Summer may not come until late June, but I can’t help but remember
the three greatest summers in professional wrestling history; The Summer
of Punk, which happened in 2005 during CM Punk’s tenure in Ring Of
Honor; Alissa Flash (Cheerleader Melissa) and her rendezvous in River
City Wrestling during the summer of 2010; and of course, WWE’s version
of the infamous “Summer Of Punk” in 2011.
The events during those time periods were legendary for wrestling
fans minds…Punk walking out of ROH with their title; Alissa making
history by winning the RCW Championship, and Punk running away with the
WWE Title, only to reappear 2 weeks later.
Let’s take a look back at those memorable summers and the background of those memorable moments.
The First “Summer Of Punk”-2005
Before The Summer of Punk
Initially, CM Punk joined Ring of Honor (ROH) as a crowd favorite in
2002, but quickly became a villain in a feud with ECW Original Raven
that featured numerous variants of no disqualification matches. Their
rivalry lasted most of 2003 and was considered one of ROH’s top feuds of
the year, and was based around Punk’s straight-edge lifestyle, with him
likening Raven to his alcoholic father. Their rivalry was settled at
The Conclusion
in November 2003, where Punk defeated Raven in a Steel Cage match. Punk
started climbing the ranks of ROH, including coming in second at the
Second Anniversary Show
during the tournament to crown the first ROH Pure Champion, losing to
current TNA superstar A.J. Styles in the finals and winning the ROH Tag
Team Championship twice with good friend Colt Cabana as the Second City
Saints. Both times Punk and Cabana defeated the Briscoe Brothers to win
the championship.
The Summer Begins: June 18, 2005
In June of 2005, the brash CM Punk accepted a deal with the most
powerful name in professional wrestling: World Wrestling Entertainment,
after a try-out match against Val Venis on its
Sunday Night Heat
show. Even though he had accepted the deal, Punk had business to attend
to…facing Austin Aries for Aries’ ROH World Championship on June 18,
2005 at
Death Before Dishonor III in Morristown, NJ.
In what was supposed to be Punk’s final ROH appearance, the Crowd is
expecting a love in like when Paul London left at the original Death
Before Dishonor when London faced Samoa Joe for the ROH Championship,
only to lose. Aries has been the champion since 12.26.04, and this is
his eighteenth defense.
They start off slowly with some classic chain
wrestling. Punk targets Aries’ injured neck right away, but Aries comes
back and works the headlock. Punk responds with a head scissors, Aries
headstands his way out of it but Punk dropkicks him right back down and
locks on a headlock. Punk tenaciously holds on to the headlock despite
Aries’ best efforts. The challenger has counters for everything the
champion throws at him. Punk knocks Aries to the floor with a Chris
Jericho dropkick and then wipes him out with a Tope Suicida. The fight
migrates to the apron and Aries finally gets an advantage with a Death
Valley Driver right on the edge of the ring.
Finally the champion takes control and works Punk over around
ringside. Punk reverses a whip into the barricade. He takes a few
moments to regroup, allowing Aries to pull him face-first into the
barricade. The champ resumes control. Aries is also working on the neck.
They finally make it back to the ring, where Aries hits a twisting body
press and a quebrada for two. The crowd is really getting into it now,
booing and cheering during the action. Aries works Punk over, feeding
off the booing of the crowd. He exposes the turnbuckle and whips Punk
into it. He goes for another whip but Punk reverses it and Aries take it
chest-first, and then Punk hits a Northern Lariat. Both men are down
for the count. Back on their feet Punk takes the advantage, much to the
delight of the crowd. Punk hits Welcome to Chicago MF’er for two. He
goes up top for a flying cross body block that gets another two-count.
He goes for the Pepsi Twist but Aries blocks it and hits a lariat for
two. Aries hits a piledriver for two.
The crowd is heavily invested in Punk winning the title. Aries hits
the Finlay Roll and goes up for the 450. Punk stops him and slams him
down to the mat. He slams Aries down again and hits the Shining Wizard
for two! The crowd wants to see Punk execute the Pepsi Plunge but Aries
blocks it and hits the Super Brainbuster DANGEROUS but Punk kicks out!
