CM Punk and his biggest fan - Brian Myers

CM Punk is the epitome of the straight edge lifestyle. It's not just a character, but also a way of life. For those that don't know what that is, living a straight edge lifestyle means that you are drug free, alcohol free and avoid any promiscuous sex. That's what CM Punk is all about.

The journey that Punk took to become a professional wrestler began in 1999. The native of Chicago, IL enrolled at the Steel Domain Wrestling School based out of Minnesota. He trained under Danny Dominion and Ace Steele, who would later be involved with Punk as The Second City Saints. Other members of Punk class included Adam Pearce, Chuckie Smooth and another future member of the Second City Saints, Colt Cabana.

After spending several months of training, Punk made his professional debut in a tag team match, reaming with Ricky Noga to fall in defeat to his trainers, Dominion and Steele in Wisconsin. Punk spent the next several years perfecting his craft before making an impact.

Punk was competing on a regular basis for Ian Rotten's Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid South promotion. It was there that he would first make his mark in the sport. On June 9, 2001, Punk defeated Mark Wolf for the IWA Mid South Light Heavyweight Title in Charleston, IN, which was Punk's first major indy singles title. It would last a little more than a month when he lost the title to Tarek the Great on July 14, 2001 in the same city he won it in. Punk spent the next couple of months trying to regain the strap back, and finally beat Tarek to become a two-time champion on November 3, 2001. He would soon be stripped of the title due to refusing to make defenses.

Punk knew he could be a bigger star outside the light heavyweight division. On December 5, 2001, he challenged Chris Hero, who he would go on to have a great series of matches against, for the IWA Mid South Heavyweight Title. Punk walked out of Indianapolis, IN with the title and was now the king of the IWA Mid South Mountain.

Punk was a fixture in the Midwest indy wrestling scene. He was also competing in Mid American Wrestling (MAW). On November 17, 2001, the then-reigning MAW champion, Ian Rotten, was stripped of the title when he attacked promoter Carmine DeSpirito with a chair shot. The following month, on December 15, MAW held a one night, eight-man tournament to crown a new MAW champion in Wind Lake, WI. CM Punk was one of the participants in the tournament and didn't disappoint. Punk made it to the finals and defeated Colt Cabana to win the vacant title with the legendary former National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World champion Harley Race as the referee.

As the IWA Mid South Heavyweight champion, Punk was obviously the company's go-to guy. The promotion was looking to have some huge main event talent working some of their shows. Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Eddie Guerrero was in-between stints with WWE as he was in rehab and starting over again. IWA Mid South brought in Eddie to work a show against Punk, but they wanted to add a little something to that match. They also brought in Rey Mysterio, who had not signed with WWE and was a hot free agent. On March 1, 2002, they had a 3 Way Dance in Indianapolis, IN and the result saw Eddie defeat Punk to win the IWA Mid South Title. The reign lasted only 24 hours as Punk beat Eddie in their first one-on-one encounter to regain the title in Morris, IL.

Just as things were going good for Punk, title-wise, the tide quickly turned on Punk. On March 9, 2002, Punk lost the MAW Title to Axl Rotten in Wind Lake, WI. Then, on April 19, Punk once again defended the IWA Mid South Title in a 3 Way Dance, this time with Eddie Guerrero and Colt Cabana in Dayton, OH. Punk lost the title to Cabana.

CM Punk was competing for the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), which was based in Pennsylvania. On April 13, 2002, Punk defeated Jimmy Vegas in Monroeville, PA to become the promotion's third IWC champion. On April 26, 2002, IWC also brought in Eddie Guerrero to work a show. Eddie had just returned to WWE, but the company allowed Eddie to finish up his indy dates. Five days earlier, Eddie defeated Rob Van Dam at Backlash to regain the WWE Intercontinental Title. So Eddie was working the IWC show with the Intercontinental Title. Eddie requested that he work with CM Punk because Eddie enjoyed their other singles match so much. This time, going old school, Eddie let Punk call their second match in the ring. Eddie got the victory over Punk.

