Cap's Watching Project Reports
Aug 3, 2021 20:34:49 GMT -5
Post by Cap on Aug 3, 2021 20:34:49 GMT -5
With all the buzz about CM Punk's potential return to wrestling, I decided to dive into some of my favorite Punk matches. I was going to look back into his indie classics as well, but that would mean watching at least Joe v Punk II (and probably wanting to watch all 3). It was just easier to demarcate his WWE run and hit some of my favorites from memory. None of these are on my list currently, so I thought I might as well play like Big Dave and throw around some snow flakes. I'm glad I did this. I have always enjoyed Punk, but it has been a while since i really dove into some of his best work and still I thought a lot of all these matches, probably more than most in a few cases.
CM Punk vs John Cena (WWE – WWE Heavyweight Championship – 7/17/2011)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****3/4
Trending: Even
Perhaps the most famous Punk match? Surely it is, right… Regardless, it is a match I have long said is the most disappointing 4.75 star match ever, but also in some ways the most quintessentially Punk match ever. I believe that Punk is a great wrestler, but his real skill is hype. I can count on one hand the number of matches in my lifetime I cared about the result of as much as I cared about this one. Punk and Cena harnessed the different philosophies of wrestling and the passion fans had/have for it. They balanced each other in the process. Punk could fight fire with fire when it came to Cena’s shoot season promos. He was white hot and captured the zeitgeist of wrestling at the moment it seems. Preposterously, against all odds, Punk and Cena live up to the hype… almost. In the heart of the match and down the homestretch this like it is about as good as any match, at least any WWE match; however, the start is a little uneven and the screwjob references did nothing for me. It felt forced and brought this down just enough to stay out of the elite tier and keeping it off my list. I liked the highs of this match as much as ever, but they weren’t enough for me to gloss over its drawbacks.
CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan (WWE – WWE Heavyweight Championship – 5/20/2012
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Up-ish
I have never really felt like these two had great chemistry. They have had a number of fairly good matches, including a nifty little 2/3 falls match in FIP that feels like an all timer in parts, but then devolves into the goofy and overstays its welcome a bit. However, this match really stands out as their best work together in my book. Even still, it almost feels as if that is in spite of their shaky chemistry. Punk is really feeling himself and his run in this match. He feels genuinely like the bigger deal here, which he undeniably was… even to a Bryan mark like me. The match has tons if fun little winks and nudges to those who have followed their careers. This match also felt very much like an updated and polished version of something they would have done in ROH. It doesn’t always feel like that when you get the old indie darlings in WWE ring. I suppose it is neither good nor bad in and of itself, but as a big 2000s ROH fan, I certainly don’t mind seeing it shadow in this match. Here it was the pace and energy and personality that gave me those old school ROH feelz. This could have burst through the next level or two if it had just a little more time. It feels like they were building to peak about 5 minutes after the match ended. It also could have done with just a little more flash in the body of the match. Still, this is a GREAT wrestling match and with any luck they may have a shot at exceeding it one day.
