CM Punk's debut in ROH at Unscripted 2002
This is the footage of Punk debuting at Unscripted and he cuts a great promo on how he loves wrestling and that it's not entertainment, its a sport. He is interrupted by Colt Cabana which sets up a match between the two, which is featured next on the set.
CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - ROH Night of The Butcher - 12/7/2002
This match was Punk and Cabana's first match against each other in ROH. Before coming to ROH, Punk and Cabana made a name for themselves wrestling throughout the mid-west in 2000-2001. So, this was a highly anticipated match. It certainly delivered. Solid match throughout with some very innovative moves. One of my favorites was seeing Cabana do a moonsault to the outside onto Punk. For a guy of his size, Cabana can move quickly. As the commentator said "He's like a running back with a lineman's build". Another cool move that got a standing ovation was Punk doing a backwards hurricanrana on Cabana. Good stuff.
Match rating - 8/10
Before the next match, we see footage of Punk, Cabana, and Ace Steel traveling to the show, which is quite funny. Cabana refers to Punk as the "drive master" and gets Punk mad and he says "Its not funny, I'm trying to drive and you won't give me the damn directions". Good little segment which helped build the importance of the next match.
CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - Final Battle 2002 - 12/28/2002
The winner of this match would recieve a contract with Ring of Honor. This was another great match between Punk and Cabana. What I liked was that it wasn't the exact same as their previous match at Night of the Butcher. They used some fresh new moves we didn't see in the previous match and delivered once again. Solid bout worth watching.
Match rating - 8/10
CM Punk vs. CW Anderson - One Year Anniversary Show - 2/8/2003
Punk was originally scheduled to wrestle Reckless Youth on this night, but he was involved in a car accident and couldn't make it so he wrestled CW Anderson instead. Punk and Anderson put on a really good match. It was an old school style wrestling match, as the commentators noted, so this one won't be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. This match wasn't as good as the first two matches on the DVD versus Cabana, but it's definitely worth a watch.
Match rating - 6/10
Note: The next series of matches on this DVD chronicle Punk's famous feud with Raven. Which is one of the things that persuaded me to get this DVD. It includes all of their major matches as well as all the stuff in between.
The next match on the DVD is the first of Punk's feud with Raven. It also significant because it is the first match on this DVD where Punk is a heel. Before the match, we see a confrontation between Punk and Raven from earlier in the night which set up this match. The rules were that Raven would wrestle a "ROH Style Match" for the first 10 minutes, but after that it became Raven's Rules, which means anything goes!
CM Punk vs. Raven (w/Trinity) - Expect The Unexpected - Raven's Rules Match - 3/15/2003
As stated above, the match starts off with some good old fashioned wrestling. Although it soon turns into a hardcore battle with chairs, ringside rails, and tables coming into play. The first part of the match, which was the straight up wrestling portion was solid. The match slowed down a bit once the chairs and stuff came into play, but would pick up when Raven brought out a table. One of my favorite spots in this match was Punk diving to the outside onto a bloodied Raven, then throwing Trinity into the railing. Only to have Trinity hit a moonsault on Punk off the turnbuckle. Once Punk came to, he put Trinity on a table and hit a legdrop off the top turnbuckle putting her through the table on the outside of the ring! The action that took place on the outside was brutal without weapons simply because this event was in a gym and they hit suplexes on each other onto the hardwood floor, which did not have mats on them. Enjoyable match and great start to the feud.
Match rating - 7/10
CM Punk & Ace Steel vs. Raven & Colt Cabana - Night of The Champions - 3/22/2003
I really enjoyed this match. It featured solid tag team wrestling along with some hardcore elements and a unique twist at the end that I won't spoil for you. All four of these guys put it all out there in this match. With Raven diving over the top rope onto Punk and Steel, yes you read that right, Raven dove over the top rope. Cabana did a moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring and seemingly injured his knee. Punk did a dive off the top turnbuckle through a table and busted his back open near the end. It was an oustanding match, and as I said before, each man left it all in the ring. What happens after the match is interesting to say the least. Make sure to watch it because if you skip it and go to the next few matches in Punk's feud with Raven on this DVD, you might be confused.
