Match #1: ROH Tag Team Titles: 2 out of 3 Falls: CM Punk and Colt Cabana © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Death Before Dishonor II Part 1 – 7/23/04)
Both teams trade control on the mat and reach multiple stalemates. Cabana finds himself in the wrong corner and quickly moves away. Mark doesn’t give Punk a clean break in the corner and they start exchanging strikes. The Second City Saints find an opening to isolate Mark. Jay gives his brother a chance to fight back. Mark lands a dive to the floor onto Punk and now the Briscoes begin working him over. The turnbuckle pad falls off at one point and the Briscoes hit Punk with it out of spite. Cabana eventually tags into the match and cleans house with a series of strikes. The Second City Saints apply a Billy Goat’s Curse-boston crab combination on Mark. Jay breaks the hold and hits the Jay Driller on Punk to win the first fall at 20:13. The Second City Saints have trouble regrouping. Cabana attempts to fight off the Briscoes alone while Punk recovers at ringside. He hits a reverse suplex on Mark, who answers with a spin kick. The Briscoes take over with their tandem offense. Cabana is able to cause some miscommunication and rolls up Jay to pick up the second fall at 26:43. We’re tied at one fall for each team. The Briscoes become angry and continue to work over Cabana as Punk has not fully recovered yet. The Briscoes hit the doomsday device on Cabana but Punk desperately makes the save. Punk cleans house and hits a russian leg sweep-DDT combination on the Briscoes. He hits Welcome to Chicago on Mark for a nearfall. Punk plants Jay with an alabama slam and Cabana adds a frog splash for a two count. Mark lands a shooting star press to the floor onto the Second City Saints. All four men are down. Everyone connects with strikes in the ring. Mark hits an ace crusher from the middle rope on Punk and the Cutthroat Driver on Cabana. Punk is able to recover with the Pepsi Plunge on Mark and the Second City Saints retain their titles at 37:30. This match had some awesome moments but ultimately went too long to be considered a must-see contest. Each fall successfully told its own story, which is definitely a positive in two out of three fall matches. The Briscoes were able to take advantage of the Second City Saints’ willingness to not take things completely seriously to win the first fall. Then, Cabana used his resourcefulness to pick up the second fall. They saved the rapid nearfalls for the third and final fall. The structure of this match was spot on, but again, it could have been about ten minutes shorter. ***½
Match #2: Chicago Street Fight: CM Punk and Ace Steel vs. Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer (Death Before Dishonor II Part 2 – 7/24/04)
Maff and Whitmer beat down Steel while keeping Punk out of the ring. Punk lands a dive onto Maff. Whitmer blocks a dive from Steel with a chair shot. Maff and Whitmer regain control, whipping the Second City Saints with their belts. Punk and Steel are both busted open at this point as well. The Second City Saints gain control of the belts and return the favor. After some brawling on the floor, a ladder and a table make their way into the ring. Punk connects with repeated facewash kicks to Whitmer. Punk uses the ladder to ram a chair into Whitmer’s face. Maff low blows Punk and Whitmer follows with a barbed wire bat-assisted russian leg sweep. A barbed wire board is propped in the corner. Maff cannonballs Punk through the barbed wire board. Steel sends Maff into the barbed wire board remnants and hits a tiger driver. Everyone grabs a chair and exchanges chair shots…unprotected chair shots to the head. This is sick. The fans start throwing their chairs into the ring and we have a chair riot! Maff overhead suplexes Punk into the chairs. Punk responds with a german suplex. You cannot see the canvas at this point. Maff props a ladder in between the barricades and sets Steel onto it. Whitmer tries to dive onto Steel, but Punk sends him into the chairs. Punk tombstones Whitmer from the middle rope through a table for the victory at 27:56. That was a pure spectacle and the perfect match for ROH to use as an example when talking about how crazy a blowoff to a feud can be. There was never a moment throughout the course of the twenty-eight minutes where I didn’t believe that these two teams hated each other. Obviously, the chair riot stands out as memorable but the real indicator for me is that this match still seems violent nine years later. Check this out if you haven’t seen it yet. ****
