E-mail any comments, questions, or random thoughts about this column or my random question to Trophar@Lycos.com. and I will post some of your letters in the mailbag section of the next column. Don't be shy. I appreciate any and all intelligent critiques whether positive or negative.
Read the archives of Beauty in Wrestling from last year and earlier this year at LeonThomas.Net
Random Question: Who will be WWE's top star in 2005?
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TRIBUTE TO CM PUNK
Six months have passed and it is once again time for my favorite column. No hard-hitting piece of steroid abuse. No cry against unfair working conditions for wrestlers. I can put all that aside today. Because it's time to write a tribute column. Last May, I wrote a two-part feature on "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Now, it is time to focus on another of my other favorite professional wrestlers: CM Punk. Quite possibly Ring of Honor's MVP this year. One of the top names in IWA-MS. Probably the best heel promo man in independent wrestling. I'll be personalizing this tribute as I have done with the previous, but for the most part, this is a history lesson on one of the greats in indy wrestling.
Alright. Enough gushing. Join me as I both indulge myself and educate the masses on one of the top indy stars of today. The straight edge hero, CM Punk.
--THE BEGINNING--
CM Punk and I share a few interesting similarities. We both have never been drunk or have taken any drugs, but we also share something in terms of our beginnings with the love wrestling. Much like myself, CM Punk's first memory is of wrestling. In his case, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper smashing a coconut over the head of "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka during the infamous Piper's Pit segment of many years past.
"I never wanted to be a fireman or electrician or walk dogs or be an astronaut. ... I saw this guy slam fresh produce over his head. That's me. That's what I want to do."
From an early age, Punk listened to bands that preached a "straight edge" lifestyle. Meaning no drinking and no drugs. He made it his philosophy as well. That eventually carried over into his wrestling career as his gimmick. The future CM Punk started wrestling in a ring with his friends. In a back yard. When Punk watched the tape of himself and his untrained friends beating the stuffing out of each other, he realized it was awful and decided to put it behind him. He wanted to be a wrestler. Not someone goofing around in the back yard for laughs. When it was time to finally join the ranks of pro wrestling, Punk found his means into the business. It came in the form the Steel Domain in Chicago led by Danny Dominion, Kevin Quinn, and popular indy star/Japan gaijin Ace Steel. Punk made his true wrestling debut in '99. As is common, Punk paid his dues on the ring crew and, if he was lucky, wrestled in front of a small crowd once he was trained enough.
I should take this moment early on to explain what "CM Punk" means. The joke going around CM Punk fans is that if you ask him a dozen times what "C-M" stands for, he'll give you a dozen different answers. The most widely-believed theory is that Punk was in a tag team early in his career called the Chick Magnets. He was CM Punk and his partner was CM Venom. That is the best answer. Anti-fans will say it stands for "Carry Me" but they are usually just giving him his heel heat. He's a master of getting it.
Anyway, back to his early days of wrestling. While working Steel Dominion Wrestling, Punk and other SDW regulars like Brad Bradley were part of a stable of wrestlers called The Good Squad. Punk compares the group to the Stormtroopers from Star Wars as random bad guys with no character. He wore street clothes and pantyhose over his head to disguise himself since he also wrestled earlier or later in the shows without a hood. He had his first chance to try to use his straight edge lifestyle as his gimmick in Mid-American Wrestling. He was given the microphone and told to cut a promo. The young CM Punk told the crowd he was "drug free, alcohol free, and better than you!"
"We used to do shows in Columbus that sold alcohol. I can't even tell you how many fan fights and brawls I got into because I was the guy saying I don't like alcohol. They were gonna throw beer on me."
Punk continues to use his straight edge lifestyle as his gimmick today. I can't picture him as anything else.
--IWA-MID SOUTH--
Dave Prazak, known in the indy scene mostly as a wrestling manager and commentator, recommended CM Punk to Ian Rotten of IWA-Mid South. He wrestled a friend of his, Colt Cabana (pictured below on left), who was also recommended by Prazak. No longer of the Goon Squad, Punk moved on to be part of IWA's Gold Bond Mafia. The Gold Bond Mafia was Cabana, Punk, Prazak, Chucky Smooth, and Adam Pearce. What is the Gold Bond Mafia? To make a long story short, Cabana had a friend in college who used to put Gold Bond medicated powder on his scrotum. Seriously. I cannot say I've tried it, but according to Punk, it feels really good. Cabana's roommate eventually talked him into doing it, and Cabana eventually talked Punk into trying it. The rest is history.....now let's never speak of it again.
