A feature-length documentary and six of the most important matches in CM Punk’s WWE career, from 2006 – 2009. Bouts featuring William Regal, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, and more!
~Disc 1 Matches and Star Ratings~
- OVW TV, 3/4/2006: Brent Albright defeats CM Punk via KO at 22:39 to win the vacant OVW Heavyweight Title. ***½
- ECW on Sci-Fi, 8/1/2006: CM Punk defeats Justin Credible at 4:13. **¼
- ECW on Sci-Fi, 9/4/2007: CM Punk defeats ECW Heavyweight Champion John Morrison to win the title at 16:21. Morrison had been the Champion since 6.24.07, and this was his third defense. ***¼
- WrestleMania XXIV, 3/30/2008: CM Punk defeats Carlito, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, MVP, Kennedy, and Shelton Benjamin at 13:58 in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. ***¾
- Monday Night RAW, 10/27/2008: CM Punk & Kofi Kingston defeat World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (w/ Manu) to win the titles at 12:32. Rhodes and DiBiase had been the Champions since 8.11.08, and this was their second defense. ***
- Monday Night RAW, 1/19/2009: CM Punk defeats Intercontinental Champion William Regal (w/ Layla) in a No Disqualification Match at 9:58 to win the title. Regal had been the Champion since 11.10.08, and this was his third defense. **¾
JZ Says
I like that the first match on this set is from Punk’s time in OVW. They spend a decent amount of time talking about it in the documentary, and having a full match helps paint a better overall picture. Albright and Punk both wrestled like their hair was on fire, working a fast pace almost the entire match. About 12 minutes in or so, Punk tries a springboard but collapses and appears to injure his knee. Officials come out and try to get Punk to the back on a stretcher, but Albright attacks with a leather strap! Punk fights through the pain and goes back to the ring to continue the match. The referee takes a bump and wakes up in time to see Punk trapped in an STF, and Punk eventually passes out. Good match that got a little overbooked at the end. Not sure why they didn’t pick a match that Punk won though.
The match list continues to satisfy the OCD nerd in me, as next up is Punk’s “official” WWE TV debut on ECW on Sci-Fi. Technically he had worked a few Heat matches, but that was before he was signed, and he was just there to job. The crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom is quite enamored with Punk. Credible gets quite a bit of offense in, but this is mostly about showcasing Punk, and it works on that level. Punk finishes with a uranage slam into the Anaconda Vise. Solid debut for Punk, who had to learn how to work sub-five minute matches quickly after working however long he wanted on the indies for years.
CM Punk and John Morrison wrestled four times for the ECW Title between June 24 – September 4, 2007. The first three matches, at Vengeance: Night of Champions, The Great American Bash, and SummerSlam, were all pretty meh. The fourth match, presented on this DVD, gets a lot more time to develop, as they were in the main event of ECW on Sci-Fi. In a nice touch, the match doesn’t cut out for commercial, but since it’s mostly a Punk chin-lock, I don’t think the TV audience missed much. When they come back the pace picks up and both guys start trying bigger and bigger moves. Morrison tries a springboard kick but misses, and Punk capitalizes by hitting Go to Sleep to get the pin. Good TV main event, and a nice first Championship win for Punk in WWE.
WrestleMania XXIV featured just the fourth Money in the Bank ladder match, so the trope wasn’t quite played out by then. Seven guys got about 14 minutes to make a memorable match, and while it wasn’t an all-timer, they definitely had some neat spots and bumps. Plus, Punk winning was a huge surprise at the time, as most of us that knew him from Ring of Honor were convinced WWE would never push him.
Punk’s one and only Tag Team Title reign in WWE was a short run with Kofi Kingston in late 2008, and it’s a good inclusion on this set. It’s a good TV match (and like Punk v Morrison, the action during the commercial break is shown), with a hot crowd that loved seeing Punk pin DiBiase after the Go to Sleep. Punk and Kingston had good chemistry as a team, but Punk was clearly ready for bigger things at this point, so I understand why the team didn’t last long.
William Regal defended his Intercontinental Title against Punk three times: the first time Punk won via DQ, the second time Regal won via DQ, so the third match was made No Disqualifications. This match is okay. For as much as everyone loves him (me included), Regal was no great shakes in the ring by this point. Once again the entire match is presented with no commercial break. It’s a solid back-and-forth match, and the Chicago crowd pops big when Punk hits Go to Sleep and wins the title. Another important moment in his career, so a worthwhile inclusion on this set.
The main selling point of Disc One is the documentary, which is extremely well done. I also think the match selection is on point here, with historically significant bouts included that help enhance the story told in the documentary.