Match #3: ROH Tag Team Titles: CM Punk and Colt Cabana © vs. Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero (Testing the Limit – 8/7/04)
Reyes hits a german suplex on Punk but gets caught by a mule kick. Cabana connects with a dropkick through the ropes on Reyes. Both teams brawl around ringside and the Rottweilers ultimately gain the advantage when the match breaks down. The challengers work over Punk until he hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Romero. The Second City Saints isolate Romero until he connects with a knockout kick on Punk and tags out. The Rottweilers go back to work on Punk. The lack of back and forth action is leading to a very quiet crowd. Punk powerbombs out of a cross armbreaker from Romero and makes the tag. Cabana cleans house with a series of strikes. The Rottweilers miss stereo knockout kicks and Cabana lands a springboard moonsault onto them. The champions apply a Billy Goat’s Curse-camel clutch combination on Reyes. Romero finds an opening to apply a cross armbreaker on Punk. Cabana saves his partner. Romero sneaks in a small package on Cabana and the Rottweilers become the new ROH Tag Team Champions at 19:09. I do not think that these two teams had very good chemistry together in the ring. As a result, this match felt long at nineteen minutes. Additionally, when you watch the finish you can see what they were going for, but it came off awkwardly in execution. This wasn’t the greatest way to do a title change. **¾
Match #4: CM Punk vs. Austin Aries (Weekend of Thunder Night 1 – 11/5/04)
They exchange strikes at the opening bell. They try to out-do each other on the mat. Aries connects with a springboard back elbow and starts showboating. Punk rolls him up for a nearfall. Aries comes off the middle rope but Punk catches him with an atomic drop. Punk hits a delayed vertical suplex. Aries rolls through a sunset flip and connects with a basement dropkick. Punk responds with a neckbreaker out of the corner. The action goes to the floor where Aries gets sent into the barricade. Punk misses a shining wizard and his knee collides with the ringpost. Aries takes over in the ring, working over the right knee. The lights suddenly go out for no apparent reason and they have to wrestle under a spotlight for awhile. When the lights come back on, Punk is bleeding from the head but we’re not exactly sure how it happened because the lights were out. That’s not ideal. Punk fights back with a russian leg sweep. Aries immediately stops his momentum with a slingshot senton and a boot to the head. Aries connects with the powerdrive elbow. Punk hits a german suplex and he has to hold the bridge with one knee for a nearfall. Aries applies a half crab but Punk makes the ropes. They battle up top and Punk hits the Pepsi Plunge. He cannot immediately cover due to his knee. Aries takes advantage of the injured knee to hit his shinbreaker-back suplex combination into the turnbuckles. Aries lands a 450 splash onto the knee and locks in a half crab for the win at 22:45. The story revolving around Punk’s injured knee was well-executed and it made this match enjoyable to watch. However, the crowd just didn’t seem to be invested in the action like they should have been. I think the lights going out hurt this contest significantly, as it was difficult to see (obviously) and no one could see a clear visual of Punk’s head being busted open. ***¼
Match #5: No Disqualification: CM Punk and Ace Steel vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (Weekend of Thunder Night 2 – 11/6/04)
Steel lands a dive to the floor onto Strong. Punk hits a michinoku driver on Aries, who responds soon after with the heat-seeking missile. Strong drives Punk through a chair with a uranagi. Generation Next double team Steel in the ring. Punk eventually makes the save. Jack Evans comes to ringside with a ladder but Punk takes him out with a plancha. Steel connects with a corner dropkick on Aries. The ladder enters the ring. Aries hits a russian leg sweep onto the ladder on Steel. Punk powerbombs Aries onto the ladder. Evans goes flying with a springboard kick but completely whiffs. Strong connects with a Sick Kick on Steel and Evans is able to freely interfere. This allows Generation Next to take control. Steel comes back by overhead suplexing Aries into a propped ladder. A table is setup at ringside. Evans tries to dive onto Punk from a ladder and he hits his face