Punk was proving to everyone that he could hang with just about any wrestler. In his short career, Punk worked with guys like Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, which is a rare feat to accomplish for many indy wrestlers. M Dogg 20 was the reigning IWA Mid South Heavyweight champion on October 26, 2002 when he agreed to defend his title under gauntlet rules. The title was up for grabs in every match of the series. Dogg got past his first two opponents, but then faced CM Punk in the third match. Punk beat Dogg to regain the IWA Mid South Heavyweight Title. But, the match wasn't over as Punk had to defend the title against the last two remaining wrestlers in the gauntlet: Danny Daniels and Ian Rotten. Punk worked hard and was able to leave Clarkesville, IN with the title.

At about this time, the Jarretts began a promotion called NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA:TNA). Punk made his TNA debut on September 18, 2002 in Nashville, TN. Punk competed twice that night. First, he teamed with Ace Steele to defeat Chase Stevens & Cassidy O'Reilly and Jimmy Rave & Derek Wylde in a 3 Way Dance. Later on in the night, Punk returned, unsuccessfully, compete in a Gauntlet Match.

On September 21, 2002, one half of Public Enemy, Rocco Rock aka Ted Petty, passed away. As a member of Public Enemy, with partner Johnny Grunge, the duo had a pretty successful run. As a team, they had won the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Tag Team Titles, the NWA Tag Team Titles, the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Tag Team Titles, and the NWA United States Tag Team Titles. Petty also competed in Japan under a mask as The Cheetah Kid. Petty was widely known as the better half of Public Enemy and was being booked as a singles wrestler after a forgettable stint in WWE and a even more forgettable second stint in WCW. He was a mainstay in IWA Mid South, so the promotion held a tournament in his honor. On November 1 and 2, 2002, IWA Mid South presented the first annual Ted Petty Invitational Tournament. In this tournament, Punk's IWA Mid South Title was on the line. In the first round of the tournament, Punk defeated M Dogg 20. The following night, the rest of the tournament was held. In the second round, he pulled out a huge victory over "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and got the win over Chris Hero in the semi-finals. The finals came down to Punk and BJ Whitmer and Whitmer walked away as the tournament winner and new IWA Mid South champion.

A promotion that was making strides at the time was Ring of Honor (RoH). They began operations in February 2002. They didn't just take anyone to add to their roster. Punk didn't get the call to make his RoH debut until November 9, 2002. On that show, they held a #1 Contender's Gauntlet. In the first match of the series, Punk lost to Michael Shane. Other participants in the gauntlet included current WWE Tag Team champion Paul London, The Amazing Red, The American Dragon, and the eventual winner AJ Styles. Punk returned to RoH on December 7, 2002 in Philadelphia, PA to face and lose to Colt Cabana.

Punk was competing on a regular basis in both RoH and IWA Mid South. Looking to be the top dog again in IWA mid South, Punk challenged BJ Whitmer for the IWA Mid South Title on December 14, 2002. Punk once again won the title and left Clarkesville, IN as the champion. Punk finished 2002 by finally getting his first RoH victory when he beat Colt Cabana in a rematch on December 28, 2002 in Philadelphia. His winning streak in RoH continued when he got revenge on Michael Shane by beating him in their rematch on January 11, 2003 in West Mifflin, PA.

On February 7, 2003, Punk had a tremendous match against Chris Hero for Punk's IWA Mid South Title. They were set to face off against each other in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match with a 90 minute time limit. They had one fall apiece when the time limit expired. They got more time and Hero won the IWA Mid South Title in the final fall when the match finally ended 92 minutes and 15 seconds after it started. It was an impressive outing for the athletes who had to be proud about their performance. The following night, Punk competed in RoH's First Anniversary Show, making his New York City debut at The Elks Lodge in Queens. He defeated former ECW World Title contender CW Anderson to cap off a huge weekend.

