Rewatched CM Punk vs. The Rock.
The two worked a great match. The Rock obviously not in ring-shape, as JBL liked to call it, but you have to give him credit where credit is due, the two worked very well together. Great psychology early on in the match by both, selling their respective injuries and targeting their opposition's. Jim Ross hyped this match up as not being a classic wrestling match, but a fight. And that's what it was. Hardly any down time, strikes were thrown constantly. Punk trying to take advantage of Rocky's lack of ring time by using submissions was great too. The GTS, countered into a sharpshooter, countered into the Vice was sweet. And then the Rock bottom countered into a rollup into a sharpshooter was epic. Awesome stuff there. And of course, Punk's facial expressions, like always, play a great part. Fixing the announcer's table then taking a bow was GOAT :lol. Not to mention Paul Heyman's ridiculously menacing expressions throughout. Rocky played the babyface in peril very well and did his job by selling Punk as a legitimate threat. Something I didn't get from Rock/Cena.
The table spot was a shame, but as always, slip-ups such as these only add to the match. That was hard to watch knowing Punk's leg injury, and that's the point. They took a nasty spill. And then not even a minute later, Rock gets Punk up and hits Rock Bottom on the floor! At this point the direction has changed. This is Rock's match now. Paul Heyman's face is in his palm, he senses that his champ is in danger. What a fucking great character this guy is, and he does it so well. Rock rolls Punk in and tries to put him away, but Punk's not done yet. He gets up and hits Rock with a perfectly executed roundhouse kick. We're back to an even playing field. Heyman is getting pumped. Fucking hell, this guy is on a roll. Both men are up and are throwing some back and forth punches to play with the crowd. It's not often you see it, but the reaction here is split with this back-and-forth. Rock hits the spinebuster and sets up the People's Elbow.
And here's where the match takes a hit. I could have done without an interference, personally. I've said it before, my hopes for this feud were for it to be strictly one on one, Punk vs. Rock. I didn't want anyone, Shield included, involved. But it added drama, and more importantly, it got the crowd behind Rock. Throughout the match the crowd was evenly split. Loud Rock chants, loud Punk chants, dueling boots to asses, knees to faces chants. But at this point, the crowd was solely behind Rock. Punk pins the Rock and he and Heyman are ecstatic. Fans are stunned, with a good portion of fans glad to see Punk win. Most of the fans, however, feel robbed. Which brings us to the pop of the night, Vince fucking McMahon. Who by the way, is shit as a face. Just my opinion. Especially during that Heyman segment this past RAW. DAT HYPOCRISY. Anyway, match restarts. Punk's pissed and is taking it to Rock. He hits his elbow, but Rock powers out. Fans are loving it. Punk signals GTS, but is hit with the spinebuster and the end is near. People's elbow connects this time, and we have a new champion. Crowd erupts as Rocky wins the championship, and Punk's 434 days as champion finally come to an end. Great stuff.
****
I'm expecting more of a clean match at EC, with Rock ultimately coming out as the winner which sets up Rock/Cena II. Ugh. But I've been loving this feud so far, and I'm looking forward to their upcoming segments and match. Really good chemistry between Punk and Rock. Hopefully Heyman stays with Punk. He was a fucking star here.