off the side of the table. Aries misses a flying elbow drop and goes crashing through the table. In the ring, Aries finlay rolls Steel onto the ladder but misses a 450 splash and collides with the ladder. Steel sit-out powerbombs Evans from the apron through another table at ringside. Punk hits Strong with the Pepsi Plunge onto the ladder for the victory at 19:57. This brawl was entertaining in a “car crash” sense. Most of the big spots involving various weapons didn’t go according to plan, but the crowd hung with them and didn’t seem to mind. Evans’ interference made perfect sense given the no DQ stipulation, and he was put through hell despite not even being apart of the match. Both teams threw a lot at the fans, but enough stuck to make this a worthwhile brawl. ***
Match #6: CM Punk vs. Spanky (Third Anniversary Celebration Part 1 – 2/19/05)
They begin with some chain wrestling. Spanky snaps off a hurricanrana and a tilt-a-whirl armdrag. Punk slows him down with a neckbreaker. He takes over until Spanky interrupts a springboard maneuver with a dropkick. Spanky starts targeting the left knee, as Punk may have hurt it during the springboard. Punk blocks a sliced bread and hits an inverted suplex from the middle rope. Both men are down. Punk connects with a series of strikes and tries a small package for a nearfall. Spanky fights off corner punches and dropkicks the bad leg. He hits a flatliner but finds knees on a frog splash. Punk can’t hit a piledriver due to his bad leg. Spanky blocks a shining wizard with a superkick for a two count. Punk fights off another shining wizard and hits Welcome to Chicago (expect not across his knee) for a nearfall. Punk can’t hit a DDT and Spanky responds with sliced bread for the victory at 14:40. Much like some of the other matches on this compilation thus far, this was a match with a terrific story that would have been brought to the next level with a more energetic crowd. Every time I see a Spanky match on one of these compilations it amazes me as to how great he was in the ring. ***
Match #7: CM Punk vs. Alex Shelley (Third Anniversary Celebration Part 2 – 2/25/05)
They try to one-up each other with some chain wrestling. Punk finds an opening to start targeting the left arm. Shelley tries to create some space but Punk punishes him with a dropkick. Punk hits a hammerlock suplex. He walks the ropes and comes down driving Shelley’s arm into the canvas. Shelley blocks a flying crossbody attempt with a gutbuster and takes control. Punk flips out of a monkey flip and connects with a superkick. Both men are down. Punk connects with a leg lariat and attempts a cross armbreaker. Shelley rolls through and kicks Punk’s midsection. Punk comes off the middle rope but Shelley catches him with a spear. Shelley lands a frog splash for a nearfall. He locks in the Border City Stretch but can’t fully lock in the hold with his bad arm. Punk sneaks in a quick pin attempt for a nearfall. They battle up top and Punk connects with a shining wizard. Shelley counters the Pepsi Twist with a gutbuster but runs into a samoan drop. Punk synchs in the Anaconda Vice but Shelley is able to reach the bottom rope. Shelley back drops out of the Pepsi Plunge. He connects with a flying double stomp and locks in the Border City Stretch. Punk reverses into the Anaconda Vice for the win at 21:58. This was an absolute joy to watch. Both men either came into this match with certain strategies or developed some throughout the course of the contest. Either way, they stuck to those strategies and this was like watching human chess, as overused of a phrase as that is. ***½
Match #8: CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave (Third Anniversary Celebration Part 3 – 2/26/05)
They brawl before the opening bell. Rave eventually has to retreat to the floor and regroup with the Embassy. They stare each other down in the ring and Punk beats up on Rave some more. Punk hits a delayed vertical suplex and does a few laps around the ring. He hits a butterfly backbreaker and connects with a basement dropkick. Prince Nana distracts him, allowing Rave to sneak in a low blow behind the referee’s back. Rave takes over until Punk connects with a shining wizard. Both men are down. They exchange strikes and trade control of a sleeper hold. Rave keeps using a shoelace to regain the advantage. He almost chokes out Punk with the shoelace-assisted sleeper. Punk actually does pass out and the referee calls for the….WAIT! Todd Sinclair restarts