khali
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,600
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Post by khali on Sept 6, 2021 1:21:12 GMT -5
Maybe because I’ve been watching wrestling all day. Jericho/MJF Punk/Darby Cage/Omega All felt like they took forever to get into second gear. But once the got going and the right guy won. I enjoyed all three. They were slower story based matches. And I like that style a lot. I think it shows AEW isn’t just spot fests with flippy guys. I love all styles in AEW right now. Yeah, I liked the flow of those matches a lot. Punk and Darby especially had that slow feeling each other out momentum.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Sept 6, 2021 3:07:18 GMT -5
They were slower story based matches. And I like that style a lot. I think it shows AEW isn’t just spot fests with flippy guys. I love all styles in AEW right now. Yeah, I liked the flow of those matches a lot. Punk and Darby especially had that slow feeling each other out momentum. Someone drew some comparisons between Punk/Darby and Bret Hart/1-2-3 Kid in 1994 and I think it's an excellent comparison. Go back and watch the latter and you'll see what I mean.
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Post by dgenerationmc on Sept 6, 2021 4:12:59 GMT -5
The layout of the match definitely wasn't what I expected. I thought Darby would be a little more dominant over Punk and overwhelm him before taking too many risks and making too many mistakes that would allow the vet to take advantage for the win after fighting from underneath. More like HHH, Orton and Edge "surviving" their breakout matches with Foley in horror movie fashion, so to speak. So, while I was disappointed that Darby wasn't the Michael Myers to Punk's Jamie Lee Curtis, the right result happened and the feel good "CM Punk Welcome Home Party" has hopefully reached it's culmination so the man can really dive into some character work against someone like MJF.
Punk actually taking Darby's suicide dive was a surprise as well. Ol' Punker performed just about how I expected and just kept things simple like he previously had in his career. The right guy won on this night but I sincerely doubt this is the end of the Punk-Darby story. The up and comer will probably get his win back down the line with higher stakes (the World Title) and both wrestlers having gone through an exponential amount of character development (heel Punk?) compared to this time around.
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Post by freeze Austin on Sept 6, 2021 4:25:11 GMT -5
I loved the psychology in that match, Darby being a madman, and Punk's facial reactions. Punk is a fantastic storyteller and student of wrestling.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2021 5:57:37 GMT -5
Bret was on a podcast or show (whatever it was) with Punk/Renee/Booker T last year, and Punk specifically mentioned Bret/1-2-3 Kid when they were listing out great Bret matches. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he paid tribute to that match with the opening spot.
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Post by Gelatinous Parasite on Sept 6, 2021 6:10:42 GMT -5
The counter to the Coffin Drop just being a Taker-style situp was hilarious. I hate the Coffin Drop so I laughed really hard. Excellent timing on that. Often a top rope miss is clearly telegraphed by one or both but that looked great.
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Post by King (Super) Dragunov on Sept 6, 2021 8:01:49 GMT -5
Punk didn't go for the "flailing leap" from the top rope. That's easily a winner in my book.
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Post by RGT 85 on Sept 6, 2021 9:52:12 GMT -5
He looked a little slow at first, but once he got it going, it was going and going gooooood.
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Post by Fade is a CodyCryBaby on Sept 6, 2021 11:47:41 GMT -5
It was alright. Punks never been known for his in-ring prowess but it wasn’t dog-shit and he got into it.
I think the real big problem was the lack of story. That’s Punks bread and butter and obviously they didn’t have much time with this but yeah..get Punk into some heated angles stat.
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Post by Triangle Lancer on Sept 6, 2021 12:01:22 GMT -5
I'm a Darby guy so I'm looking at things impartially. favorite part was the beginning. Darby, slumped in the corner getting in his mind-set while Punk plays to the crowd and limbering up. Then his sitting down across from Darby and giving his impression, "C'mon kid, we got a match."