Match rating - 7.5/10
CM Punk vs. BJ Whitmer - Epic Encounter - 4/12/2003
This was my first time seeing Whitmer wrestle and I was impressed. I wasn't expecting anything more than an average match between these two, but boy did they prove me wrong. This is a hard hitting match with alot of back and forth action. At one point, Punk and Whitmer trade forearms in the center of the ring for nearly a minute. These guys put on a great wrestling match and even brought a table into the bout.
Match rating - 7.5/10
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Raven & BJ Whitmer - Anything Goes Match - Night of the Grudges - 6/14/2003
This was a really good match that made me realize how great of a move it was by ROH to insert BJ Whitmer into this Punk/Raven feud. Both Punk and Whitmer got busted open. The action spilled into the backstage area as well into the crowd then they got back in the ring and did some great back and forth wrestling. I love brawls like this as it was very enjoyable and fun to watch. Almost a throwback to an ECW style match.
Match rating - 8/10
CM Punk vs. Raven - Dog Collar Match - Death Before Dishonor - 7/19/2003
Punk and Raven go to war again, this time its a Dog Collar Match. Before the match, Punk cut another great promo calling out ECW Legend Danny Doring who was in the crowd by taunting him, but security wouldn't allow him to get in the ring with Punk. So, out comes Raven and the match begins. This match is my favorite out of all of their one on one encounters. It was a brutal match and raged through the crowd as well as around ringside. After the match was just as good as what happened during it. Punk ties Raven up in the ropes and begins pouring beer on him,but Tommy Dreamer runs out to make the save. Dreamer beats down Punk then ties him up. Raven and Dreamer stare at each other then hug - now that was a cool moment, considering their legendary feud in ECW! Raven and Dreamer then pour beer on Punk.
Match rating - 8/10
CM Punk vs. Terry Funk - Street Fight - Glory By Honor 2 - 9/20/2003
This was set up via a pick your poision type thing where Punk chose Raven's opponent and Raven chose his. Before the match, Punk cut a brilliant heel promo on Funk saying his career didn't amount to a thing. The match itself wasn't anything special. The pace was kind of slow and the action wasn't great. A few weapons were used such as a table and a chair. Some cool moments during this include Funk saying "Is that all you got?" after Punk would hit him with a chair. It's the little things like that which can make a match. Punk worked on Funk's legs throughout, putting him in repeated figure four leg locks. After the match, Punk's partner Colt Cabana ran down and they continued to beat Funk, but Tommy Dreamer ran down to make the save which was a pretty cool moment. Punk got away but Dreamer delivered a DDT to Cabana. Worth a watch, but don't expect a classic.
Match rating - 5/10
DISC 2
CM Punk vs. Raven - Steel Cage Match - The Conclusion - 11/28/2003
I thought the Dog Collar Match should have ended this fued, but they decided to have a Steel Cage Match to end it. None the less, this was a solid match. Some good spots and both men delivered. Another bloody bout between Raven and Punk. Worth a viewing.
Match rating - 7/10
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto - Final Battle 2003 - 12/27/03
This was the first match on the DVD that took place after Punk's fued with Raven. Punk was still a heel and in this one he teams with his Second City Saint's partner, Colt Cabana. They face off against two wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling and deliver an overall great tag team match. Starts off sort of slow, but turned out be a solid encounter.\
Match rating - 7.5/10
The Second City Saints (Punk, Colt Cabana, & Ace Steel) w/Tracy Brooks vs. The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer) w/Allison Danger - Battle Lines Are Drawn - 1/10/2004
Some people say this match went on too long, but I personally enjoyed it. It was a basic six man tag with everyone getting their moments to shine, but near the end it all broke down. If I remember correctly, the match never ended, if it did, they continued brawling afterwards. All 6 men fought through the crowd and all around the ringside area. Crazy, great match. It was later referred to on this DVD as a match of the year candidate, while I wouldn't go that far, I will say that I loved this match and it was much better than I expected.
