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November 27, 2012
CM Punk is undoubtedly one of the most important performers in the annals of Ring of Honor wrestling. With the longest WWE Title reign of the modern era to his credit and multiple main event matches with the likes of The Rock, John Cena, and the Undertaker, Punk is unquestionably the most successful wrestler to come out of the ROH system.
“CM Punk: The Second City Saint” is a two-disc DVD that examines Punk’s early years in ROH and highlights matches and moments that would shape the global superstar he would eventually become. Disc one starts right at the beginning, with Punk’s debut promo at the Unscripted show in Philadelphia. Punk put over the company but was interrupted by his nemesis Colt Cabana. The two Chicago natives had been tearing it up all over the independent circuit and ROH wanted a piece of that action so both men were brought in, and their first match against each other was at Night of the Butcher. Cabana got the win that night, but a rematch was immediately announced for four weeks later at Final Battle 2002, this time with a ROH contract on the line. Punk got the victory that night, and was now a mainstay on all ROH shows going forward.
At the One Year Anniversary of Ring of Honor, Punk got a nice victory over CW Anderson, but he would soon find a direction that would catapult him to the next level. At Expect the Unexpected, former ECW superstar Raven was set to make his debut. The straight-edge Punk called Raven out on his past drug and alcohol abuse and challenged him to a match. Raven wanted to do it under “Raven’s Rules.” Punk agreed and then defeated the former ECW World Champion at his own game. The following week at Night of the Champions the two met again in a tag team match, with Punk’s trainer Ace Steel joining him and Cabana siding with Raven. This time Raven got the victory, but after the match Cabana turned on his partner and joined Punk and Steel to form the Second City Saints.
BJ Whitmer was the next man to become involved with Punk when the two met at Epic Encounter. After a heated back and forth battle, Punk hit a German Suplex off the apron and through a table, knocking both men unconscious and resulting in a No Contest. Whitmer then joined forces with Raven to fight Punk and Cabana in a wild Anything Goes match at Night of the Grudges. After an intense and bloody battle, Punk and Cabana scored another win. Two weeks later, Punk and Cabana did it again by defeating Raven and Christopher Daniels at Wrestle Rave ‘03, much to Raven’s chagrin.
The feud continued, as Raven enlisted his old rival Terry Funk to face Punk at Glory By Honor 2. Funk defeated Punk by disqualification, and Cabana came out after the match to help Punk destroy the hardcore legend. Raven and Tommy Dreamer of all people made the save, setting the stage for the Punk / Raven rivalry to finally come to a head. Punk and Raven ended it once and for all inside a steel cage at the fittingly named The Conclusion, with Punk earning the huge victory.
Punk moved on to other conquests, teaming with Colt Cabana to defeat All Japan’s duo Tumeric Storm, comprised of Tomoaki Honma and Kazushi Miyamoto. Soon after the Second City Saints were on the cusp of a war with The Prophecy, but Punk ended it before it could really begin by delivering the Pepsi Plunge on Christopher Daniels through a table, sending him out of ROH for a year and a half.
As the most over heel in the company, Punk then found himself in the thick of the new ROH Pure Title scene, losing a terrific tournament final to AJ Styles at the Second Anniversary Show. Punk also lost the rematch a month later at At Our Best, with wrestling legend Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat as the special referee.
After failing to capture the Pure Title, Punk turned his focus to tag team wrestling with his fellow Saint Colt Cabana. Punk and Cabana captured the titles on their first try, defeating Jay and Mark Briscoe in their hometown at ROH Reborn Stage 2 in a great match. The tag title scene experienced some wild fluctuation, as the three top teams in ROH were scheduled to each do battle with each other at Round Robin Challenge III, the first and only show to feature three title changes. Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer opened the show by defeated Punk and Cabana for the titles, and just over an hour later the Briscoes regained them from Maff and Whitmer. In the main event Punk and Cabana were once again able to put the Briscoes away and capture the belts for the second time. The following week at Generation Next, Punk and Cabana put the exclamation point on their title win by defeated Maff and Whitmer to establish who the true number one team in ROH was.
THE PULSE
There is no question that CM Punk is a true icon of Ring of Honor and the most successful superstar ever to come out of the promotion. Very few wrestling fans at this point aren’t familiar with him, but all fans may not be familiar with his more humble beginnings. That makes “CM Punk: The Second City Saint” a fascinating DVD to watch. The match quality isn’t always amazing, but to see the evolution of a man that would go on to become as big of a star as he is today makes this DVD one worth adding to your collection. You can do so a the ROH Shop.