Aries goes up for the 450 but gets stopped. Punk looks for the inverted
Pepsi Plunge but Aries fights it off. Aries then executes his own Pepsi
Plunge, but Punk kicks out at one! The crowd super happy but they get
pissed when Aries knocks Punk down with a roaring elbow and a kick to
the head. Aries goes up and hits the 450 but Punk rolls it into the
Anaconda Vise and Aries has to reach the ropes! The champ tries a
crucifix bomb but Punk reverses to a TKO. Punk hits the Shining Wizard
and then the inverted Pepsi Plunge to get the pin and the title at
30:28! The match went by fast and had a very infectious crowd heat. The
no-selling was a blatantly obvious and took the match down a little bit,
but for sheer emotion this one is hard to beat.
After the match, Aries hands the belt over and congratulates the new
champion. The crowd shows Aries some love too as he makes his way to the
back. What follows is the single greatest promo and angle in the
history of Ring of Honor. Punk cuts an amazing promo about how the fans
are stupid for having followed him, and that he used them just to
capture the ROH World Title on his way out. Some super smarks are still
cheering for Punk’s vitriol filled rant against them, but the people who
are not jerks boo Punk like they should. Punk proceeded to become the
biggest villain and started a storyline where he threatened to bring the
ROH World Championship to WWE with him. Then from out of nowhere,
Christopher Daniels enters the ring! Punk doesn’t see him right away,
and when he turns around the crowd goes nuts. They jaw at each other
briefly and then the brawl is on. The crowd chants “ring the bell!”
Daniels goes for the Best Moonsault Ever and Punk rolls out of the way.
The returning Daniels challenges Punk to put the belt on the line right
now,
WrestleMania IX style. If Punk wasn’t staying around until
August, imagine how hot Daniels winning the title right here would have
been. But since Punk was staying a little longer it was obviously the
right call to put the belt on him. Anyway, Punk turns down Daniels’
challenge and scurries out of the arena. Daniels then proceeds to cut a
promo about the reasons he left ROH back in 2004. He goes on for a
little while, which of course isn’t quite as exciting as Punk.
Here’s Punk’s promo after the match;
“Isn’t this the prettiest little thing you’ve ever seen? It was
over a year ago I held this belt high in the air after I fought for it
for the first time in Dayton, Ohio against Samoa Joe and I proclaimed
this belt the most important thing to me. Right now, in my hands, as of
this day 6/18/05, THIS becomes the most important belt in the world!
This belt in the hands of any other man is just a belt, but in my hands
it becomes power. Just like this microphone in the hands of any of the
boys in the back is just a microphone, but in the hands of a dangerous
man like myself it becomes a pipe-bomb. These words that I speak spoken
but anybody else are just words strung loosely together to form
sentences. What I say I mean, and what I mean I say, and they become
anthems! You see, if I could be afforded the time here a little bit of a
story. There was once an old man, walking home from work. He was
walking in the snow, and he stumbled upon a snake frozen in the ice. He
took that snake, and he brought it home, and he took care of it, and he
thawed it out, and he nursed it back to health. And as soon as that
snake was well enough, it bit the old man. And as the old man lay there
dying he asked the snake, ‘Why? I took care of you. I loved you. I saved
your life.’ And that snake looked that man right in the eye and said,
‘You stupid old man. I’m a snake.’ The greatest thing the devil ever did
was make you people believe he didn’t exist…and you’re looking at him
right now! I AM THE DEVIL HIMSELF! And all of you stupid, mindless
people fell for it! You all believed in the same make-believe superhero
that the legendary Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat saw some year ago today.
No, you see, you don’t know anything. You followed me hook-line and
sinker, all of you did, and I’m not mad at you…I just feel sorry for
you. This belongs to me! Everything you see here belongs to me, and I
did what I had to do to get my hands on this. Now I am the GREATEST PRO
WRESTLER walkin’ the Earth today! This is my stage, this is my theater,
you are my puppets! When I pulled those marionette strings, and I moved
your emotions, and I played with them, and honestly it’s ’cause I get
off on it. I hate each and every single one of you with a thousand burns
and I will not stop…I will not stop until I prove that I am better than
you, that I am better than Low Ki, that I am better than AJ Styles! I’m
better than Samoa Joe. Ladies and gentlemen, the champ is here! You
don’t have to love it, but you better learn to accept it. ‘Cause I’m
taking this with me, and there’s not a single person in that locker room
that can stop me!”
