The Case For CM Punk: Wrestler Of The Year 2022
Getting into the guts of a transcendent story across the ring from much younger rival MJF, Punk started the year tasked with beating unstoppable monster Wardlow. Misplaced hero worship was a key part of the story, which again spoke to where Punk was in his box-fresh pro wrestling return - here was an AEW original youthful enough to have attended a meet-and-greet with WWE Superstar CM Punk as a child.
The dynamic of them being misanthropic microphone maestros was gripping enough before we learned of a darker link and traumatic bond that tacitly aged Punk way beyond his 43 years. The two decades that separated the pair played a huge part in some emotional exploration as the story evolved, but was best approached physically when Punk survived Wardlow's symphonic onslaught on the January 12th Dynamite. Punk was so sympathetic in his suffering that it was if Terry Funk or Ricky Steamboat themselves were out there eating a grand total of six powerbombs before Punk snared him with a possum-playing cradle for the win.
That was yet another Bret Hart tribute - Punk borrowed Hart's win over Diesel at Survivor Series 1995 - but it was yet again multifariously brilliant. It wasn't a "masturbatory tribute", but a reveal that Punk had smartly picked the best possible match to watch as a way to scout Wardlow, and was so much better than MJF in every aspect that he was an even better superfan.
Was 'The Salt Of The Earth' on his former idol's level in any respect? We'd find out for the first time over 40 glorious minutes on the February 2nd edition of the Wednesday flagship...
CONT'D...