the messiah of the backbreaker moving up to the tag match against the Embassy, a substitution will have to be made. Luckily, there will be plenty of talent available from the afternoon show, so anyone who can make a good impression on the fans and the company may be lucky to find their way into this spot on the main show.
CM PUNK MEMORIAL EDITION
If you’re not a fan of CM Punk, I’d think now is the time to skip down to the end of the column. If you’re still with me, then its time to pay tribute to a man who has in many ways become synonymous with ROH. There’s been a lot of emotional words said by fans on the ROH message board, but since we’re here and they’re there, allow myself the ability to speak on CM Punk’s final moments in ROH (perhaps for now) and his impact on the company as a whole. It’s not as if we’re supposed to be performing some type of a eulogy for the deceased, but in a way, this is very much saying goodbye for now to a character and a person who was very influential and inspirational to me and a lot of other Ring of Honor fans.
I was saying last week that it was understandable under certain circumstances for a man to openly cry in public—marriage and childbirth being just two of those circumstances. When CM Punk walked out in Chicago, IL last week, after a full cycle of AFI’s “Miseria Cantare” and then to the Bouncing Soul’s “Night Train”, he was openly crying. I’d make a wager of a fair sum of money to say that many other men in that arena—fans, friends and family of Punk alike, were doing the same. Hell, I’m almost doing it, just writing these words right now.
Why are we so openly showing our feelings? How did it come to be this way? Why does CM Punk mean so much to ROH?
The answer hit me crystal clear last week, and the words were in my head, but they really couldn’t come out until just now. We show our emotions, because for most of his Ring of Honor career, that is exactly what CM Punk has shown to us. What CM Punk has brought to the dance and what has kept his fans cheering for him and what has kept his deriders hating him: his show of emotion.
Emotion is what CM Punk had to give to us, every time he stepped out into an ROH ring, and every time he spoke in his promos. Sure, we’ve made emotional connections to many other ROH wrestlers, especially Samoa Joe or Bryan Danielson or Low Ki or Homicide. Yet with CM Punk, that emotion was amplified many times over. When his AFI theme music began, fans emotions were pulled upwards and outwards into the arena. Those who worshipped him like a cult following (which is why the “Cult of Personality” theme song was to follow in July and August of 2005), their heart leapt up in joy, their arms banged on the metal guardrails in time to the music. Those who hated him like he was the most evil of devils became enraged, and would boo and cat call at every opportunity until he disappeared back behind the ring entrance.
In 2005, CM Punk really hit his peak as far as giving us moments filled with pure emotion. He was the first to exclaim exuberance in the celebration of ROH’s 3rd anniversary, knowing full well how far the company had come the previous year. Punk rarely smiled on-camera, but he was full on glowing in his promos and in the ring at the rd Year Anniversary Show part 1. That smile would soon change to a deep and bitter frown as he entered into a full out war with Jimmy Rave and The Embassy. Even then, Punk provided one of the most emotionally powerful moments of the year when he finally, FINALLY defeated Jimmy Rave in his hometown of Chicago in a cage match at the “Nowhere to Run” event after months of frustration and loss. Punk climbed up to the top of the cage, and in a warrior pose, locked his eyes with the fans in the audience and sang the words to his theme song along with EVERYONE in attendance. Even watching that moment at my home in New York, I felt the pit deep down in my stomach telling me this was a hell of a memorable moment. Punk was telling everyone in his body language and in his actions that this win was everything to him, and the response he got was powerful.As he came back down the cage, he had a new goal in Ring of Honor, shouting out to anyone who would hear him “Aries! I’m coming for you! I’m coming for the title!”
News traveled oh so quickly through the internet in the early weeks of June, confirming the weeks of rumors surrounding the “ROH Three”—Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. Punk out of the three seemed to be the one with the most probable chance of signing with the WWE, and if he did that, he would be lost to the independent wrestling scene for quite the foreseeable future, and perhaps forever if he would become a success story. The response for Punk at the 6/12 Supper Club show was MASSIVE. The spontaneous chants of “Please Don’t Go!” and “Thank You Punk”, so often clichéd nowadays, may have been some of the most genuine chants I’ve ever heard. Punk was himself emotionally taken aback by the moment. The standing O at the end of the match was in my opinion the New York fans coming to believe that this moment was the last they would ever see of CM Punk in an ROH ring. I certainly thought it would be the last time I saw him live in an ROH ring.