For weeks, Punk teased the ROH locker room and the ROH fans as well
as mocking the championship he possessed, going so far as to sign his
WWE contract on it, showing shades of Madusa departing WWE for WCW with
their Womens Title in 1995. During the storyline, “The Hardcore Legend”
Mick Foley made several ROH appearances, attempting to convince Punk to
do the right thing and defend the title on his way out. On August 12,
2005 in Dayton, Ohio, Punk lost the ROH World Championship to James
Gibson in a four corner elimination match consisting of himself, Gibson,
Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, who re-debuted after a year-and-half
absence. James Gibson gave a victory speech after the match and said it
was the greatest moment of his career, even better than Wrestlemania.
Punk’s final scheduled match in Ring of Honor took place at
Punk: The Final Chapter
on August 13, 2005 against long-time friend Colt Cabana in a two out of
three falls match, which he lost. In his last match, Punk was visibly
crying and was showered with streamers when he posed in the middle of
the ring. The first Summer of punk had ended.
The Summer Roller Coaster Ends
In September 2005, Punk was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a
WWE developmental territory and made his WWE debut on June 24, 2006.
With a lot of championships to his credit, Punk has built his
credibility in WWE like his days in Ring of Honor.
Why was the first summer was memorable?
CM Punk provided us with months of anticipation for his WWE debut,
which happened a year later. But between June 18 and August 13 was the
biggest roller-coaster ride ROH has ever been on.
But for WWE fans, the revival of the”Summer Of Punk” would linger on in the next 6 years.
San Antonio’s Summer With A Heat “Flash”-2010
Beginnings Of A Beautiful Summer
Melissa Anderson, also known as Alissa Flash, better known as
Cheerleader Melissa outside San Antonio-based River City Wrestling,
originally made her first RCW appearance in 2009, but her Summer
“Flash” began on April 3, 2010 by beating Joey Spector one on one. The
feisty Alissa, who had jumped off the TNA bandwagon a few months ago,
made her mark on the sport that’s dominated by men. And with a career
that spanned over 10 ears, who would have thought that a woman can beat
up the guys in the ring?
Only Alissa Flash can.
Don’t go telling the most empowering female in wrestling she can’t beat up the guys. She can beat up the tough girls, too.
The promo made by Flash in March of 2010 proved to be the most hardest working promos ever done by anybody in wrestling:
“Hey Spector, you gotta be kidding me, right? I mean, how how are
you gonna say that I cost us the match, when you were the one getting
your butt whipped by Hamada? And I had to be the one to come and save
YOU? And on top of that, you’re gonna say that women don’t belong in the
ring? Women should be at home, cooking meals for their men, doing this,
doing that? Baby, I’m the “Future Legend,” I’m living the high life in
San Francisco, so do me a favor, save your chauvinistic BS for your girl
at home, and when I’m done with you in the middle the ring, you’ll be
making my dinner. And I like it served HOT!”
And indeed it did. On April 3, 2010, was the hottest event in San Antonio…Alissa Flash vs. the chauvinist, Joey Spector.
From running bulldogs to smashing Easter baskets and swinging shairs,
even to wheelbarrow her loudmouth opponent through barricades and
chairs, Alissa proved she belongs in the ring. One of the most
respected female wrestlers in the business. After the match, the
stipulation is that if Spector should lose, he has to wear a dress at
all future RCW shows. But if Alissa lost, she would leave RCW and never
come back.
Unfortunately for Spector, it was the other way around.
How Alissa Spent Her Summer Vacation
The aftermath of that Easter weekend match up set up the most hottest
summers in pro wrestling history…The continuation of the Alissa
Flash/Joey Spector feud.
With Joey Spector coming in as the reigning RCW Champion, Alissa has one goal and one goal only; to make history.
The brutality of the match is what RCW fans expected from the
beginning. From chairs, ladders, even the concrete played a factor in
this match. Alissa’s technical prowess was on occasion thrown out the
window. Alissa was hardcore this time around. After the pin-fall, the
“Female Terminator” made wrestling history by becoming the first woman
to hold a promotion’s top title, the RCW Championship.
But then…Came Black Monday. the decision of the front office was that
Alissa’s victory counted, but the title win was null and void. This
sparked outrage by the fans, as well as Alissa herself.
Stripped of her RCW Title, Alissa came charging like a bull the
following month. It was originally September 4th, but RCW has other
plans.
The statement Alissa made after the outcome of it proved to me more determined to make history again.
