Why CM Punk Just Lost In AEW For First Time
And it was the absolute coolest sh*t ever.
It's hard to know where to start on the monumentally excellent CM Punk/MJF rivalry, but present day is as good as anywhere. The feud has reached something of a critical point in the eyes of the fans whilst ingeniously being done and dusted in the mind of the heel. 'The Salt Of The Earth' defeated 'The Best In The World' on the February 2nd edition of Dynamite and ended the broadcast sitting cross-legged taking Punk's nickname on as his own.
Naturally, this isn't even half of the story let alone the end of it, but the physical first chapter in a story overflowing with incredible verbal sparring has already proffered one of the best matches in AEW's short-but-illustrious history. A true psychological masterclass in the manner that defines both the old and new slants on the term, this was memorable not for the futuristic fusion AEW often offers but for the key in-ring tenets that look the most simplistic but have never been harder to execute.
MJF, the heel, cheated relentlessly and repeatedly to push back Punk's joyous and over-excited attacks, but utilised careful and calculated intra-match methods rather than getting overt. He wasn't wildly swinging steel chairs, but he was cynically exploiting every single space in the contest to grab an advantage unfairly. Virtuous in the context of this pairing, Punk played the whole thing cool until he knew he was in an extremely competitive fight and had to give what he got. Escalating the action from his now-trademark bodyslams to a classic Pepsi Twist, he was soon nursing arm and shoulder trouble as MJF worked towards his favourite submission hold. But Punk didn't count on falling victim to another move that paid off all the micro-cheating and nailed a false finish that briefly rocked every corner of the fanbase to its very core.
Having lovingly lionised every contribution Dusty Rhodes ever made to professional wrestling over the past two and a half years, AEW babyfaced his most controversial one, and nobody saw it coming.
CONT'D...