One of RoH's hottest feuds to date has been CM Punk vs Raven. They would go on to have a storied rivalry. But the rivalry needs to begin somewhere. That somewhere was in Cambridge, MA on March 15, 2003. In their first RoH encounter, Punk scored a big victory over the former ECW World champion. Seven days later, Raven recruited Colt Cabana to face off against Punk and Ace Steele. Colt was "injured" during the match, so Raven wrestled by himself and eventually got the win. After the match, Cabana attacked Raven and aligned himself with Punk & Steele and this was the birth of the Second City Saints.

Punk was now climbing the ladder in RoH. He was seen as a top contender to the RoH Title. So was Homicide. On April 26, 2003, in West Mifflin, PA, they battled it out in a #1 Contender's Match. Unfortunately for Punk, he lost to the much-decorated Homicide.

Punk also wrestled a few shows for Court Bauer's ill-fated Major League Wrestling (MLW) in Florida. His rivalry with Raven in RoH spilled over into MLW and they met at Revolutions on May 9, 2003. Raven got the win over Punk. In a strange twist, Raven and Punk were heated rivals in RoH, but were allies in TNA where they formed The Gathering with Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree in a battled against Father James Mitchell's New Church.

The day after Thanksgiving in 2002, indy wrestler Jeff Peterson died at the age of 21 after succumbing to his real life opponent- leukemia. Peterson had competed in such companies as Jim Kettner's East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), Independent Pro Wrestling (IPW) in Florida and NWA Florida. The illness kept Peterson from competing in the ring for roughly two years due to chemotherapy, but refused to lose. In April 2002, when the cancer was in remission, he returned to the ring for what was his final match. NWA Florida held their first annual Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup Tournament on May 16, 2003. Some of the athletes competing in this tournament were former ECW Tag Team champion Tony Mamaluke, B-Boy, Reckless Youth, Sonjay Dutt, Ruckus, Roderick & Sedrick Strong, Colt Cabana, newest TNA signee Jerelle Clark, and CM Punk. Punk competed in the first round, losing to Jason Cross. Reckless Youth eventually met and defeated Sedrick Strong in the finals to become the first winner. Punk competed the next night in the second evening of tournament action, competing in a tag team match. Scoot Andrews & Agent Steele defeated Punk & Cabana.

On May 31, 2003, Punk teamed with Colt Cabana to compete in a Tag Team Scramble Match. Punk & Cabana defeated The Briscoes, Izzy & Dixie of Special K, and The Carnage Crew. He tried his luck later in the night in a 4 Corners Match, going against Christopher Daniels, Kazarian and Jimmy Rave. Daniels won the match. Even though he had no contact with Raven that night, it wouldn't last long. On June 14, 2003 in Cambridge, MA, Punk & Cabana beat Raven & BJ Whitmer.

On June 27, 2003, IWA Mid South held a Strong Style Tournament. Punk competed on the show, and defeated Tarek the Great in the first round in 94 seconds, Stan Dupp in the semi-finals, but once again lost to BJ Whitmer in the finals. The following night, Punk traveled to Philadelphia to compete on a RoH show. Punk & Cabana teamed to defeat Raven and his partner du jour, Christopher Daniels after Punk clocked Raven with Lucy's loaded purse, which contained a chain a la Sensational Sherri. Raven then laid out a challenge to Punk in a Dog Collar Match at the next month's show in Elizabeth, NJ.

Keep in mind that Raven and Punk are allies in TNA. On July 2, 2003, "The Franchise" Shane Douglas was scheduled to face Raven in a Clockwork House of Orange Match in Nashville. Raven no-showed, which prompted Punk to take his place. Douglas won the match fairly quickly. After the match, Father James Mitchell sent a message out to Raven by throwing a fireball in Punk's face.