Punk began to wrestle IWA-MS star Chris Hero. Today, Hero is one of the big names in indy wrestling. At the time, both he and Punk were still green. Their first match, according to Punk, was awful. As time passed, Punk and Hero grew more comfortable in the ring together and started pulling off incredible matches. Incredibly long, that is. Generally lasting around or over an hour. One match that I personally have on tape is the match called "When Hero Met Punk." It lasted approximately ninety-three minutes, which set a record for one of the longest matches in many years.
During Punk's early days with IWA-MS, he was also able to work with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Guerrero was temporarily out of WWE due to substance abuse problems and Mysterio was yet to be brought into the Smackdown cruiserweight division. So, it was a great opportunity to work with both them in a three-way dance. I've seen the match. Good stuff. Punk and Guerrero still keep in touch. Mostly because Punk is straight edge and Guerrero wanted to hang around someone like that during his drug problems. The story goes like this. Punk and Guerrero were in a restaraunt once and Eddie noticed a tattoo on Punk's knuckles. "Drug?" he said. Punk put his knuckles together to show it actually said "Drug Free."
Jumping ahead a little, Punk went a long time not working for Ian Rotten's IWA-MS. He was gone for a large part of 2003.
"Coming down working for Ian for no pay and having him go 'I'll pay you next time' flew back in the day, but a lot of it now is I make a lot more elsewhere. That's the business part, but the main reason is his disrespect of Chris Hero. ... Hero sacrificed a lot for Ian. He worked every single weekend, and he's not really paid for it. ... I love him to death, and I didn't like seeing him disrespected like that. ... When you do those things to my friends, it really pisses me off. Especially a guy like Chris Hero."
Punk has since given IWA-MS another chance, but his relationship with the promotion seems tenuous at best. Rotten, desperate to keep his company alive after serious losses, sold tapes to alleged pedophile Rob Feinstein's RF Video. Punk took exception to that a did a shoot on Rotten in the middle of the IWA-MS ring recently.
--THE BAD WITH THE GOOD--
With that little aside out of the way, back to the early days. While Punk was becoming a star, he unfortunately had to suffer through a serious injury early in his career. In a match at JCW with "Reckless Youth" Tom Carter, during a blockbuster attempt, his head was sandwiched between Carter's head and the mat.
"Boom. Immediately, my neck and ear and my collarbone felt like somebody pouring hot wax. ... I wrestled for another eight minutes and it just got worse and worse and worse. At the end of the match, when I was using the chair to walk, that was a total shoot."
JCW called an ambulance and Punk went to the hospital with Colt Cabana. The doctor's x-rays showed that Punk fractured his skull. Cabana was shocked but Punk just started laughing. He was laughing long, though. An orderly tried to give Punk morphine, and in his dazed state, he tried to punch him. Cabana later told a more coherent Punk that he was so out of it, he barely nudged the orderly with his attempted punch. Cabana stayed the night with Punk. The next day, Punk was told he had to rest and could do nothing except heal. The doctors advised him not to wrestle for about a year. Punk came back in less than three months. The pain of the injury, however, affected him for almost the full year. He was able to come back just in time for IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational Tournament.
That wasn't the end of CM Punk's misfortunes, though. In time, he worked outside of his usual spots in the Mid West and wrestled for 3PW based out of Philadelphia. He worked a six-man tag team match. Punk, Cabana, and Paul. E. Normous teamed up and Prazak managed them. Normous had his face smashed badly during the match and Prazak (pictured below on the right) was somehow bumped and had a concussion. Punk was relatively unharmed but was so tired from being the primary driver all the way to Philly, he fell asleep at the wheel. He crashed into another car. Cabana, who was asleep at the time, yelled "What happened?" Punk told him and Cabana immediately fell back asleep. After the ordeal, Punk got back into the car and Cabana offerred to drive. Punk refused and claimed that he was so freaked out from the mess that he couldn't possibly fall asleep at the wheel again. He did. After some swerving, Cabana took over.