CM Punk vs John Cena (WWE – 2/25/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/4
Trending: Up
Man… what a 2013 Punk had. I was wrong on this one for a while. The first time I saw it I thought it was quite good. The second time I saw it I was going back because people were hyping it up and that is when I gave it the 4.25 mark. This time I think I was still low on it at that. This is – I think – a better bell to bell match than MOTB, but it is also a very very different match. This was really a master class in building momentum and drama. In the first few minutes I found myself thinking “this is fine” and before I knew it I was engulfed in their exchanges. The kick outs were really excellent. They were well timed, but also felt dramatic. It was WWE main event ethos without slipping into parody, which is a surprisingly challenging balance to strike. What’s more, the thing they used to elevate it past the finisher was a piledriver… A PILEDRIVER!? Ugh… chef’s kiss. I can see this jumping up two levels, but probably not three. The finish feels oddly abrupt. Maybe it was Cena not hitting the rana quite right… maybe it was the fact that he probably didn’t need to do it at all. Either way, it was a period where I needed an exclamation point. Might be worth giving another chance, if not this year then next
CM Punk vs The Undertaker (WWE – 4/7/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Up
Punk does what Punk does. He pushes every possible button to make you want to see him wrestle. Specifically, I have always thought he was at his best as a heel, pushing those buttons to make you want to see him get his ass kicked. Nothing touches the singular white-hot hype for Cena v Punk at MOTB, but this has its own kind special feel. I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and maybe they pushed it a little far, but I always assumed Paul Bearer – like so many – was the kind of performer who wouldn’t have minded generating that kind of heat after death. I also assumed Taker had enough pull to stop anything that went too far, so I’m good with it. Regardless, I really thought this match delivered in a big way. Punk didn’t have the physique of HHH or the mystique of HBK or the WWE mythos of either to go toe to toe with Taker, so he really used the mind games well in the body of the match. It is woven into everything in a way that helped ground Punk’s big offense and big kick-outs down the home stretch. Punk feels every bit Taker’s equal in this and the match is better for his journey to that realization. I’ve always thought of this as on par with the best Taker streak matches and on this watch I think it might have secured the top spot on that list. Punk brings out the hatred and malice and left all the mutual respect and conscious “WrestleMania moment” making in the back. That is what sets this apart It isn’t currently my highest rated Punk match, but it could be when the dust settles. I doubt it ever gets on my list, but I can see myself wanting to give it one more look this year or even down the road. It may lack the flash, but the devil is in the details here. Really love this match.
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (WWE – 6/16/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Even
I’m sure I’ve told this story here before, but I have a special place in my heart for this match. I was at a summer seminar for nerdy Rhetorical Theory grad students in Detroit at Wayne State. I had arrived there that day after a couple of days on the road. I registered, unpacked, and hit a little meet and great to see who else was there. Of course, a few of us decided to hit the bar up that night, so we walked down the street and stopped in a few places. At one point we wound up in a bar that was not just showing the PPV it was filled with wrestling fans (I’m talking wrestling shirts and authentic belts on their shoulder and everything). Now, I wasn’t really a completely open wrestling fan at the time, especially not with people from my work/school life and especially not with people I didn’t know. I still needed to cultivate a reputation and get a job for christ sake. In hindsight it wouldn’t have mattered, but old stigma’s die hard. Still, I could play it off cool enough that it was a thing to watch in the bar. We walked in right as this match was starting. Everyone was dismissive of it at first, but sure enough by about half way through everyone at our table was glued to the match. They were biting on near falls and cheering (they didn’t know who for, but they were cheering). It was sort of magical to me. It was the power of wrestling on full display to me. So I will always love this match. That is a long story, because I don’t have a ton to say about the match itself on this watch. It lived up to my fond memory, but that is about it. I think it is a legit great match, better than their Mania match in my book. However, it caps comfortably at the 4.5 star mark and even at that might be getting the bump for my great memory of it.
CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar (WWE – No DQ – 8/18/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****3/4
Trending: Up-ish
The great debate of Summer Slam 2013, which match was better: Punk/Lesnar or Bryan/Cena? I continue to believe that the answer is pretty clearly Bryan/Cena… but that is in no way, shape, or form a knock on this match. As far as in ring performance, this is up there with Punk’s best. It might be his most impressive performance for making himself a believable challenger for The Beast. This is obviously before Brock went on his string of matches with indie darlings and honestly it has a bit of a different feel. Punk has never been an athlete that would bounce around and fly like many who came after him. He was going to tell this story with timing and grit. He would launch himself into Brock, but it wasn’t necessarily pretty or graceful. That certainly vibes with the no dq nature of the clash. It also doesn’t hurt that Punk was in there with big match Brock, who I consider to be genuinely great. I came away from this really loving the match, maybe moreso than ever. I still don’t love Heyman’s involvement. The more I think about it the more I find WWE’s ways of doing interference to be clunkier than others sometimes. It won’t be jumping Bryan v Cena, but this is another one I may genuinely want to take another look at before I submit my list. I’m pretty clearly in a Punk-friendly mood and I don’t want to get too crazy, but his highest highs might slip onto my list this year.