July 19, 2003 was the night Raven and Punk would have their bloodiest encounter to date. The site was the RexPlex in Elizabeth, NJ. Before the match, Punk attacked the last man to hold the ECW Tag Team Title, Danny Doring, who was sitting in the crowd. Late in the match, after a ref bump, Colt Cabana made his way to the ring and waffled Raven over the head with a chair shot. Doring hopped the rail and ran Cabana off. Punk eventually got the win over Raven, but it wasn't over yet. After the match, Punk taped Raven, in a crucifix pose, to the bottom rope and poured beer into Raven's mouth and proclaimed he would force Raven back into rehab. Out of the crowd, surprisingly, ran WWE employee Tommy Dreamer who saved his longtime ECW nemesis. Punk was then taped to the ropes and Raven poured beer down his mouth. Remember, Punk lives the straight edge lifestyle, which means no alcohol. Dreamer & Raven then embraced.

Punk was brought in to compete in Frank Goodman's New York-based USA Pro. He made his debut in the company the next night in Lawrence, NY at Fan Fest. In his debut match, he faced USA Pro United States champion "The Shooter" Mike Kruel. Kruel left Long Island with the belt.

Raven's feud in RoH with Punk was just as intense as The Gathering's feud with Shane Douglas and The New Church in TNA. On July 23, 2003, The Gathering faced off against Douglas, Brian Lee and Slash in Nashville, which saw Team Douglas walk away with the win.

Punk was gaining recognition worldwide and got the opportunity to make his Japan debut, working for Zero One. On July 30, 2003, Punk began a three-day tour of Japan, beginning with him teaming with CW Anderson to defeat the tandem of Ikuto Hidaka & Wataru Sakata when Anderson pinned Hidaka after a spine buster at the famed Korakuen Hall. The next night, Punk kept his undefeated streak in Japan alive as he teamed with CW Anderson and Josh Daniels to defeat Vansack Acid, Ikuto Hidaka & Naohiro Hoshikawa when Anderson pinned Acid after another spine buster at Osaka Prefectural Gym II. Punk finished the tour 2-1 when he teamed with CW Anderson, Josh Daniels and Vansack Acid to lose to Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Naohiro Hoshikawa, Ikuto Hidaka, & Jun Kasai on August 1, 2003 in Korakuen Hall.

Back in RoH, Punk was now being recognized as a main event performer, based on his feud with Raven. On August 16, 2003, he got the opportunity to challenge RoH champion Samoa Joe for the title. Unfortunately, Punk lost the match. And even more impressively, Joe still has the belt as of this writing. While Raven had his hands full in TNA with Shane Douglas, Julio Dinero and Punk faced off against Slash & Sinn of The New Church on August 20, 2003 and lost.

The RoH war between Raven and Punk continued on September 6, 2003. This time, they faced off in a Clockwork Orange Cage Match. Raven got revenge on Punk and got the win. Once the match was over, the Second City Saints attacked Raven and they crucified Raven on an "X," which symbolizes straight edge.

MLW had one of the several rebirth shows and September 19, 2003 was no exception. Vampiro made his way to the ring where he laid out an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. Making his return to a MLW ring, Punk accepted but was defeated by the Canadian star.

The following night, Punk returned to RoH to face the former NWA World & ECW World champion, the hardcore legend Terry Funk. Funk won the match by DQ when Punk wouldn't release the Figure Four Leglock. Colt Cabana ran out to talk some sense into Punk, but then attacked Funk as well. Raven ran out to make the save, and Tommy Dreamer soon followed him in. After they cleared the ring of the Saints, Dreamer thanked Funk and RoH.

In another chapter in the feud between the New Church and The Gathering in TNA, the two factions faced off against each other in a Dog Collar Match on September 24, 2003 in Nashville. The Gathering got the win, but after the match, The Gathering were all hung by their dog collars.

Punk made another appearance in USA Pro two nights later, facing Homicide in Punk's second and final appearance in The Elks Lodge in Queens. Punk got the victory after a low blow and roll up.

Vampiro eventually joined in on the Gathering-New Church feud in TNA. Representing the New church, Vampiro teamed with Slash to defeat Punk & Dinero on October 15, 2003.