Punk worked briefly for Combat Zone Wrestling. If you want a good idea of what CZW is, read a column I wrote called The Hardcore Legacy. In a nutshell, CZW is more trash than it is wrestling. It is run by a man named John Zandig. He wrestled Justice Pain, and Pain (according to Punk) did not know how to put the match together. He didn't act like a face or a heel. He just come up with a series of strange spots.
"A lot of people said I got treated like shit there. I think I got treated disrespectfully by Zandig. ... It would've been fine if it just went horribly, but it went horribly and I got blamed."
After the match, Zandig told Punk he did not see what all the hype was about him. Punk told him that Eddie Guerrero thought highly of him, and he'd take Guerrero's word over Zandig's.
--MOVING UP--
Punk worked for 3PW some more. One day, 3PW booker Blue Meanie took him aside and asked him not to work for Ring of Honor. ROH was starting something big in Philadelphia as well. Meanie had a personal problem with Rob Feinstein, but Punk was willing to work anywhere. ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky called Punk and asked him to do a promo. Meanie was not pleased but he knew Punk was an independent wrestler. No contracts.
CM Punk was brought in, once again, with Colt Cabana. They had a series of matches and a brief feud. While they were new to ROH, the fans knew who they were. Punk received a great ovation from the crowd, and while he was a better heel, he came into the promotion as a babyface with Cabana as the heel. Fortunately for him, not to mention ROH, he was turned heel to feud with fan favorite Raven. His gimmick and his promos make him a natural heel. The feud was excellent and is widely considered one of the best things about the indy scene in 2003.
"I thought it turned out very well. It seemed like I needed a foil. Raven came in, and we thought it would be a one-shot deal. It brought this dynamic out of my character. ... It turned into what people called the feud of the year. Honestly, I'm not all that proud of all the matches. Raven works a more methodical pace, but he's the boss."
The beginning of the feud was a promo after a show early in the year. CM Punk looked directly into the camera, and seemingly sincere, claimed that Raven does not belong in Ring of Honor. Raven is an alcoholic. Raven is an abuser. Raven should not be part of what ROH is trying to accomplish. It was a good promo because it seemed like Punk was entirely sincere about trying to protect ROH. He was not fully a heel yet. The night came when Raven and Punk met in the ring. They exchanged words and eventually had one of their better matches in the feud. They had wrestled each other for another promotion the night before, so they had a good idea of what to do. As time went on, the feud grew hotter. The fans wanted more. Cabana joined CM Punk in a great heel turn. Ace Steel came into ROH too. They trio former a stable called the Second City Saints. Named so because all were from the Chicago area and because, in the mind of the CM Punk character, they were the "good guys." They were the saints. It was, and still is, a great group.
The feud between Punk and Raven continued throughout most of the year. One of the highlights was this promo Punk did backstage after a tag match against Raven and Christopher Daniels. Punk was convered in blood and looking directly into the camera:
"Before you cut me off, the reason I hate you, the reason in my heart of hearts why I hate you, is I didn't know any better when I was a little kid. When my dad came home smelling like beer. I thought it was a hard day's work he was doing. I didn't realize he was out at a bar. I didn't realize 'work' meant 'unemployment office.' I didn't think it was strange for someone to come home and take an old style up into the shower. I didn't think it was strange for somebody to pass out. I thought an old style, a pack a day, was the norm. Raven, my father is exactly like you. Since day one of Ring of Honor, where fighting spirit is supposed to be revered, things aren't supposed to be this way! I'd shake your hand like a normal man, but the thing is, I don't respect you! I hate you! I hate you for everything you've pissed away! Everything I've scrapped and clawed for that I haven't even earned yet! That you got handed to you and you flushed down the toilet! For what? For pills? For booze? For alcohol? For women? I'm born of your poison society. So, on the seventeenth of July, I will become a monster to fight the monsters of the world! Your time in Ring of Honor will be done. That is a promise. This is true! This is real! This is straight edge!"
