WWE Royal Rumble 2013: CM Punk vs. The Rock
I love the hype video package for this match, and Rock's pure babyface promo before the match is also really great. The match itself is pretty far from great, but it's not bad. I liked the fact they went after their respective weak spots -- Rock had a worked up mid-section going into the thing, so Punk tried to wear him down by targeting it. Makes sense, and Punk's work over it was definitely very solid. Then as he makes one mistake & seems to tweak his previously injured knee, Rock sees that and starts returning the favor by delivering a stomping to that knee. Rock doesn't really fully commit going after it though, and as the match becomes more even, it becomes more about the big moves & counters. It's okay I guess, but definitely very, very, very forgettable stuff; I 100% liked the first half (or so) much more w/ the slower build & all. Gotta mention that it's also a shame that the announcing table crumbled under them when they were going for that big spot of the match in Rock delivering a Rock Bottom to Punk through it. Overall I think it's a solid match, but it's also very disappointing at the same time -- it's only memorable for the result + for the fact that it's Punk vs. Rock. It was very fun to go back & watch it though, as I hadn't seen it since 2013 prior to today; as far as me getting worked up about wrestling goes, this match & its result is up there w/ the best of 'em. Was a massive (still am) Punk fan back then, and while I knew that Rock was 110% sure winning the belt, they got me good with that finish after The Shield interfered. Then a couple of minutes later I'm triggered so bad as Rock pins Punk after that People's Elbow. Good times :') **3/4
WWE RAW 02/04/13: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
Definitely MUCH better than their 2012 PPV matches. I really like Punk's heat segment on Y2J here; he is awesome with his facial expressions throughout, and he has a nice gameplan in going after Jericho's neck. His work over that neck w/ the cravate, those leg drops, neckbreakers etc is pretty great. That whole section is most certainly my favorite part of the whole thing. Jericho's full-on comeback isn't really interesting at all, and as that bit gets done, they essentially kick the match into its final act w/ it being more even and big moves & counters being bust out for them nearfalls n' all. Didn't care for that stuff too much - it's not bad though, and I do think that Jericho's last GTS counter into the Walls of Jericho was pretty neat. Good match for sure & like I said, miles ahead of their bad PPV matches of the past, even if it's carried by Punk's awesome work on top for the most part. ***1/4
WWE Elimination Chamber 2013: CM Punk vs. The Rock
Their Royal Rumble match was already disappointing, so the expectations weren't high for this 2nd meeting between the two, but even then, this was extremely disappointing. Like I said, the expectations weren't high, but I sure wanted it to be better than it ended up being. Punk pretty much dominates most of the match, and sadly & disappointingly, he just isn't interesting at all with it. Very uncharacteristic for the man, and then there's The Rock who just pretty much brings nothing to the table. If I had to say one thing I liked about this, it would be the count out tease after Punk's Rock Bottom -- that was some nice drama & worked well within the stipulation of the match. Other than that hot minute or two, the 20 or so these two went felt like 40. Not a good match at all. The Rumble match is far superior and that one is nothing-to-write-home-about either. *3/4
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