CM Punk vs John Cena (WWE – WWE Heavyweight Championship – 7/17/2011)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****3/4
Trending: Even
Perhaps the most famous Punk match? Surely it is, right… Regardless, it is a match I have long said is the most disappointing 4.75 star match ever, but also in some ways the most quintessentially Punk match ever. I believe that Punk is a great wrestler, but his real skill is hype. I can count on one hand the number of matches in my lifetime I cared about the result of as much as I cared about this one. Punk and Cena harnessed the different philosophies of wrestling and the passion fans had/have for it. They balanced each other in the process. Punk could fight fire with fire when it came to Cena’s shoot season promos. He was white hot and captured the zeitgeist of wrestling at the moment it seems. Preposterously, against all odds, Punk and Cena live up to the hype… almost. In the heart of the match and down the homestretch this like it is about as good as any match, at least any WWE match; however, the start is a little uneven and the screwjob references did nothing for me. It felt forced and brought this down just enough to stay out of the elite tier and keeping it off my list. I liked the highs of this match as much as ever, but they weren’t enough for me to gloss over its drawbacks.
CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan (WWE – WWE Heavyweight Championship – 5/20/2012
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Up-ish
I have never really felt like these two had great chemistry. They have had a number of fairly good matches, including a nifty little 2/3 falls match in FIP that feels like an all timer in parts, but then devolves into the goofy and overstays its welcome a bit. However, this match really stands out as their best work together in my book. Even still, it almost feels as if that is in spite of their shaky chemistry. Punk is really feeling himself and his run in this match. He feels genuinely like the bigger deal here, which he undeniably was… even to a Bryan mark like me. The match has tons if fun little winks and nudges to those who have followed their careers. This match also felt very much like an updated and polished version of something they would have done in ROH. It doesn’t always feel like that when you get the old indie darlings in WWE ring. I suppose it is neither good nor bad in and of itself, but as a big 2000s ROH fan, I certainly don’t mind seeing it shadow in this match. Here it was the pace and energy and personality that gave me those old school ROH feelz. This could have burst through the next level or two if it had just a little more time. It feels like they were building to peak about 5 minutes after the match ended. It also could have done with just a little more flash in the body of the match. Still, this is a GREAT wrestling match and with any luck they may have a shot at exceeding it one day.
CM Punk vs John Cena (WWE – 2/25/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/4
Trending: Up
Man… what a 2013 Punk had. I was wrong on this one for a while. The first time I saw it I thought it was quite good. The second time I saw it I was going back because people were hyping it up and that is when I gave it the 4.25 mark. This time I think I was still low on it at that. This is – I think – a better bell to bell match than MOTB, but it is also a very very different match. This was really a master class in building momentum and drama. In the first few minutes I found myself thinking “this is fine” and before I knew it I was engulfed in their exchanges. The kick outs were really excellent. They were well timed, but also felt dramatic. It was WWE main event ethos without slipping into parody, which is a surprisingly challenging balance to strike. What’s more, the thing they used to elevate it past the finisher was a piledriver… A PILEDRIVER!? Ugh… chef’s kiss. I can see this jumping up two levels, but probably not three. The finish feels oddly abrupt. Maybe it was Cena not hitting the rana quite right… maybe it was the fact that he probably didn’t need to do it at all. Either way, it was a period where I needed an exclamation point. Might be worth giving another chance, if not this year then next
CM Punk vs The Undertaker (WWE – 4/7/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Up