“Stripped of my RCW Championship? Are you kidding me? Okay, Joey
Spector, if that’s the way you wanna play, then let’s play. How about
you keep that belt a little bit longer, because come August, you won’t
see me there. Unlike you, people wanna book me. I’m a little bit high
demand than you are. So how about this: Come September 4th, I’m coming
back for my rematch. And it’s gonna be No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere, and
if you got the balls for it, certainly No Time Limit. So strap on you
little boots, bring on whatever little game you got, go ahead, bring
your Lady Fantasy, I don’t care, because on September 4th, I’m gonna
make history ONCE AGAIN!”
The match up however, included a 12-minute time limit, but that didn’t stop Alissa on taking what’s rightfully hers.
From the ring to outside of the building, Spector and Flash brawled
anywhere the wanted, when they wanted. And it took one Air Raid Crash
from off a pickup truck to end the match. The match itself was brutal
from start to finish. But in the end, however Alissa Flash was the true
RCW Champion, no matter how many dirty tricks up Joey Spector’s sleeve.
Summer May Be Over, But The “Flash” Of Dominance Lingers On
After the summer battles, Alissa competed against Mercedes Martinez
twice in both September and October, with different results. She may
have forfeited the title due to the fact she couldn’t accept a challenge
from RCW Co-Commissioner Ray “The Voice,” but that doesn’t deter the
fact that Alissa can regain it in the near future.
After the Summer of 2010, she captured the RCW Tag Team Titles with
Darci Drake in 2011, and as of this article, the RCW International
Championship.
In between 2010 and 2012, She has captured the SHIMMER Championship
in October of 2011, only to lose it to Saraya Knight. Fans were livid
and enraged that her reign on top wasn’t long enough. Remindful of her
RCW Championship run.
The best summer since the “Summer of Punk” and the most historical summer.
If the fiery San Francisco native has her way, she would make any summer “The Summer Of Flash.”
The Second Summer Of Punk-2011
The second Coming Of The “Summer Of Punk”
In June, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on Monday Night Raw,
Rey Mysterio at the new Pay Per View called Capitol Punishment and
finally Alberto Del Rio again in a #1 contendership match (which
included Mysterio) all within one week, CM Punk revealed his contract
would expire at Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with
the WWE Championship; some of his speeches and mannerisms echoed his
final months with Ring of Honor. His Dialogue with announcer Michael
Cole Proves it;
Michael Cole: [reading
e-mail from RAW's anonymous GM] And I quote: “Mr. Punk, I understand
your demands and I will certainly take them under consideration.
However, right now, I’ll ask you to leave the ring.”
Punk: Okay…Cole, you
know I love ya, I know you’re just doing your job, but he’s asking me to
leave the ring? He/she is asking me to leave the ring? Okay, I’m not…
[The GM chime rings again] Cole: And I quote: “I suggest you leave the ring right now.”
Punk: Until you
announce me as the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, I suggest you
watch me make snow angels. July 17, 2011, will be the most historic day,
not only in the career of CM Punk, it’s gonna be a historic day for the
WWE as a whole. Not only is July 17 the second annual Money in the Bank
Ladder Match pay-per-view, it’s the night I defeat John Cena for the
WWE Championship. Now, here’s that honesty I was talking about, that
honesty that’s probably gotten me in trouble more times than I’d like to
admit, the brutal honesty I’m known for. July 17 is the day my contract
with World Wrestling Entertainment comes to an end. That means when the
clock strikes midnight, the 17th becomes the 18th, Sunday bleeds into
Monday, I’m leaving. And trust me when I tell you I am leaving with the
WWE Championship.
On June 27, 2011, Punk made a scathing
on-air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince
McMahon, he was given a storyline suspension from televised WWE events
but was reinstated the following week on Cena’s insistence.
The promo was like this…
“John Cena, while you lay there
hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen
to me. I want you to digest this because before I leave in three weeks
with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I want to get off my
chest. I don’t hate you, John. I don’t even dislike you. I do like you; I
like you a hell lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate
this idea that you’re the best…because you’re not. I’m the best. I’m the
best in the world. There’s one thing that you’re better at than I am,
and that’s kissing Vince McMahon’s ass. You’re as good at kissing
Vince’s ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don’t know if you’re as good as Dwayne
though—he’s a pretty good ass-kisser, always was and still is. [Turns to
camera and waves] Whoops, I’m breaking the fourth wall.
I am the best wrestler in the world.
I’ve been the best ever since day one when I walked into this company,
and I’ve been vilified and hated since that day because Paul Heyman saw
something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. That’s right, I’m a
Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar,
and he split just like I’m splitting, but the biggest difference between
me and Brock is I’m going to leave with the WWE Championship.