CM Punk was turning into a superstar in Ring of Honor. The Second City Saints were turning into a strong stable. Punk, Ace Steel, Colt Cabana, and eventually Lucy (Daphnee from WCW) were making their names (not so much Steel since he was busy in Japan) and the Punk vs. Raven feud was the hottest thing going in the Summer of 2003. Punk faced Raven in a dog collar match, two cages matches, and fought Raven's chosen opponent for Punk: Terry Funk. One of the most memorable moments of the feud was Raven pouring beer on Punk's face as he was caught in the ropes after the dog collar match. Punk claims it was his idea.
"You know what would be a cool visual? What if I was tied in the ropes and they gave me the black drink of death like in Indiana Jones when it made him all crazy?"
In the end, CM Punk won the feud. It made sense. Raven was already incredibly over and no matter what he did or how often he lost, he was still Raven. Punk was the rising star. He needed the rub from the veteran. What was interesting about the feud was that other promotions wanted to see Punk vs. Raven too. Major League Wrestling, the short-lived promotion led by Court Bauer, booked Raven and Punk for one of their shows. I was fortunate enough to see it. The match was prefaced by Punk demanding Raven take a drug test. Raven quipped "Oh, I love mind games." Soon after, he threw his cup of urine at the referee. They were also booked in a match against each other in FWA in England if memory serves. The feud skyrocketed CM Punk to new heights.
--ALL I WANT TO BE--
As Punk's stock rose in Ring of Honor, he was laid off from his "real" job working in a laboratory. The exact details of his job are unclear. He refers to it as being a "spooky scientist." Being fired was the best thing that could have happened to him, though. It allowed him to focus entirely on wrestling. It was all he ever wanted to do. Yet, he needed more money. He approached ROH about getting a more permanent position which eventually led to him being head trainer of the Ring of Honor Wrestling School in Bristol, Pennsylvania. This forced Punk to move away from Chicago and live closer to ROH. Punk's first class recently graduated. I was able to see all of their first matches live. Not too shabby. Punk did a good job. His second class is training right now.
"The training style. I'm not gonna be Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. If you quit, you quit on yourself. I'm gonna push them hard. The first thing I teach is respect and discipline. How the Japanese train. When I was over there in Zero-One training, it kicks your ass, but you gain such a respect for it. That's how I want the kids to be brought up."
CM Punk soon became an international star. Zero-One in Japan offerred him a tour. Steve Corino brought him over. Zero-One paid for his food, hotels, and paid him to do what he loves to do. Punk worked Hashimoto, the owner and leader of Zero-One. Six-man tag. One of the Japanese wrestlers complimented him afterwards that he was the best in the match. Zero-One soon started an American tour called World-1. I saw Punk live during a World-1 show. It was shortly after the Rob Feinstein controversy broke and the split between him and ROH. Punk showed up to the World-1 show with an ROH t-shirt to show his loyalty to the promotion in difficult times.
Around this time, Punk was given a shot at WWE. He knew Eddie Guerrero, so he was able to come by and work out. Jeff Hardy had just been fired, and Punk claims McMahon said "He has hair like Jeff Hardy. We can put him on Raw and nobody would know the difference." WWE fans could actually see Punk on television as he had a very brief moment with Brock Lesnar following his Wrestlemania win. He also had a dark match against the Legion of Doom. This was only a try-out. WWE did not offer him a contract. NWA-TNA did. Mortimer Plumbtree, someone Punk knew from working Minnesota, called him and brought him over. Punk joined Raven's stable The Gathering. Also in the stable was Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree of ROH.
--PUNK KILLED TEDDY--
As the Raven feud was fading away, ROH presented Main Event Spectacles. A great show in November of 2003. During the match, Teddy Hart (real name Teddy Annis but actually is related to Bret) did some spots there weren't planned. He went too far, put his fellow wrestlers in jeopordy, and basically was thrown out of the arena. Teddy tried to make himself out to be victim and that he didn't even remember what had happened. Teddy says a lot of things like that. After hearing of the interview, Punk responded to this on his website. I'm going to paste it in full rather than recap the post. It needs to be read.