Steve Corino also wanted a piece of Punk in RoH. They met for the first time in RoH on October 25, 2003 and they battled to a 20-minute draw. They continued battle On November 1, 2003 in a 4 Corners Match; also involving Christopher Daniels & RoH champion Samoa Joe. Much like their first match, this one ended in a draw, but not a time limit draw. Corino and Punk double pinned Daniels and Joe, which resulted in Corino and Punk as the winners.

Punk's matches against Samoa Joe weren't just regulated to RoH. On November 15, 2003, Punk made his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) debut in Los Angeles, CA at "An Inch Longer Than Average." Punk lost to Samoa Joe.

In RoH, Punk's manager, Lucy, had been mysteriously attacked. Lucy was once known as Daffney in WCW. Punk had spent several RoH shows interrogating wrestlers about the attack. On November 28, 2003, he continued his interrogation. He was also distracted because he had to face Raven in a Cage Match that night. Despite not completely focused on the match, Punk got the win over Raven as he continued his search for Lucy's attacker. The following night in RoH, Punk was involved in a Gauntlet Match. The series was won by BJ Whitmer. Other participants included Jimmy Rave, Matt Stryker and Colt Cabana. Punk continued the search for Lucy's attacker.

Punk returned to PWG on December 13, 2003 in Los Angelas, CA. This time, Punk main evented the show called "Pimpin' In High Places." He teamed with Joey Ryan and Kazarian to lose to Colt Cabana, Super Dragon and Adam Pearce.

Once The Gathering's rivalry with The New Church ended in TNA, it was onto other things for The Gathering. On December 17, 2003, Abyss teamed with Kevin Northcutt and Legend to face The Gathering in a Cage Match. Towards the end of the match, Raven set Abyss up for the Raven Effect DDT but Punk & Dinero turned on Raven with a double chair shot. Abyss got the win over Raven and Punk & Dinero stood over the lifeless body of Raven.

On December 27, 2003, RoH held a huge joint show with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Punk teamed with Colt Cabana to gain a victory over Tomaoki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto. That wasn't it for Punk. His interrogation continued, but now he was sure it was Christopher Daniels that laid out Lucy. It turns out it was BJ Whitmer, who is also revealed as the newest member of Daniels' Prophecy.

In TNA, Raven sought revenge on Dinero & Punk for turning on him. On January 7, 2004, Raven got help from an unlikely wrestler- The Sandman. They were rivals in ECW, but allies in TNA and they teamed against Dinero & Punk. Dinero & Punk got the win from none other than Father James Mitchell. Mitchell had done nothing but put them through hell, and now he gained the advantage on Raven.

Two nights later, RoH held another joint show, this time with Fat Frank's Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). Punk, representing RoH, competed in the main event in a 4 Corner's Match against Christopher Daniels, John Walters and AJ Styles. Daniels ended the show as the winner. The following night, the Second City Saints-Prophecy feud reached new heights in RoH. Punk, Cabana and Ace Steele battled Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer to a no contest when Punk put Daniels through a table with a Pepsi Plunge, which is Punk's version of the Pedigree from the top rope.

The Sandman was looking to gain revenge on Dinero & Punk in TNA. On January 14, 2004, Punk & Dinero beat The Sandman in a Handicapped Match. Seven days later, The Sandman revealed Balls Mahoney as his mystery partner against Dinero & Punk. But, Punk & Dinero once again were victorious. The next week, Sandman had another mystery partner. This time, it was Mikey Whipwreck making his TNA debut on January 28, 2004. Punk & Dinero won yet again. The Sandman refused to stop. On February 4, 2004, he got help from Terry Funk. In another tag match, Punk & Dinero once again got the better of The Sandman.

On the weekend of January 24-25, PWG held the Tango & Cash Invitational Tag Team Tournament in Santa Ana, CA. In the first round of the tourney on the first night, Punk teamed with Chris Hero to advance to the next round by beating Christopher Daniels & The Messiah. IN the second round on the second night, Punk & Hero defeated Sal & Vito Thomaselli. In the semi-finals, they lost to Homicide & B-Boy, who eventually won the tournament.