I’ve grabbed so many of Vincent K.
McMahon’s imaginary brass rings that it’s finally dawned on me that
they’re just that—they’re completely imaginary. The only thing that’s
real is me, and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years,
I’ve proved to everybody in the world that I’m the best on this
microphone, in that ring, even at commentary! Nobody can touch me! And
yet no matter how many times I prove it, I’m not on your lovely little
collector cups, I’m not on the cover of the program, I’m barely
promoted, I don’t get to be in movies, I’m certainly not on any crappy
show on the USA Network, I’m not on the poster of WrestleMania, I’m not
on the signature that’s produced at the start of the show! I’m not on
Conan O’Brien, I’m not on Jimmy Fallon, but the fact of the matter is I
should be; and trust me, this isn’t sour grapes, but the fact that
Dwayne is in the main event of WrestleMania next year and I’m not makes
me sick!
[Turns to the fans] Oh, hey, let me get
something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now, you are
just the biggest part of me leaving as anything else, because you’re the
ones that are sipping out of those collector cups right now; you’re the
ones that buy those programs that my face isn’t on the cover of, and
then at 5:00 in the morning at the airport, you try and shove it in my
face so you can get an autograph and try to sell it on eBay because
you’re too lazy to go get a real job!
I’m leaving with the WWE Championship on
July 17, and hell, who knows? Maybe I’ll go defend it in New Japan Pro
Wrestling. Maybe I’ll go back to Ring of Honor. [Waves to camera] Hey,
Colt Cabana, how you doing? The reason I’m leaving is you people because
after I’m gone, you’re still gonna pour money into this company. I’m
just a spoke on the wheel, the wheel’s gonna keep turning and I
understand that. But Vince McMahon’s gonna make money despite himself.
He’s a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he’s not a
billionaire? It’s ’cause he surrounds himself with glad-handing,
nonsensical douchebag yes-men like John Laurinaitis who’s gonna tell him
everything that he wants to hear. And I’d like to think that maybe this
company will be better after Vince McMahon’s dead, but the fact is it’s
gonna get taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law
and the rest of his stupid family! Let me tell you a personal story
about Vince McMahon. All right. We’re doing this whole bullying
campaign…”[The mic cuts off]
The aforementioned promo was also a voice
for an older fan base disconnected and disappointed by a product they
once loved. The most vicious promo ever delivered by Punk.
Upon his return Punk ceased to appear with
the remaining members of Nexus and the group would quietly dissolve the
same month.This helped transition him from a villainous character back
to being a fan-favorite.
With this promo that featured John Cena and
Vince McMahon, Punk made it clear that he will walk out of Chicago as
the WWE Champion and out of the WWE.
Punk: I’m not gonna
have you sit here and belittle me. Say I’ve lost sight? I’ve lost sight
of things, John? The reason I say I’m gonna take that and walk out is
because I don’t fit a certain mold. Because I am the underdog, and
that’s exactly what you’ve lost sight of. Earlier in this ring, you
mentioned great wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero and you said they used to
look at you and say that the kid couldn’t hang. And now you stand here
and look at me as the kid that can’t hang. John, I was hanging off of
your gangster car, WrestleMania 22, as it rolled down in Chicago,
Illinois, and I stood there in a suit looking as ridiculous as [points
to Vince McMahon] that man looks right now in his suit, holding a phony
Tommy gun, and I said to myself someday, I’m not gonna be standing out
there watching you in the ring; I was gonna be in the ring watching you
go down to CM Punk. And now here we are in your hometown of Boston. And
now next week, we’ll be back there in my hometown—Chicago, Illinois. And
this…this is the part where I talk ‘em into the building. See, you are
the one that’s lost sight, and I apologize for raising my voice because
I’m not that guy. But when you stand here and tell me that I’ve lost
sight, when you, the 10-time Champion who stands for hustle, loyalty and
respect; who, from Boston, Massachusetts, lives and breathes these red
colors, the same colors as your beloved Red Sox, who also portray
themselves as the underdog, I’m sure just like the Bruins portray
themselves as the underdog. Just like the Patriots think they’re the
underdog! Hey, how about those Celtics? Are they the underdogs too?
Here’s what you’ve lost sight of, John, and I’m really happy that your
father and your wife are sitting in the front row so they can hear it!
John Cena: That’s the last time I’m gonna tell you, man, ease up.