the match upon finding the shoelace! Punk lays in a series of chops and clotheslines Rave over the top rope. Punk follows out with a dive. In the ring, Rave rolls through a flying crossbody and almost picks up the win. Rave hits Ghanarhea for a two count. Punk attempts a Pepsi Plunge but falls victim to a sunset bomb. Rave connects with a shining wizard but Punk won’t stay down. Rave goes for a Pepsi Plunge of his own but Punk counters with a samoan drop. Punk applies the Anaconda Vice. Nana gives Rave air freshener and he sprays it into Punk’s eyes. Rave sneaks in a rollup for the victory at 18:27. The thing I always appreciated about the way Rave was handled back then was how the booking made it very clear that Rave would be willing and sometimes needed to cheat to win. So many times I see a heel cheat when it seems completely beyond the character that he’s trying to portray. This was a lot of fun since the overbooking worked out well in Punk’s hometown. ***¼
Match #9: CM Punk, Colt Cabana, and Steve Corino vs. Jimmy Rave, Oman Tortuga, and Weapon of Masked Destruction #3 (Trios Tournament 2005 – 3/5/05)
Everyone starts brawling before the opening bell. Punk throws Rave into the ring and targets him. The Embassy use their cunningness to take out Punk’s leg and they work him over. Punk hits the Pepsi Twist on the Weapon of Masked Destruction and makes the tag. Corino cleans house and hits a DDT-stunner combination on the Embassy. Cabana catches Tortuga with a flying hip attack. Punk gets his hands on Rave but for only a few seconds. Tortuga accidentally gets booted by Rave, who flees the ring. Punk hits a samoan drop on the Weapon of Masked Destruction and applies the Anaconda Vice for the win at 4:56. This was strictly used to advance the Punk/Rave feud. I’m not sure if I would have included this on a compilation, but the Dog Collar match is also included so it’s understandable. *
Match #10: No Disqualification: CM Punk and Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Rave and Fast Eddie (Best of the American Super Juniors – 4/2/05)
Eddie saves Rave from an early attack by Punk. Oman Tortuga attacks Punk before he can get his hands on Rave again. Punk gets Rave in a thesz press but the Embassy save him once again. Now Punk and Rave brawl into the crowd as Eddie and Cabana do the same. Cabana throws Eddie into a wall while Punk hurls a garbage can at Rave. Punk hits a suplex on Rave onto a stage. Rave responds with a russian leg sweep onto the stage. Everyone battles back to ringside. In the ring, Punk hits a superplex on Rave. Cabana lands an asai moonsault to the floor onto the rest of the Embassy. Punk and Rave trade punches. Punk connects with a shining wizard and applies an Anaconda Vice. Jade Chung runs into the ring and breaks the hold. Prince Nana hits Punk with an aerosol can, giving Rave the victory at 12:44. My thoughts on the last match almost exactly apply here, though I don’t think both matches needed to be included on this compilation. *
Match #11: CM Punk vs. Mike Kruel (Stalemate – 4/16/05)
Kruel immediately takes Punk down and lays in some boots. He hits a suplex and an overhead slam. Punk comes back with an atomic drop and connects with a leg lariat. Prince Nana tries to get involved but Bobby Heenan neutralizes him. Punk rolls up Kruel for the win at 3:04. ½*
Match #12: Dog Collar Match: CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave (Manhattan Mayhem – 5/7/05)
Rave attacks Punk while the dog collar is not on him. Todd Sinclair finally fastens it onto him and Punk stages a comeback, hitting a russian leg sweep and laying in stomps. Punk grabs a chair but Rave drags him into the ringpost by the chain. Punk is busted open as Rave takes control. Punk uses the ropes to escape a Rave Clash and connects with a shining wizard to create some space. He fights back with a series of strikes. Rave hits From Dusk Till Dawn and applies a chain-assisted crossface. Punk escapes the hold and synchs in a half crab. Prince Nana jumps onto the apron, allowing Rave to low blow Punk with the chain and connect with a shining wizard. Rave tries a Pepsi Plunge but gets back dropped to the canvas. Punk hits three consecutive powerbombs and transitions into the Anaconda Vice. He has to break the hold to fight off the Embassy. Punk hits the Pepsi Twist on Rave. Fast Eddie tries a moonsault but accidentally lands on Rave. Punk uses Rave as a springboard to hit a DDT on Mike Kruel. Rave blasts Punk with three chair shots to pick up the win at 13:37. This was a well-executed dog collar match with the interference nicely setting up the feud-ending cage match. Punk using creative ways to fight off the Embassy’s interference was satisfying after watching the feud up to this point. The booking just clicked here in a way that would be hard to replicate and this is one of the reasons why Manhattan Mayhem is such a well-liked show. ***¾