After one takeover, fans chanting "You still got it!" I'm telling my group "WTF? Did they expect him to keel over and gasp for breath in 3 seconds?"
And there was this dude one section over totally into CM Punk. Constantly screaming and Woo'ing for the guy. After the match was over, either he left or his voice gave out.
Fun match. The look on Punk's face after the win was like "Damn, I gotta work harder; the kid almost got me."
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 6, 2021 12:09:20 GMT -5
I was glad Punk took advantage of Darby's size because he never got to do too many matches where he could tease hitting the GTS from anywhere but it worked super well here.
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mc74
Samurai Cop
Posts: 2,410
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Post by mc74 on Sept 6, 2021 12:16:07 GMT -5
As others have alluded to, Punk was showing some shades of Bret Hart in this match. He did a great job of controlling the pace of the match, telling a story in the ring, as well as using subtle, yet effective mannerisms.
Darby on the other hand, proved that he was indeed an excellent choice as Punk's first opponent back. He displayed solid wrestling ability and I felt those two clicked very well out there. Punk may have won the match, but Darby looked strong himself too, and proved without a shadow of a doubt he can hang with the best of them.
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Abdullah
Hank Scorpio
Thank you, Ishmeal Loves Bayley!
Posts: 6,420
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Post by Abdullah on Sept 6, 2021 12:27:07 GMT -5
Having it in Chicago was such a bonus. On its own, that match doesn’t quite pop. But they really gave it the right atmosphere.
And it’s weird to see Punk in tights.
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Post by corndog on Sept 6, 2021 15:55:16 GMT -5
I didn't mind the pace, I loved the story telling and honestly it's nice to see old school wrestling like that in this day.
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Rican
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
July 17, 2011 - HHHe called it
Posts: 16,477
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Post by Rican on Sept 6, 2021 17:30:26 GMT -5
That was an excellently put together match. Great storytelling. I saw some people on Twitter criticizing, but I mean for Punk being in his 40’s and not having wrestled in 7 years it exceeded what I expected. Count me in as someone super impressed with Darby too. I’ve always been kind of eh on him but that match isn’t as good without him.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Sept 6, 2021 18:51:57 GMT -5
Punk is clearly still finding himself. No embarrassing moments but people will forget about what this match was like in favour of what it represents. Punk's best matches are more about feud and story and this just had less of that. Now the real fun begins...
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Post by AndyUK on Sept 6, 2021 20:06:27 GMT -5
Was a good match after 7 years away, probably ***1/2 and the best is yet to come with proper stories and feuds.
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Post by smokinvokoun86 on Sept 7, 2021 1:06:40 GMT -5
Also, quick note, since when was CM Punk “never known for being a great worker?” Thats news to me.
I mean, the worst I heard about him was that he wasn’t a natural athlete, but if he wasn’t a great wrestler and all he was is a great talker, he wouldn’t be as beloved as he was. The dude was and still is probably one of the most complete wrestling packages of the last twenty years.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Sept 7, 2021 1:51:56 GMT -5
Also, quick note, since when was CM Punk “never known for being a great worker?” Thats news to me. I mean, the worst I heard about him was that he wasn’t a natural athlete, but if he wasn’t a great wrestler and all he was is a great talker, he wouldn’t be as beloved as he was. The dude was and still is probably one of the most complete wrestling packages of the last twenty years. He is a great wrestler in a lot of ways, but he has never been someone to put in a highlight reel. Hell, his best match can be summed up as, "Punk does a basic headlock whenever possible and his opponent sells it more and more for an hour." That's one of my favorite matches, mind, but it's good in a different way than most of his peers' greatest hits.
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Blade
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,943
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Post by Blade on Sept 7, 2021 1:52:55 GMT -5
After one takeover, fans chanting "You still got it!" I'm telling my group "WTF? Did they expect him to keel over and gasp for breath in 3 seconds?" Welll... it's been known to happen. *coughcoughtheRockcough*
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