* * * * *
Well folks, even sometimes I break rules. Today, I break rule number 411. I will talk about somebody, more importantly a subject, and will inturn, give said person undeserved press. COMPLETELY undeserved press, but I gotta be me...I gotta get this off my chest....
The following is from an interview that Teddy Annis recently conducted on an internerd radio show. I will post his half retarded comments in italics, then I will post the truth.
He thinks the ROH match that he was involved in was one of best matches ever in wrestling. He says that the match was great and the cheers from the fans had his adrenaline rushing. He had a little left in the tank after the match so he did not think that the fans got all of their money's worth from Ted which is why he did the extra moves. He had a concussion after the match, but he is not using that as an excuse.
Not using the "concussion" as an excuse. Let's examine that statement, shall we Mr. Annis? Who called the ROH office 17 times the day after saying that you had no recollection of the match? You didn't even remember doing your post match antics the day after the show, NOW suddenly, "the crowd didn't get their monies worth". You're a liar, also, a bad one. Want proof folks? Teddys daddy called and said he had a concussion and couldn't fly out, while Teddy himself was on the other line saying he missed his flight because he was stuck in traffic. D'oh! Other highlights of the 17 phone calls is Teddys dad calling trying to get his job in ROH back, saying he could be the "new Brian Pillman". Brian Pillman as the loose cannon worked because it was believable that he could hurt somebody. You, my sad little friend, just annoy the shit out of people.
He did a 30 foot moonsault off the cage to the floor. He also did a shooting star press onto 3 guys and did a backflip off the ropes as a tribute to his uncle, the late Owen Hart. He states that anyone who has seen him in Calgary knows that he does the backflip tribute at the beginning and end of every one of his matches, win, lose or draw. The hosts say that they respect that he wanted to do a tribute, but ask how he can justify doing that in light of what was asked from him in the match.
This is where I could absolutely kill you. Owen Hart, fucking rest his soul, NEVER no sold a fucking thing in his life. You had just been in a CAGE MATCH. Summer Slam '94, Bret vs. Owen. Awesome cage match. NO MOONSAULT. A good tribute for you to do for Owen would be to sell your boots on Ebay, you knuckle head. Better yet, just swallow some jacks. This business is dangerous enough. We, the boys, risk out lives enough. We don't need a kid like you putting any of us in harms way more than we already are. All your post match bullshit was to get yourself over and ANY cost. You put "the three guys" you did a shooting star onto in SO much danger because they had no clue it was coming. You put yourself first, and others in danger, THIS, is why i'm even responding to all of this.
He believes people are jealous of the moves he can do.
You're seriously retarded.
When asked who these people are, he responds that Steve Corino did a shoot interview insulting him and calling him a goof. Teddy said when he saw Steve he shook his hand and said he would let it go. Corino responded why and that "you are a goof". He also cites how AJ Styles gave him a list of moves not do to do.
Teddy feels this is unfair as AJ didn't invent the moves in question. He doesn't feel that he should be handcuffed and that he must give the fans everything he has. He does not believe the business has to work in such a manner and cites guys doing jobs to Goldberg and HHH as proof.
Hm...where to begin. AJ Styles may not have invented the moves in question, but he's been in TNA doing them for over a year. Any worker with a brain (i.e. NOT you) wouldn't walk into a WWE ring a start handing out pedigrees, so why would you use the spiral tap on an NWA PPV? I approached you after your match with Juvi and explained to you that AJ used the spiral tap, and you might want to talk to him about it in the future, and you just gave me your blank retard stare and said, "I invented that". Did you invent being stupid too? Seriously, just asking. These guys that've done jobs for goldberg, did they use the Jackhammer? Teddy, really, please. Give the the names of the wrestlers that used the legdrop as a finish in the WWE from 1983 to the present.....douche.
He says that the locker room can't just band together and refuse to do a job. The promoter should step in and say that Ted Hart puts asses in seats.
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'd pay good money to bet that neither do you.
Teddy sed to work at KFC and says that you can't tell your boss there you're only giving 50%. He says that if a fan spends $50 on a ticket to see Ted Hart they are going to get their money's worth. There is no option for him to only give 50%. He says if he was working under contract to Vince it would be different, but on the indy scene he can't understand holding back. He says that Rob Feinstein left the door open for him to do this as he told him that if the fans cheered his name then go with it. He believes a lot of the guys who were angry at him are just jealous and everyone knows his only plan is to go to WWE.