Punk: What you’ve lost
sight of is what you are, and what you are is what you hate. You’re the
10-time WWE Champion! You’re the man! You, like the Red Sox, like
Boston, are no longer the underdog! You’re a dynasty. You are what you
hate. You have become the New York Yankees! [John immediately punches
Punk, who scoots out of the ring, grabs the contract, and goes up the
ramp. Points respectively to Vince and John] You’re Steinbrenner, and
you might as well be Jeter! Mr. 3000, I’m the underdog! [John's music
plays for fourteen seconds] Turn it off! Turn the music off because I
have something to say, and I’m positive that everybody here wants to
hear it, and everybody sitting at home has their DVRs fired up because
they wanna hear it! I’m glad you just punched me in the face, John. I’m
glad it went down this way because it hit me like a bolt of
lightning—exactly why I no longer wanna be here, why I wanna leave. It’s
because I’m tired of this. I’m tired of you. I’m just tired. So ladies
and gentlemen of the WWE Universe, Vince, John, Sunday night, say
goodbye to the WWE Title, say goodbye to John Cena, and say goodbye to
CM Punk! [Rips up the contract] I’ll go be the best in the world
somewhere else.
Two weeks later, at Money in the Bank, CM
Punk took on John Cena for the WWE Championship on his final night under
contract with WWE.
The Summer Of Punk Return
Allsate Arena, Rosemont, IL. July 17,2011. Money In The Bank. The
final match of the night was for the WWE Championship, with the Champion
John Cena facing off against CM Punk. It was Punk’s final night under
his WWE contract and he had promised to leave the company with the WWE
Championship. Vince McMahon had threatened that, if Punk was able to do
so, then Cena would be fired. Punk entered the ring to raucous cheers
from his hometown Chicago crowd, while Cena received huge boos. This is
Chicago, after all. It’s a tough town. The match started off with some
chain wrestling which ended with Punk hitting a hip toss and a dropkick
on Cena before both men teased hitting their finishing moves on each
other, with Punk escaping the Attitude Adjustment and Cena escaping the
GTS. Cena then seized the advantage with superior strength, hitting a
bulldog, a hard clothesline and a fisherman suplex. Cena’s next attempt
at an Attitude Adjustment was countered by Punk into a DDT. Punk then
delivers a knee drop from the turnbuckles to the back of Cena’s neck.
Then, when Punk tried to suplex Cena from the apron back into the ring,
but Cena countered and nailed Punk with a vertical suplex from the apron
to the concrete floor.
Back in the ring, both men traded punches and took each other out
with a double clothesline. After multiple leaping shoulder blocks, Cena
went for the spin-out powerbomb, but Punk countered with a roll-up. Punk
then missed his corner step-up knee strike, so Cena hit the spin-out
powerbomb and set up for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Punk kicked Cena
in the head and sent him to the outside, where he met Cena with a
suicide dive. After sending Cena back into the ring, Punk missed a
springboard clothesline and Cena executed the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
After on, while Cena was leaning against the ropes, Punk nailed Cena
with two step-up knee strikes and followed up with a bulldog and a
springboard clothesline. Cena then ducked a Punk roundhouse kick and
locked in the STF, causing Punk to struggle to reach the ropes. Punk
then hit a roundhouse kick and attempted a diving crossbody, but Cena
caught him in mid-air and again went for the Attitude Adjustment. Punk
reversed it and attempted the GTS, but Cena countered into another STF
which Punk reversed into his own signature hold, the Anaconda Vise. Cena
managed to counter the hold and finally execute the Attitude
Adjustment, however a resilient Punk kicked out. Cena then went for a
diving legdrop, but Punk caught Cena and powerbombed him. Cena escaped
the GTS and hit the diving legdrop and another massive Attitude
Adjustment, but Punk again kicked out to the dismay of Cena and cheers
from the crowd. Cena, pulling out all the stops, carried Punk to the
second rope for a super Attitude Adjustment, but Punk prevented that by
raining elbows on Cena and then a super frankensteiner. Punk hit a
corner step-up knee striker and finally scored with a Go To Sleep, but
Cena fell through the ropes and out of the ring.
As Punk attempted to send Cena back into the ring, he was distracted
by Mr. McMahon making his way to ringside along with WWE EVP of Talent
relations and current Raw & SmackDown General manager (And One of
the most hated personalities in wrestling history) John Laurinaitis.