Match #13: ROH Tag Team Titles: BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs © vs. CM Punk and Ace Steel (Final Showdown – 5/13/05)
Steel and Whitmer start brawling before the opening bell as their partners try to separate them. Jacobs and Punk have a nice exchange once the action settles. Jacobs snaps off a satellite headscissors. Whitmer and Steel wrestle to a stalemate and shove each other. The champions take advantage of Steel’s tunnel vision and isolate him. Whitmer even powerbombs Jacobs onto Steel at one point. Punk eventually intervenes and hits a back suplex on Jacobs. He giant swings Jacobs into a missile dropkick from Steel. The challengers absolutely brutalize Jacobs before he hurricanranas Steel into the turnbuckle and makes the tag. Whitmer hits a german suplex on Punk and rolling suplexes on Steel. Punk slows him down with a shining wizard and catches Jacobs with a backbreaker. Punk hits a top-rope leg drop on Whitmer for a nearfall. The Second City Saints follow with a doomsday lariat for a two count. Punk locks in the Anaconda Vice on Whitmer. Jacobs crotches Steel on the top rope and hits a top-rope senton on Punk. He lands a dive to the floor onto Steel. Whitmer hits an exploder on Punk for a nearfall. Jacobs and Whitmer hit a doomsday hurricanrana on Punk to retain their titles at 16:42. Calling back to Whitmer’s battles with the Second City Saints was a great idea. As a result, Jacobs kind of flew under the radar for the entire match before getting the pin on Punk, which had to be considered huge for him at the time. Punk and Steel made for an entertaining team. ***¼
Match #14: Steel Cage Match: CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave (Nowhere to Run – 5/14/05)
Rave tries to climb the cage and bolt through the door to no avail. Punk takes him to the mat and connects with repeated punches. He throws Rave into all four sides of the cage and connects with corner punches. Punk lawn darts Rave into the cage wall and grinds his forehead across it. Needless to say, Rave is busted open. Punk shows that he can easily escape but decides not to. He hits Rave with a chair repeatedly. Prince Nana lures Punk to the cage door and sprays something into his eyes. Rave hits Punk with a chair. Nana tries to pull Rave to the floor but Punk stops him. Rave returns the favor by using the steel cage wall as a weapon. They battle on the top rope and crotch each other. Punk wins a strike exchange. Rave hits a russian leg sweep from the top rope and uses a shoelace to try to choke out Punk. Punk is able to fight through and connect with a series of kicks. Jade Chung enters the cage but Rave accidentally spears her. Punk rolls up Rave for a nearfall. Rave responds with the Rave Clash but he’s too worn down to cover. Punk stops him from escaping. Rave teases a Rave Clash from the top rope but decides to come off the top with a shining wizard. Both men try to escape through the door to no avail. Punk hits a butterfly backbreaker and chokes Rave with his own shoelace. Prince Nana enters the cage but Punk takes him out with a knockout kick and throws him into the cage. Rave tries to escape amidst the chaos but falls victim to a superplex from the top of the cage! Punk covers to win the feud at 24:15. The Embassy’s interference seems to be a polarizing element of this match. On one hand, Rave could have had a chance to look great by giving Punk a run for his money without interference and it would have made the cage match stipulation more meaningful. On the other hand, interference has been a huge part of this feud and it’s fitting that Punk was able to get his revenge on Nana. Additionally, Rave relying on interference ended up costing him the match as he left himself vulnerable to the superplex from the top of the cage. They had a long feud to work from to make this blow-off epic and I think they succeeded. ****
Match #15: CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong (The Future is Now – 6/12/05)