One week later, Punk won the title in one hell of another emotional moment, and the last two months, as we say, are now history.
I remember watching Punk for the first time ever on the ROH All Star Extravaganza DVD, which originally took place in November of 2002 but I was watching it around mid 2003. He was first up in the gauntlet match against Michael Shane. I had heard somewhat about Punk online and knew that there was some positive hype around him as someone special and interesting. In that first match I saw, I got that instantly. He lost that match but even still he gave a good show and connected with the fans such that there were noticeable reactions when Shane cheated Punk out of the win. I was definitely interested in seeing more of Punk in action. I was skipping around in my purchases at this point, so the next big DVD I saw where he was involved was Round Robin Challenge 2, where he fought and lost to Homicide and that was one hell of a contest. I also watched Death Before Dishonor and the big angle he had with Raven where he and Dreamer force fed beer to Punk (after Punk had bested Raven in a dog collar match). The promos he and Raven gave around this time were amazing and captivating. The emotional implications of what had just been done to a straight edge Punk were obvious and earth shattering. Both men threatened to maim and kill each other, and I for one was emotionally involved big time in this feud. I had come around to Raven big time by the point in my wrestling watching, and CM Punk was not that close behind.
Straight Edge—it’s a culture of belief based on no drugs and no alcohol—it’s what defined Punk’s persona during that period of time and is a core of his real life personality. I could relate to it myself—because I didn’t believe in drug use (recreational drugs, not medicinal, those I believed in) and for the longest time I refused to drink alcohol, be it beer, wine or whatever. While my beliefs were pretty much in line with that philosophy, I never labeled myself straight edge, didn’t get any xXx tattoos or listen to Minor Threat or Fugazi or anything like that. It was just that drugs and alcohol did not appeal to me very much at all. Unlike Punk, I didn’t think that “straight edge means I’m better than you” as he used to exclaim in his heel character, but in my head I did feel a connection to this character who stood up for his beliefs, despite how different it could make him among others. That’s why when I went to see my first ROH live show (At Our Best, 3/13/04), I threw up the X symbol for Punk when he entered the Rexplex. I cheered AJ Styles on and wanted The Phenomenal One (and later that night, for Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat) to kick Punk’s ass, but I felt respect and appreciation of Punk nonetheless.
I’m still not really sure I understand where the Punk detractors are coming from. They criticize Punk’s in ring work; even though he’s got a sizable repertoire and a deep understanding of ring psychology on both sides of the face/ heel divide. They think he uses too many headlocks, even though many other wrestlers in the business use headlocks (Kurt Angle for one, hmm, what’s he done lately?). They may just plain out hate him for who he is and what he stands for, I don’t know… but what I do know is that if you can get a wrestling fan to either love you very strongly or hate your guts so deeply, to the point that they either pay money to see you win or to see you lose, then you have done something right in the business. The Rexplex in New Jersey was notorious for having people hate on Punk, although to be honest, there were plenty of Punk supporters there (hell, Punk turned face there!)—the haters just happened to be louder and angrier. The fans were going apoplectic in either direction during All Star Extravaganza 2 as Punk faced Samoa Joe in the big title match. I do remember that the thunderous clapping and beating the metal rails to the rhythm of Miseria Cantare—dum dum, dum dum (1-1-1,2)—outmatched and soundly defeated the Punk anti-supporters that night. They might have been able to match our “CM PUNK!” shouts with “SUCKS!” in response, but they HAD NOTHING to match the power of that AFI beat. So there, haters, choke on that piece of business.