Match rating - 8/10
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles - Second Anniversary Show - 2/14/2004
This match was to crown the first ever ROH Pure Champion. I was excited for this match as Punk and Styles are two of my favorite wrestlers. They certainly did not disappoint here as they put on a great match up. The two start off with a lock up at the center of the ring which ends up spilling to the outside as neither man would give in. That's the story of this match - hard fought with neither man bringing anything less than their A game. Some unbelievable moments in this match including AJ Styles reversing a shining wizard into the Styles Clash. So many cool counters and reversals here. These guys went from trading submissions to straight up slugging it out with strikes and headbutts in the center of the ring. This is one of my favorite matches on this DVD, it's a great match.
Match rating - 8.5/10
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles - Guest Referee: Ricky Steamboat - ROH Pure Title Match - At Our Best - 3/13/2004
And here we have the rematch between Punk and Styles for the ROH Pure Title. This time, Ricky Steamboat is the referee. How fitting that Steamboat, one of the best pure wrestlers ever, is refereeing a Pure Title Match between two young outstanding wrestlers. Really cool seeing Steamboat in the same ring with Styles and Punk. Steamboat's repeated confrontations with Punk in ROH were always entertaining. None the less, let's get back to the match. This match was a more mat-based, technical wrestling bout compared to their last match. Lots of mat work from the start here. I liked how Styles and Punk decided to use a different approach instead of producing the same match twice. This was another great match between the two that I really enjoyed. Even better than their previous match.
Match rating - 8.75/10
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe - Tag Team Title Match - ROH Reborn Stage 2 - 4/24/04
Tag team wrestling at its finest right here. Non stop, fast paced action between these two teams. I was expecting a pretty good much, but these guys blew my expectations out of the water. One of the best matches on this DVD as these two teams threw everything they had at each other.
Match rating - 9/10
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe - Tag Team Title Match - Round Robin Challenge
Another tremendous tag team match between the Saints & The Briscoes. Punk and Cabana targeted Mark's ribs throughout the match, isolating him in their corner. Finally, Jay got the hot tag and the action broke down. Shining wizards, shooting star presses, dives out of the ring, this one had it all. Phenomenal tag team match.
Match rating - 8.75/10
CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. BJ Whitmer & Dan Maff - ROH Tag Team Title Match - Generation Next - 5/22/04
After the previous two matches on this set pitting The Saints against The Briscoes, it was gonna be hard for this match to follow up those two. This was a decent tag team match with some good action. It got a bit boring at times, but overall was a solid tag match. There was one cool spot near the end where all four men are on the top rope and Cabana gets thrown onto the apron, Maff goes through a table and Punk hits the Pepsi Plunge. So while it was nothing special it still had a few good moments.
Match rating - 6.5/10
Overall thoughts: This DVD was produced to chronicle the early years of Punk's career in ROH and it does just that. As far as match quality goes, it's not a must have. There are several really good matches and some rare gems that are worth having though. If you're a Punk fan, I think you'll enjoy this as I did. If you're just looking for quality matches, you may be a bit disappointed as some matches are put on here to continue telling the story of Punk's career. Which there's nothing wrong with that because it would suck if parts of his career were skipped since this was put out to showcase the early years of CM Punk in ROH.
The matches with Styles and the tag matches against The Briscoes are phenomenal. Punk's matches against Cabana are fun action packed bouts. The whole feud with Raven is very enjoyable with hardcore, bloody battles with great storytelling. The six man tag pitting Punk & The Second City Saints against Chris Daniels & The Prophecy is a fun match as well. You also get some good promos from Punk throughout the DVD.
If any of the matches above interest you or you're a CM Punk fan, I recommend. This DVD is a great showcase of the early years of Punk's ROH career.
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