Cena took advantage of the distraction and again applied the STF, which
resulted in McMahon signalling to the referee to end the match and
sending Laurinaitis to tell the timekeeper to ring the bell to end the
match, reminiscent of the Montreal Screwjob between Bret hart and Shawn
Michaels in 1997. However, Cena, wanting a clean finish, broke the hold,
clotheslined Laurinaitis and told McMahon, “No, not this way. We’ll do
it
my way”. As Cena returned to the ring, CM Punk immediately
hit a second GTS and pinned Cena to win his first ever WWE Championship
as the crowd exploded into cheers.
McMahon then ordered the winner of the Raw
Money in the Bank match, Alberto Del Rio, to immediately cash in his
contract on Punk. As Del Rio was attempting to cash in, Punk took him
out with a roundhouse kick to the head and, giving McMahon a flying
kiss, fled the arena and left WWE as WWE Champion.
Money In The Bank received unanimous praise from fans and critics
alike, in particular the main event between CM Punk and John Cena.
The Sun’s
Rob McNichol gave the main events positive reviews. He admired the
match between CM Punk and John Cena calling it the best match that the
WWE has seen for a long time, rating it a perfect 10 out of 10, stating
that the hometown emotion and the reaction of the crowd to every one of
Cena’s moves made that match so electric from the beginning to the end.
That match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer; the first match
in the WWE to do so since the first Hell in a Cell match between Shawn
Michaels and The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House on October 5,
1997 and the first WWE match to do so not to feature either Michaels or
Bret Hart. It also earned more honors; Match of the year by both Pro
Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The
Punk/Cena Feud earned Feud of the Year by both PWI and the Wrestling
Observer Newsletter as well.
The aftermath was just as shocking as the event.
The next night on Monday Night Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin (Home of
the Defending Super Bowl Champions Green Bay Packers), Mr. McMahon came
out at the top of the program to address the WWE Championship issue. He
ordered an immediate eight-man tournament for that night to declare a
new WWE Champion. In the first round of the tournament, Rey Mysterio
defeated Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston
defeated Alberto Del Rio, and The Miz defeated Alex Riley. The
semifinals saw Mysterio defeat R-Truth and The Miz defeat Kingston. Just
afterward, in an announcement presumably to follow through on the
announced main-event stipulation that John Cena would be fired by Mr.
McMahon, with Cena stating if he is fired, he would end up going to TNA
if that would happen. The storyline took an unexpected twist as Triple H
came out with an announcement of his own—that Mr. McMahon was being
given a vote of “no confidence” by the WWE Board of Directors, and that
Triple H would take on day-to-day operations of WWE, effectively firing
McMahon instead. At this point, Triple H refused to follow through with
firing Cena, nullifying that stipulation. Cena’s followers of Girls and
kids can finally sigh for relief.
As a result of the announcement, the tournament final was pushed back
to the next edition of Raw on July 25. In the show’s opening match,
Mysterio defeated The Miz and won his first WWE Championship of his
career. Later that night, Triple H gave John Cena an opportunity to win
the title from Mysterio, in which he was successful, making him a 9-time
WWE Champion, an all time record. After the match, CM Punk returned to
Raw and had a stare down with Cena. On the August 1st edition of Monday
Night Raw new Chief Operating Officer Triple H told the WWE Universe
that he has re-signed CM Punk and made a match between CM Punk and John
Cena at SummerSlam to determine the “true” WWE Champion.
The main event at SummerSlam in Los Angeles featured WWE Champion
John Cena vs WWE Champion CM Punk, to determine the undisputed WWE
Champion. Triple H served as guest referee. The match started slowly and
was much reminiscent of their encounter at Money in the Bank. Both the
champions tried to gain the upper hand and started hitting their
signature maneuvers. At one point in the match, both the superstars were
outside and were unable to answer the ten count, but Triple H brought
them back in as he wanted a definitive undisputed Champion. Later, Cena
hit the Attitude Adjustment, but Punk kicked out.
CM Punk then attempted
his finisher, and nailed Cena with the GTS, but Cena kicked out.
After a back and forth match, the end came when CM Punk nailed a
second GTS, and followed up for a pinfall, but Cena had his leg on the
ropes, which should have resulted in a rope break, but Triple H didn’t
see that, and thus allowed CM Punk to pin Cena. With this CM Punk became
the Undisputed WWE Champion.