The ability to make people love him, hate him, hate to love him or love to hate him is the best advantage Punk will have going for him when he starts to work the main WWE shows. There’s a lot that can go against him, he’s too small, he’ll be stuck on Velocity or Heat, but at this point I’ve seen, read and heard enough from Punk to know that even though he is a curmudgeon, he has one hell of a willpower and desire to succeed. I truly think that he thinks he will not be stopped on his path to success in the WWE. And that is more than enough for me to support him onwards and upwards to greater glory, or as Stan Lee would put it, Excelsior!
Thank you Punk, because you made a believer out of me, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
I would be remiss if I did not allow my close friend Chris Miccio the opportunity to speak his mind about CM Punk as well. He’ll fill you in on his own particular reasons why he will miss CM Punk in ROH, as the CM Punk emotional train keeps rolling:
As I sit here, looking at one of the Mary-Kate Grosso’s pictures from the Saturday night ROH Chicago farewell show for CM Punk, I kind of feel like I’ve had a death in the family. I look into his eyes as he kneels on the ROH logo in the middle of the ring, covered with streamers, and with tears obviously streaming down his face. I, like Punk feel the same way. Now, you might ask why does it matter to you? Why does his moving on make you feel like this? “He’s just a wrestler, after all” people will say. But they don’t understand. He’s not a just a wrestler to us, to the ROH faithful, and especially not to me. To me, he is the man who made me love wrestling again, to care about this sport that I had a lifelong love affair with. In a way, CM Punk saved my life.
I guess it all started with my main man Ari came over with his newly purchased copy of Death Before Dishonor. I had never been hugely interested with the indy federations that emerged in early part of this decade, maybe because I never really recovered from the death of the ECW. At the same time, my malaise with the mainstream product was well known, as I had even began to have to think about watching WWE programming, whether on TV or on PPV. I was at a serious crossroads in my wrestling life. My father, who got me started on wrestling in the early 1980’s, had stopped watching, and I figured that maybe it was time for me to think long and hard about doing the same. Then I saw CM Punk battle Raven on that DVD. This match, which featured the forced consumption of beer by Punk led me to say to myself, “wow…I know Raven is good from the ECW days, but this other guy is really something special.” I asked Ari to fill me on this “new guy”, and he gave me the run down. He explains the character, the “straight edge” wrestler versus the “alcohol and drug filled” Raven. I thought, it was a brilliant formula, and I asked Ari if he had any other DVD’s with Punk on them. He did, and I borrowed them all. And then I started to buy them for myself. One became ten. Ten became twenty. Twenty became the entire set of ROH live shows. I became obsessed with wrestling again.
ROH offered so many new talents, all with their own something, but the one that always stood out to me was CM Punk. Whether in his feud with Raven, Christopher Daniels and The Prophecy, Samoa Joe, or Jimmy Rave, it was always the Punk match or promo that I HAD to see. When Ari asked if I wanted to go to a live ROH show, there was no hesitation. Immediately, I had to know if Punk was working the show, and if he was, we had to be there. I had to be there for the AFI entrance. I had to be there to throw the crossed arms up for him, even though by no way am I “straight edge”. It was something I wanted to be a part of. When he wrestled that night, I found a strange thing happened in the arena. People were booing him (yes, the show was in New Jersey). I never got that. Why boo someone who left it all in the ring, every time he went between those ropes? Oh well, I guessed that they were just Homicide fans or something (couldn’t resist). Long story short, after that first live experience, I was hooked on ROH, and CM Punk was the poster boy for the company. He symbolized everything that was great about the ROH. The fire, the intensity, the love of the sport, pure and simple. It was Punk who made me buy, and wear, my first wrestling shirt in public. I was proud to be associated with this man, this company, this thing that was so much more than just a wrestling show. ROH and CM Punk saved my life.
When the rumors of Punk being courted by the WWE started to emerge, I always figured that he would be the last person to go, because to me, he was the emotional backbone of ROH. Even with all the other new stars developing, and getting big pushes, it was always punk who was there in the end. Then word spread. Punk is going to work a dark match, or Punk is going to be on Sunday Night Heat. And all of us would be really excited to see him get his shot on WWE TV. But there was always this creeping fear within me, saying that it was a bad thing, that they would see him do what he does, and swallow him up into the mess that is the WWE talent roster. I feared that if he did go to the WWE, he would just become another cautionary tale for the stars of the indy world. Great, but underutilized. When nothing came of those appearances, I figured that the WWE saw him as just another indy guy, too small or too skinny for their steroided out image. I just figured that he would stick around in ROH, and maybe go back to TNA on occasion. Damn. Was I wrong.