Teddy, I was there. The fans were not chanting "PLEASE CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE CAGE AND DO THREE UNPLANNED SPOTS PUTTING EVERYBODY WHO HAS TO BREAK KAYFABE AND RUN TO CATCH YOU IN HARMS WAY". It's a catchy chant, but it didn't happen. Also, your plan...you ONLY plan is to go to the WWE, perhaps you forgot that you were already there. And you got fired. Idiot.
People who try and blackball him only add more fuel to his fire. He is there to please the fans and not the boys even though the boys have his life in their hands. If they drop him on his head then so be it. He won't stop because 5-6 guys who shouldn't be lacing up boots don't like him. He can't believe he isn't allowed to compete on an equal level because some guys do the same moves as him.
I don't believe for one second you have a fire. You don't love this business Listen to the things you say. Look at the things you do. You give no fuck about the boys, our well being. You only care about yourself. I can only hope that i'm one of the six guys that "shouldn't lace up boots", because then I did my job as one of the ROH locker room leaders. I can't say it enough, no excuse in the world can help you: You put some of the boys in a really horrible potentially dangerous position, and then you cry about being "blackballed". You whine about "not being able to compete on an equal level", and truthfully, that's nobodies fault but your own. Learn some etiquette.
If God wants him to make it in the WWE, then he will. He says there is a reason God lets him do 30 foot moonsaults.
There is no god, and the cage wasn't 30 feet.
Teddy is 23 years old and partially attributes people's jealousy to his age and that they don't have the same creativity and athleticism and feel challenged because they're not willing to follow the standards he sets. He says that we would still have communist countries if people weren't willing to take a chance. Sir A stops him as he states that the hosts don't read the newspapers and drink a lot. Teddy doesn't drink or smoke and compares himself to a preacher.
American Dragon is 22, and one humble motherfucker for how good he is. Nobody is jealous of you, the standard you set is a creepy little no selling troll that wears sunglasses in doors, and changes outfits four times before a show, mainly due to your insecurity as a person. Oh...Teddy? We still do have communist countries, dunce. Oh, and I won't mention the fact that you were asking people where you could score some pot while you were at TNA because you don't smoke.
Teddy is the only one of the Harts who was never stretched by Stu.
...Which is readily recognized from your lack of discipline. Learn how to sell.
So there's your extra press for the day Mr. Annis. No worries though, if it gets you anywhere, i'd bet my life and 100 dollars that you'd find a way to ruin it for yourself with your out of control ego as well as your piss poor attitude. There is no conspiracy, nobody is trying to blackball you. We're just looking out for our friends safety as well as ours. We're just looking out for the product we all believe in, because it's US that want to give the fans a good show. We're just policing our locker room from a cancer that has no business in a business that he acts like he knows all about, but knows so little. We're just protecting our business.
* * * * *
I will write a great deal more on the incident, Teddy's immature antics, and his being thrown out of WWE training in a future column in December: Dead or Alive 2004. If anyone read last year's, it is a "worst of the worst" wrestlers column. Plugging it now. What can I say?
"Teddy straight-up lied, and I didn't want to sit there and listen to him about him saying he was being blackballed and there was a conspiracy. He knew what he was doing. He put a lot of people in danger. ... He needed to be put in his place."
Punk and Teddy got into a confrontation at a restaraunt earlier this year. Punk was with fellow TNA stars and Teddy basically called Punk to step outside. Who threw the first punch, I don't know. The fight was broken up. Word leaked on the internet. WWE fans may have noticed an interesting sign of Raw: PUNK KILLED TEDDY.
--CURRENT EVENTS AND CONCLUSION--
CM Punk has not slowed down in 2004 even though no longer works for NWA-TNA. He is without a contract and a complete indy wrestler again. He has wrestled for JAPW, PWG, and tons of other independent promotions. His home is still Ring of Honor, though. ROH is, as he put it, the "elite" place to be. In the first half of the year, he was involved in a feud with legendary wrestler Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Punk was the young heel and Steamboat was the veteran babyface trying to teach him respect however he could. Punk attacked Steamboat with everything from a table to a ring bell (a la Steamboat's feud with Savage in the 80's). The conclusion of the feud was something unexpected. Steamboat got through to Punk, and in a surprising twist, turned face to save the Dragon from heel faction Generation Next. The Second City Saints and Steamboat joined forces.
