On CM Punk's heel turn, part 2

June 30, 12:19 AMNY Pro Wrestling ExaminerAaron Glazer

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Since CM Punk is apparently turning heel,for the first three days of the week, we’ll be looking at the reason indy wrestling fans are so excited to see him go heel in the WWE by looking at his Ring of Honor heel turns.  Yesterday, this column discussed the first of these, where Straight Edge CM Punk went heel to attack the drug addled Raven for all that he wasted.

The feud with Raven went to its conclusion, around when TNA pulled all of their talent from ROH for the first time.  Punk, who was working both companies at once, chose to stay with Ring of Honor.  He was a heel for awhile longer, until he finally faced dominant champion Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor World Title.  After two classic, one hour draws, Joe was finally able to defeat Punk, but the amazing performances turned Punk to a face. 

After awhile solidifying himself as a face and a leader of the locker room, CM Punk signed with the WWE.  One of ROH’s saviors and perhaps the company’s most beloved son was leaving.  The one thing he’d never accomplished in ROH was winning the World Title and, of course, before he left he wanted one final shot at the belt from then champion Austin Aries. Aries wasn’t going to make it easy, however, and ducked Punk until his final night in the company.

The two faced off at 2005’s Death Before Dishonor III  in the main event and had what is perhaps the best Hogan style match I’ve ever seen.  In the end, Punk was victorious, achieving his final ROH goal of winning the World Title… only to turn on the fans and the company in the instant after (the quality isn’t great, but the footage is rare online):

CM Punk Wins ROH Title from Austin Aries
 

Come back tomorrow for the remainder of this heel turn in what would come to be known as “The Summer of Punk.”

For More info: Check out www.ROHWrestling.com to order the Death Before Dishonor III DVD that this takes place on.