Punk does what Punk does. He pushes every possible button to make you want to see him wrestle. Specifically, I have always thought he was at his best as a heel, pushing those buttons to make you want to see him get his ass kicked. Nothing touches the singular white-hot hype for Cena v Punk at MOTB, but this has its own kind special feel. I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and maybe they pushed it a little far, but I always assumed Paul Bearer – like so many – was the kind of performer who wouldn’t have minded generating that kind of heat after death. I also assumed Taker had enough pull to stop anything that went too far, so I’m good with it. Regardless, I really thought this match delivered in a big way. Punk didn’t have the physique of HHH or the mystique of HBK or the WWE mythos of either to go toe to toe with Taker, so he really used the mind games well in the body of the match. It is woven into everything in a way that helped ground Punk’s big offense and big kick-outs down the home stretch. Punk feels every bit Taker’s equal in this and the match is better for his journey to that realization. I’ve always thought of this as on par with the best Taker streak matches and on this watch I think it might have secured the top spot on that list. Punk brings out the hatred and malice and left all the mutual respect and conscious “WrestleMania moment” making in the back. That is what sets this apart It isn’t currently my highest rated Punk match, but it could be when the dust settles. I doubt it ever gets on my list, but I can see myself wanting to give it one more look this year or even down the road. It may lack the flash, but the devil is in the details here. Really love this match.
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (WWE – 6/16/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****1/2
Trending: Even
I’m sure I’ve told this story here before, but I have a special place in my heart for this match. I was at a summer seminar for nerdy Rhetorical Theory grad students in Detroit at Wayne State. I had arrived there that day after a couple of days on the road. I registered, unpacked, and hit a little meet and great to see who else was there. Of course, a few of us decided to hit the bar up that night, so we walked down the street and stopped in a few places. At one point we wound up in a bar that was not just showing the PPV it was filled with wrestling fans (I’m talking wrestling shirts and authentic belts on their shoulder and everything). Now, I wasn’t really a completely open wrestling fan at the time, especially not with people from my work/school life and especially not with people I didn’t know. I still needed to cultivate a reputation and get a job for christ sake. In hindsight it wouldn’t have mattered, but old stigma’s die hard. Still, I could play it off cool enough that it was a thing to watch in the bar. We walked in right as this match was starting. Everyone was dismissive of it at first, but sure enough by about half way through everyone at our table was glued to the match. They were biting on near falls and cheering (they didn’t know who for, but they were cheering). It was sort of magical to me. It was the power of wrestling on full display to me. So I will always love this match. That is a long story, because I don’t have a ton to say about the match itself on this watch. It lived up to my fond memory, but that is about it. I think it is a legit great match, better than their Mania match in my book. However, it caps comfortably at the 4.5 star mark and even at that might be getting the bump for my great memory of it.
CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar (WWE – No DQ – 8/18/2013)
Current Ranking: N/A
Current Rating: ****3/4
Trending: Up-ish
The great debate of Summer Slam 2013, which match was better: Punk/Lesnar or Bryan/Cena? I continue to believe that the answer is pretty clearly Bryan/Cena… but that is in no way, shape, or form a knock on this match. As far as in ring performance, this is up there with Punk’s best. It might be his most impressive performance for making himself a believable challenger for The Beast. This is obviously before Brock went on his string of matches with indie darlings and honestly it has a bit of a different feel. Punk has never been an athlete that would bounce around and fly like many who came after him. He was going to tell this story with timing and grit. He would launch himself into Brock, but it wasn’t necessarily pretty or graceful. That certainly vibes with the no dq nature of the clash. It also doesn’t hurt that Punk was in there with big match Brock, who I consider to be genuinely great. I came away from this really loving the match, maybe moreso than ever. I still don’t love Heyman’s involvement. The more I think about it the more I find WWE’s ways of doing interference to be clunkier than others sometimes. It won’t be jumping Bryan v Cena, but this is another one I may genuinely want to take another look at before I submit my list. I’m pretty clearly in a Punk-friendly mood and I don’t want to get too crazy, but his highest highs might slip onto my list this year.