As Punk celebrated his WWE Championship win, Cena and Triple H left
the ring, and Kevin Nash, a long time friend of Triple H then returned,
and attacked CM Punk, and laid out the Champion with a Jackknife
Powerbomb. This allowed Alberto Del Rio to hurry down to the ring with a
referee to take advantage of the chaos, and he cashed in his Money in
the Bank contract. After a Shining Wizard to the already fallen
Champion, Del Rio pinned him to become the WWE Champion, his first title
in WWE and his first World Championship. Thus the night ended with
Alberto Del Rio winning the WWE Championship. The run of the Summer was
over, just like that.
The Second Summer Ends, Just Like The Last One, But Different
The night after SummerSlam Punk accused Nash of conspiring with
Triple H to keep Punk away from the WWE Championship.After repeated
confrontations Nash and Punk demanded to face each other at Night of
Champions, to which Triple H acquiesced. However, after CM Punk’s
repeated verbal attacks towards him and his wife Stephanie McMahon,
Triple H booked himself to replace Nash. At Night of Champions Punk lost
a No Disqualification match after Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth attacked
both men. Miz and Truth also attacked Punk at Hell in a Cell after he
lost a WWE Championship Triple Threat match.He attempted to avenge this
by teaming with Triple H against Miz and Truth at Vengeance, but lost
again due to Nash attacking Triple H. This helped transition Punk’s
anti-establishment voice from Triple H to John Laurinaitis who became
the interim Raw General Manager. CM Punk balked at Laurinaitis’
promotion and verbally attacked him as a dull yes man.
The promo from CM Punk, which featured Cena, Sheamus, and Triple H is the same ring when everyone was walking out of the WWE.
Punk: I can’t help but feel a little resp… hell,
who am I kidding? I feel like I started this whole thing. This is all
my fault. I’ve been at the epicenter of everything controversial ever
since you took over—actually, since before that, I’m sure you remember,
John-Boy.
Cena: I was there.
Punk: You were there. I’m the guy that made
walking out look cool. The thing about is I think everybody in the
parking lot having a picnic right now have completely misunderstood what
I was trying to do. See, I didn’t break my contract, I didn’t break my
word. My contract expired, and I was trying to prove a point to an
entire company, not just one man. If anybody has any reason to walk out
of the WWE, well you can probably put me at the top of that list. I
mean, my microphone constantly cuts out, your friend Kevin Nash runs
through the…well, slowly, briskly runs through the crowd, jumps me and
screws me not once, but twice. Somebody here doesn’t want me to be the
WWE Champion. The thing about it is this entire industry is based on men
solving their problems in between these ropes. This is the company that
gives you Hell in a Cell, this is the company that gives you the
Elimination Chamber. I don’t wanna sound like a broken record, but
“unsafe working environment”? I thrive on that! Hell, this is
professional wrestling, this ain’t ballet! If you believe in something,
you stand and you fight, and you fight on the front line; you don’t have
a hippie sit-in and grill tofu dogs in the parking lot like a bunch of
hippies. [To Triple H] When I had a problem with you and your authority,
I dealt with you personally. [To Cena] And you, you big boy scout, when
I had a problem with you being the poster boy for this company, I dealt
with you personally. Shea-Mo, I’m sure sooner or later, you’re gonna
step on my toes, I will deal with you personally. Now, I know you three
smiley good guys look across the ring from me, and I’m the last guy you
expect to see here, [to Triple H] and I know I’m the last guy you expect
to see in the foxhole with you. But you know what? Here I am. So…so I
got a question—what do we do now?
Triple H: “What do we do now?” That’s a big
question, “what do we do now?” I say we do what we do on Monday Night
Raw—we shut up and fight! How about this? As long as you guys are in
agreement, Sheamus, you got yourself a match, fella. Tonight, right
here, right now, you will go one-on-one with… [Punk raises his hand] one
John Cena. And since I’m the only guy kinda wearing stripes out here,
I’ll referee. And, foxhole buddy, I got a whole table over there lined
up with headphones and pipe bombs just waiting for you with your name on
it. And if you want, you can go over there and say anything you feel
like.
Punk: You want me to do commentary?!
Triple H: I want you to do commentary.
Punk: Can I wear your blazer?!
Triple H: You can even wear my blazer!
Punk: I’m in!
The summer may have ended, but CM Punk will still be rolling.
Conclusion
In short, CM Punk and Alissa Flash’s summers of controversy and
victories has had memorable impact in wrestling history. The greatest
moments in the ring during those incredible summers was the most
exciting time for a wrestling fan. If it were to happen again, the fans
would see it happen.