Zero One formed an offshoot American promotion called Pro Wrestling World-1 (PWW1), which was headed up by former NWA World & ECW World champion Steve Corino. They planned on running three shows a month, beginning February 6-8. Punk competed on all the shows. On the first night, he beat Greg Spitz. On the second night, he defeated Rapid Fire Maldonado. And on the final night, he finished 3-0 by beating Homicide.

RoH held their second anniversary show on February 14, 2004. The theme of the event was to crown the first ever RoH Pure Wrestling champion. The show opened with Christopher Daniels in the ring, but once the hood came off, it was CM Punk. Punk said he was representing legendary WWE Hall of Fame manager, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, in the tournament. CM Punk snuck away with a first round victory over John Walters, got past current Pure Wrestling Champion Doug Williams in the second round and ended up losing to AJ Styles in the finals.

On February 18, 2004, Raven and Terry Funk teamed to finally get a win over Dinero & Punk in Nashville, but it wasn't over yet. As of this writing, CM Punk has not competed for TNA since February 25, 2004. On that night, Raven teamed with Sabu to beat Dinero & Punk, who were managed by James Mitchell. Earlier in the afternoon, before the TNA PPV, Punk was involved in an altercation with the controversial Teddy Hart. Punk had problems with Hart since a November 2003 show where Hart did high spots after his match, which he wasn't supposed to do. Punk had yet to return to TNA since the incident.

Punk got another chance to win the Pure Wrestling Title on March 13, 2004, in a rematch against "The Phenominal" AJ Styles. Styles got the win over Punk again, this time with legendary former NWA World & WWE Intercontinental champion Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. After the match, Punk got in Steamboat's face to complain. Punk claimed he made Styles tap, which Steamboat disagreed with. Steamboat yelled back at Punk, and Punk tried to attack Steamboat, but "The Dragon" punched him away.

When Rob Feinstein's legal problems arose in April 2004, TNA pulled all contracted wrestlers from RoH shows, including Punk. As of this writing, TNA contracted wrestlers such as AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and CM Punk have yet to return to RoH competition.

PWW1 returned with their second set of shows on Apil 8-10. On the first night, Punk's PWW1 undefeated streak came to an end when he teamed with CW Anderson to lose to Homicide & Masato Tanaka. On the second night, Punk teamed with The SAT to lose to Low Ki, Homicide and Spanky. On the final night of the tour, Masato Tanaka successfully retained the PWW1 Title against Punk.

Punk was set to go against The American Dragon at the April 23, 2004 RoH event. Early in the night, Punk attacked Steamboat. Steamboat was the scheduled ref for Punk's match. However, Steamboat fulfilled his commit and reffed the match that saw The American Dragon beat Punk. The following night, in Chicago, Punk teamed with Colt Cabana to defeat The Briscoes for the RoH Tag Team Titles.

The title change set up an interesting Round Robin Challenge on May 15, 2004. IN the Round Robin Challenge, the RoH Tag Team Titles were on the line in every match. The three teams were Punk & Cabana, Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer and The Briscoes. In the first match, Maff & Whitmer defeated Punk & Cabana to win the titles. In the second match, The Briscoes beat Maff & Whitmer for the titles. And in the final match, Punk & Cabana regained the tag titles, defeating The Briscoes yet again.

Punk's feud with Steamboat was getting intense every show. On May 22, 2004, before Punk confronted Steamboat, he teamed with Cabana to retain the RoH Titles against Maff & Whitmer. Later in the night, Steamboat challenged Punk to a fight. Punk backed down and offered to shake hands with him. Instead, Punk attacked Steamboat. Punk even used the ring bell on Steamboat's throat, which was exactly what started the famous Steamboat-Randy Savage feud, which ended with their memorable match at WrestleMania III.

Punk made his first appearance in quite some time for IWA Mid South on May 29, 2004. He and Cabana competed in a one-night tournament to crown new IWA Mid South Tag Team champions. In the first round, they beat Nigel McGuiness & Chad Collyer. In the semi-finals, the beat Ricky Reyes & Puma. In the finals, they lost to Tracey Smothers & Chris Hamrick. He competed the next night for IWA Mid South, teaming with Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer to lose to Chris Hero, Homicide and B-Boy in an elimination match.

