[2023-07-08-AEW-Collision] CM Punk vs Samoa Joe

[DMJ]

For context sake, this was billed as "Punk vs. Joe IV" and was part of AEW's 2nd Owen Hart tournament. The story coming in was that CM Punk had never defeated Samoa Joe.

Early on, the majority of the crowd seems to be behind CM Punk, though you can hear a smattering of "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chants. Obviously, these two have plenty of history, but one needn't know every aspect of their rivalry to enjoy what they did. Joe was tremendous to start after Punk missed a crossbody, at one point chopping Punk off of the top rope and onto the arena floor. From there, Joe went to work on the outside as the match went to a Picture-in-Picture commercial break. That was unfortunate as Joe then hit his signature running boot onto Punk, who had ended up on a chair against the barricade. When Joe went for another, Punk moved, though, and then hit a big clothesline off the apron. I'll give both guys credit for not taking it easy during the "break," but that exchange deserved to be fully spotlighted.

The break ended and Joe applied a chinlock and then went for a knee drop. Punk dodged it and the two men exchanged some strikes. Punk hit his running knee in the corner but couldn't really capitalize. He went for a bulldog but Joe countered with a choke, which Punk escaped via a back suplex. Another solid strike exchange and then another trio of running knees  followed by a short-arm clothesline. Punk went to the top and landed a big elbow drop, but only got 2 and a half. Punk called for the GTS and attempted it, but Joe escaped by kneeing Punk in the face and then applied a nasty-looking crossface. This drew huge chants for CM Punk, who was able to get a foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. 

Joe went for a powerbomb, couldn't get it, Punk tried for another GTS, couldn't get it, and Joe sent Punk into the ropes and then hit a big snap powerslam off the ropes for another nearfall. The crowd erupted in an "Owen Hart" chant (as Punk had asked them to do earlier in the show, not because the match was boring). Punk went back to the top, but Joe caught him and looked to be going for the MuscleBuster. Punk escaped and hit a swinging neckbreaker and then went for a GTS, which Joe escaped. Joe applied a choke, but CM Punk countered it with a victory roll and got the 3 count in a bit of a shocker ending. After the match, both Punk and Joe looked a little bit surprised and, in the case of Joe, deflated as well. As the crowd chanted "Owen Hart," Joe offered his hand in respect and, after shaking, Joe choked Punk out, screaming into his face, "I've always been better than you!" 

Joe went for a chair, but FTR showed up to run him off. In a nice touch, though, Ricky Starks - the man CM Punk would now face in the finals of the tournament - also showed up, staring Punk down too. 

All in all, a really good match, though not one that I expect will be considered a TV Match of the Year or anything (coincidentally, the FTR vs. Juice Robinson & Jay White from earlier in the show was that quality), but it also left enough on the table for there to be another chapter between these guys. The crowd was hot for this, the action was good, the story made sense, and Punk and Joe's chemistry was still undoubtedly there. Yes, they may move a little slower than they used to, but since when does moving at a super fast pace make a match any better or more personal? Not an all-time classic, but certainly above average and worth checking out if you're a fan of either guy.