Punk had his first ROH Championship match this year as well. He went to a 60-minute draw with Samoa Joe. Punk is a marathon man. In the rematch, the same occurred. I have yet to see the second, but I am told it was even better than the first. A week from today, Punk will face Samoa Joe for the ROH Championship in a No Time Limit Match. Is it Punk's time? I'll be there live to find out.
Thank you for reading this tribute to CM Punk. He is arguably one of the top ten indy stars in America right now. His promos are flawless. His ringwork has improved by leaps and bounds to the point that wrestling critic Dave Meltzer gave his latest match with Joe five stars. The first time he has given that ranking to a match since the late 90's. Punk has his detractors, but most of those people have merely been sucked into his awesome heel work to the point where they think they legitimately dislike him.
Love him. Hate him. CM Punk is the man.
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(Sources: Shoot Interview with CM Punk, Obsessed with Wrestling, ROH, NWA-TNA, IWA-MS)
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MAILBAG -- THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
After reading your newest article on Rajah.com, moments of the wrestling business gone haywire came flooding back to me. Everything from bad layoffs to stupid mistakes with the shows to even crappy storylines forced upon wrestlers seemed just to make the writers laugh for a while. All of this made one thought come clear: an union of wrestlers would change the business forever. You did show some positive and negatives of the unionization of WWE; however, you didn't touch on the most important fact of all. There has never, in the entire known history from the circus tents of old to MSG of today, been an union of wrestlers. Why? Because: wrestlers are self driven people. Wrestlers do not want to see their fellow people succeed over them, but instead want to be the very best they can be and make the most of their time in the business. Best example is Triple H. He was a team player back while he was in DX under Michaels but th en he turned from the lackey to the stable leader and has never once cared for anyone but his own self. Why? Wrestlers are looking out for number one. Simple.
Now, if they were to band together the big negative is neither side of the company, the wrestlers or Vince, would have the slightest idea on what to do or how to handle their way around this idea. Sure the NFL and the MLB have their own unions that could help but there is a big difference in the sports. Wrestling is all year sport/sport entertainment where the wrestlers are in danger of injury every show. The health benefits battle between the wrestlers and management would rival even the greatest Presidential debates, which leaves us the fans out of the whole picture. Sure, a strike would make the discussions move quicker due to the contracts with SpikeTV and UPN, but still the whole idea of a wrestling strike has never been really heard off or never really mentioned due to it being unknown territory. I doubt that if enough wrestlers did it, despite the Angles, Takers, and Trips, that Vince would either fire all of them or take notice. Hell, I don't even see half of RAW's roster on RAW anyway, so we may not even notice if a good amount of them did it.
To better their situations, wrestlers should band together and form a union not just for health or job security, but just to say to Vince that they are the business, not the management. A writer could never make a Stone Cold or Rock or even a Triple H and a wrestler could never get very far without Vince or someone like him backing him up. If Vinnie Mac was to find himself facing down an union of wrestlers, I believe he would up and quit at the very mention for I don't think he'd have a clue on how to handle them other than firing all of them, suing them, or ignoring them (three options that would amount to WWE's downfall). Wrestlers are needed for wrestling shows; if wrestlers want better wages, job security, health plans (and I mean EVERYONE speaks up and says this including Trip, Taker and Angle, who are human too), then I think Vince will be faced with a changing of the business he never planned for. I would like to see that day. Wrestlers happy with their company because they share entirely in the benefits instead of WWE stiffing the lot of them on late oversea pay. I'm sorry I rambled on like this, but once you write an article like you did, you get people thinking and I thank you for that. Maybe a bunch of the wrestlers will catch this sometime down the line or something like it and maybe you or someone else will become responsible for changing the business thanks to a faithful wrestling fan.
Sincerely,
Bob (CLB In Training)