After yet another long layoff, Punk returned to IWC to face off against former NWA X Division champion, Chris Sabin. Sabin defeated Punk to win the vacant IWC Super Indies Title. Later that night, Punk competed in the main event, teaming with Michael Shane & Chris Candido to beat Bubba The Bulldog, Jimmy Vegas and Dennis Gregory in a Cage Match.

Punk returned to IWA Mid South on June 11, 2004, defeating Chris Hero in another marathon match. This time, their match lasted almost an hour. Once the match ended, Samoa Joe made his way out to choke out the tired Hero. The following night, Punk showed why he is a true Iron Man. He faced RoH champ Samoa Joe in RoH and battled him to a 60-minute draw. After the match, Joe found out how it feels to be like Chris Hero as Homicide attacked Joe. Punk wrestled almost two hours in a span of two nights, which is impressive these days.

Punk continued to re-introduce himself to promotions he hadn't competed in some time and returned to PWG since the Tango & Cash tournament. On June 19, 2004, he faced and defeated "The King of Old School" Steve Corino in Santa Ana, CA at "Rocktoberfest."

On June 24, 2004, Punk was set to team with Colt Cabana in a Scramble Match against Special K, Dunn & Marcos and The Outkast Killaz. Punk told Cabana to concentrate on his other match later in the night and Punk would go at it alone in this one. Punk actually won the match without really doing much himself, just capitalizing on other wrestlers moves. After the match, Punk said he wanted more competition and issued an open challenge. Hydro of Special K, aka Jay Lethal, accepted and lost. The next night, Punk returned to IWA Mid South and defeated the son of the late Terry "Bamm Bamm" Gordy, Ray Gordy.

July 17, 2004 in Elizabeth, NJ at RoH Reborn: Completion, RoH heavily advertised the final confrontation between CM Punk & Ricky Steamboat. Early in the night, Punk battled Alex Shelley, Austin Aries and Matt Stryker in a qualifying match for the Pure Wrestling Title. Shelley won the match, even though Shelley and Punk both made pins. Punk got on the mic after the match and told Shelley that Generation Next, the group Shelley represents, had nothing on the Second City Saints. Later that night, Punk had his final confrontation with Steamboat. They brawled until Steamboat had the ring bell over his head and threatened to end Punk. Steamboat said Punk could be the best if he wasn't such a smart ass. Generation Next ran in and attacked Steamboat and Punk got on the mic and told Steamboat that the shoe was on the other foot now. Punk was given a choice by Steamboat to be a man, and Punk chose that and saved Steamboat. Steamboat & Punk cleared the ring and had a long stare down before touching knuckles. Punk and the Second City Saints were now faces in RoH.

On July 23, 2004, Punk & Cabana retained the RoH Tag Titles defeating The Briscoes. The following night, Punk teamed with Ace Steele to face off against Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer in a Chicago Street Fight. This match also included tables, ladders, chairs, and barbed wire. Punk & Steele got the win, but were jumped by Generation Next after the match. Ricky Steamboat made the save. Punk got on the mic and praised Steamboat's love for the business and for being an inspiration.

Colt & Punk's second reign as RoH Tag champions came to an end on August 7, 2004 when The Havana Pit Bulls defeated them to win the titles.

With only five years of experience under his belt, CM Punk has accomplished a lot. With a memorable feud with Raven and Ricky Steamboat in RoH, his appearances on PPV for TNA, his matches with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, and his expansion into Japan, CM Punk is a marquee name on any indy show. Factor in that he wrestled a couple of dark matches in WWE last year, including a Smackdown dark match against The Road Warriors, he has been practically everywhere. When he isn't wrestling, he is training wrestlers at RoH's school. For more information on Punk, you can check out http://www.rohwrestling.com/

John Gjoni
johnftw7533@aol.com

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