Ari instant messaged me late one night and told me he had read that it was a done deal. Punk had come to terms with the WWE. I was angry. How could my hero do this to me? To us? To the faithful? Then I realized something. He was doing what was right for HIM, what HE had always wanted, and what most wrestlers want for their careers, the chance to make it in the big time. Yes, I thought selfishly. I wanted him to stay in the ROH, but after thinking about it, I knew he had to go. When we went to the June 12th show at The Supper Club in Manhattan, we all figured that it would be the end of the line, the last match for Punk in the ROH. I was ready to send him off, and like everyone else, to chant “please don’t go!” but I knew he had to. Then, when he won the title the next weekend, I had very mixed feelings. I was happy that he had finally won the title that had escaped him for his entire tenure in ROH, but at the same time, I didn’t like that it had to happen as a side effect of his pending exit from the company. I did like that I got to see him defend that belt two more times (the New Yorker and Woodbridge, Connecticut on consecutive weekends in July), but hated that they turned him heel for this run. I had scripted a great end to his ROH run in my mind and for anyone who would listen, but since I’m not the booker, it didn’t come to pass, which in my mind was a mistake (I even think Ari liked the setup, and he doesn’t like ANYTHING). We all knew that last weekend was going to be his curtain call, with a 4 way elimination match with Joe, James Gibson and Chris Daniels in Dayton, Ohio, and then a best two out of 3 falls match with his long time friend, partner, and sometime rival Colt Cabana, in their hometown of Chicago. I thought to myself “What a perfect way to end it all. Drop the title in Chicago to his best friend.” Well, that went down the drain when they had him drop the belt to another soon to be leaving talent, James Gibson, but oh well, Gabe knows what he’s doing, so who am I to question, right? I knew he would lose to Colt anyway, but it was okay. I read on the ROH message boards it was a great match, and that Punk was visually emotional throughout the contest. Then I saw the picture. The picture I mentioned at the start of this piece. Then I realized what the song he entered the ring to was. A positively powerful and amazing song by The Bouncing Souls. Then I, the one who never cries, shed a tear for a wrestler. For a man who does not know me. For a man who changed my life. Thank you CM Punk. Thank you for everything. Godspeed, my friend. I know I’ll miss you, even though I will see you on WWE TV soon. But it will never be the same again. You are the man.
"And it feels like dying.
It just feels like time to go."
---“Night Train”, The Bouncing Souls
ROH @ 411
Jacob Zeigler and Brad Garoon continue their run of reviews with ROH’s April 2005 shows, Best of American Super Junior Tournament and Stalemate. I appreciate the plugs in those columns. More ROH = better for everyone!
Honor Bound Links
Ryan Byers’ Cheap Wrestling For Cheap People looks at some more California wrestling from the beginning of the twenty first century.
Dave Schilling gives us an all new, all different, all feedback edition of his NEWS...? column, wherein I am chastised for being uncompassionate towards Sweet, sweet Sapphire. Hey, she was my hero before she sold out to Ted Debiase. Everyone’s got a price.
And I’ve plugged it twice in this column already, so you know where to go for your ROH and non-ROH wrestling needs.
This week, I’ve gone from battling 100 degree heat at a wedding ceremony to battling a bout of extreme stomach pain. I’ve gone from watching one of the best PPV’s of the year in TNA Sacrifice to watching a mediocre Raw with a helluva hot interview segment with HBK to watching CM Punk reach the crowning achievement in his ROH career. I’ve gone from celebrating my sister’s fiancée’s birthday to my grandfather’s 93rd birthday. Its been some kind of a week,, that’s for sure. No telling what may come next, except for-- Brooklyn! See you next week with results from Morrison New Jersey and a preview of 8/27 in Buffalo NY!
--Ari--
