3 EPIC CM Punk Matches in ROH

ROH 3rd Anniversary Celebration: CM Punk vs. Alex Shelley

A very good match w/ some very nice dueling body part targeting; Punk early on went for the arm to soften Shelley up for the Anaconda Vice, which Shelley countered by unleashing an absolute beating to Punker's mid-section. Shelley's all around performance was pretty terrific -- his focused attack on that mid-section was all kinds of awesome, and he sold the arm really well; I especially liked how he couldn't fully lock in the Border City Stretch at first, 'cause of the damage Punk had done to that arm. That was some good shit. Punk was rock solid with everything he did in the match as well, but I do think he could've sold the mid-section a little bit more, but it's not like his selling was bad or anything, so it's all good. It's just something that could've potentially pushed this match from being very good to GREAT. ***3/4

ROH Death Before Dishonor III: CM Punk vs. Austin Aries

This is one of those classic ROH World Title matches + also one of the greatest moments in the history of the company. I've always loved it. The whole package -- from the presentation of the deal w/ it being billed as CM Punk's last ROH match, to the atmosphere, to the in-ring work done by the two, to the legendary post-match stuff. It's that mid-2000s ROH/indy magic that cannot be re-captured. Punk controls the first portions of the match -- everyone knew Aries had a banged up neck going into it, so Punk naturally goes after it w/ them dropkicks, headlocks, bulldogs. It's good stuff! Once Aries takes over, he definitely ups the nastiness though; that DVD on the apron was pretty sickening, and his overall work on top is really great. He wonderfully plays the dickhead who wants to spoil Punk's one last hurrah, and the crowd reacts 110% accordingly, which made it all the more better. Punk FINALLY mustering some offense in the form of that irish whip reversal into the lariat to the back of the head was a great moment after Aries' long heat segment. And talking about great moments, I do love me some well done & timed kickouts at 1, and that Pepsi Plunge one has always been a very good one. To sum it all up; like I said, I've always loved this thing, and I think I always will. ****1/2

ROH Escape From New York: CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong

Punk is such a great cocky heel prick in this. Between his in-ring work, the taunting to Joe & Gibson + the way he controlled the crowd throughout, this truly was a terrific performance by the man. Roddy was a great opponent to go against him too -- I looooooved the way they built the match up from the beginning w/ Punk avoiding Roddy's chop-heavy onslaught for as long as he could, so once Roddy finally got to unleash those sick chops of his, it was like a true "finally!" moment. Great match. ****