[2022-02-02-AEW-Dynamite] CM Punk vs MJF

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This match is a masterclass. CM Punk's performance was legendary; from the badass old-school babyface opening to obviously the selling & his overall babyface magic, he was simply undeniable. This was a damn near 40-minute match with most of it having him in peril & it could've EASILY become uninteresting at many points given the length, but Punk's perfect selling & portrayal of his character made it damn sure that I was glued to my screen the entire time. He never, and I mean never forgets that he is hurt, and it's beautiful how he showcases it throughout. Obviously you have the big moments where MJF is on it like a shark, but I think what I adored the most about all of that is the little moments where Punk did small adjustments to continue the narrative of his arm being fucked. Or later on the knee. 7 years out of leaving the business, grey-bearded Punk getting systematically picked apart by this 20-something year old punk. But he damn sure tries his hardest, and he gets MJF a few times in the middle of this vicious attack, he gets him good, but the work by Maxwell shows beautifully in those moments, as you can clearly see that the juice has been sucked out of him, and in particular a couple of specific parts of his engine. Goodness gracious what a beautiful story to watch unfold. CM fucking Punk, man. There's so much to it that I loved. Even when MJF botches the ring post Figure-4 Bret Hart spot, Punk immediately saves it by kicking his way out of the hold with the leg MJF couldn’t lock in. So good.

As I said, this is a beast of a thing with its length, but it never feels like it's _actually long_, because of how compelling the wrestling is. I think this even outdid both of the Hangman vs. Danielson matches when it comes to that, to be honest. A single match performance by CM Punk that I could never do proper justice, and MJF definitely delivered in the biggest match of his career up to this point, to say the least. My immediate reaction is that it's my favorite match to happen since Kofi vs. Bryan, Mania 2019, and obviously that could change, but as of now, I am really super-duper high on it. ****3/4

[corwo]

I do not consider myself a fan of MJF’s work. I think he leans on heel tropes that are frankly lazy, and far too often, he goes for the low-hanging fruit. His in-ring has been cold and uninspired, with his character work often taking a backseat to the moves. With that said, this is probably the most complete MJF performance I’ve seen to date. Rather than focusing on flashy maneuvers, he relied on stooging for his babyface counterpart. That resulted in a delightful spot early on where Punk caught him between the ropes and hit MJF every time he swung back up. From there, they brawl around the arena, with the crowd egging Punk on. They even got the crowd to go ballistic for a body slam, which is no small feat in 2022.

Of course, all of that is buoyed by a stellar showing from CM Punk, whose selling is remarkable. MJF attacks Punk’s arm to soften him up for the Salt of the Earth. Punk constantly reminds everyone of his injury, shaking out his arm between moves. Punk goes for a Bulldog in the corner but decides not to hit a short-arm lariat due to the injured limb. His selling feels like a meaningful part of the match rather than something done for show. MJF’s performance simply does not work without a hometown babyface the caliber of Punk.

The biggest drawbacks here lie in the restart, the length, and the finish. MJF chokes Punk out with his wrist tape and locks in a sleeper. Punk fades, and the ref calls for the bell. Bryce Remsburg sees the tape in MJF’s hand afterward and restarts the match. Which was fine in execution but lost a bit of impact because they used the same angle not too long ago in MJF’s match with Jericho. As for the length, the match dragged. I have no desire to see MJF go twenty minutes, let alone twice that, no matter how good his opponent may be. It felt natural for MJF to procure a cheap win after being passed the Dynamite Diamond Ring by Wardlow, but the ending still fell flat.

On the whole, this is an impressive piece of business. For all its faults, both competitors come out looking strong without sacrificing their character work at the expense of cheap pops. In MJF’s case, that’s a first. Here’s hoping he carries on this momentum and ditches the dollar-store heel schtick that’s plagued his promos and matches thus far.