They have a nice exchange where they dodge each other’s offense. Punk grabs onto a side headlock and Strong immediately grabs the bottom rope. They collide on a shoulder block battle and stare each other down. Punk takes Strong back down to the mat and connects with a kick. He suplexes Strong from the apron into the ring. Strong fights back with chops and they have a chop exchange. The action goes to the floor where Strong misses a chop and his hand collides with the ringpost. Punk immediately targets Strong’s hand in the ring. Strong has to use his bad hand to power out of a submission and starts chopping with his good hand. Punk goes up top but Strong kicks him to the canvas. Both men are down. Strong hits a back suplex and a backbreaker. He takes control, working over the back. Punk comes back with a springboard dropkick. They exchange strikes. Punk armdrags out of a backbreaker attempt and connects with a lariat. He follows with a leg lariat and both men are down. Strong hits a gutbuster and connects with the Sick Kick for a nearfall. Punk counters the Stronghold into a rollup for a two count. Strong hits a powerbomb across his knee and reapplies the Stronghold. Punk reaches the bottom rope. He hits a top rope leg drop and applies the Anaconda Vice. Strong gets his leg across the bottom rope. He low blows Punk, who recovers with a shining wizard. Punk transitions into the Anaconda Vice for the victory at 24:00. I really liked how Punk was willing to play Strong’s game here. This was supposed to be all about Strong weakening Punk for his upcoming title match against Austin Aries. What resulted was Strong nearly defeating Punk on multiple occasions. This is a matchup you wouldn’t really think happened that often in ROH history, but this was a very good exhibition between the two. ***½
Match #16: CM Punk and Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce (Unscripted II – 2/11/06)
We’re fast forwarding in time a bit here, but this is a nice bonus inclusion on the compilation. Punk had been in OVW for some time at this point and his return to Ring of Honor, was, well, unscripted. After an opening exchange against Danielson, Rave quickly tags out because he doesn’t want to be in the ring with Punk. Rave eventually gets isolated by Punk and Danielson, allowing them to get their shots in. Danielson locks in a surfboard on Pearce and connects with a dropkick. The heels take some time to regroup but Punk keeps giving chase to Rave. Everyone starts brawling on the floor. Rave and Pearce get sent into the barricade multiple times. They find an opening back in the ring to work over Danielson. He rolls through a doomsday device, connects with roaring elbows, and makes the tag. Punk hits a butterfly backbreaker on Rave and lands a dive to the floor onto Pearce. Danielson follows with his dive into the crowd. Back in, Punk synchs in the Anaconda Vice on Pearce but Rave makes the save. Rave hits a superplex on Punk and Pearce adds a top-rope splash for a nearfall. Rave and Pearce run through some of their offense on Punk as they keep Danielson outside of the ring. Punk applies the Anaconda Vice on Rave while Danielson has Pearce in Cattle Mutilation. Rave is able to make it to the ropes. Pearce hits a spinebuster on Punk and Rave connects with a shining wizard for a nearfall. Punk kind of snaps off a hurricanrana on Pearce and both men look shaken up. Danielson connects with a missile dropkick on Rave. Punk hits the Pepsi Twist on Rave and transitions into the Anaconda Vice for the win at 29:01. This is a forgotten match in ROH history and it’s fun watching considering where both Punk and Danielson are now. The result was inevitable, but the Punk/Rave references were entertaining and the Rave-Pearce tag team were great foils for Punk and Danielson. This won’t blow your mind or anything, but it really is worth watching for its unique circumstances. ***¼
Overall: CM Punk: Icon features a match listing with consistently solid entries. I was not watching Ring of Honor regularly until 2006, so it’s great to look back and see how on fire Punk was during this time. The crazy thing is that this compilation doesn’t even cover a year of Punk’s ROH run and yet there’s still so many high-quality matches included. Even the forgettable matches to start the second disc were used to provide context for Punk’s feud against Jimmy Rave (and all of their significant matches are included). I would say that this is a “must buy” for Punk fans but it’s certainly recommendable for everyone else as well.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.