CJD: So I guess this fits the Forever Forward Friday mantra of celebrating indie wrestling. And obviously Eddie being Latino, and Colt being Jewish. But really I just wanted to watch this match. Part of me thought maybe I had years back, I've seen a bit of Eddie's indie work on this little tune up run. But watching it now I think this is new to me and many thanks to Colt for uploading it. What a piece of wrestling history in Dayton Ohio in front of 56 fans!! These guys absolutely went for it, even in a 3 way where it would be easy to phone it in a bit. Eddie's chemistry with these young stallions is remarkable. The raw youthful energy and determination Punk and Colt had was infectious. Prazak raising hell, an obligatory 5 minutes of Ian Rotten speeches at the end, this has everything you want or expect. And a blast of a triple threat match while we're at it!
JJZ: So I'm pretty sure this was played for us before but after watching it I can't remember any of it so maybe I'm wrong. Either way, I'll say that I thought this match was solid. There were some really nicely timed spots that were executed smoothly. But it had some awkward spots too that felt a little clunky. For 56 people the crowd was great in my opinion. Even with Eddie being there they were so behind Colt. With Eddie being in the match it would've been easy to forget about Colt but I felt like that never happened. The finishing stretch was my favorite part of this match. I couldn't remember who won so I really was popping for them falsies.
CJD: So we figured out after the fact why we both thought we'd seen this one before. We were thinking of the also very good IWAMS 3 way between Eddie, Punk, and Rey! So enjoy this vaguely familiar match that was totally new to both of us even though we weren't sure as we watched lol.
CM Punk/Colt Cabana VS Ace Steel/Danny Dominion - Beloit WI 3/4/2001
CJD: Well you definitely limited my options this week but I think this match will do just fine. Fascinating glimpse at the early days of the Second City Saints in this students VS teachers match up. It's funny to me that Punk is the worst wrestler in this match but obviously went on to have the most success. Clearly the fans gravitate to him even then, and the writing is on the wall as to the direction indy wrestling, and eventually all of pro wrestling, are heading in the years to come. Dominion & Steel haven't lost a step since the match we just watched 7 years prior, and deliver a masterful heel tag team performance here. I had never heard of Danny Dominion three weeks ago, but I have to say I've become a fan. I'm sad we never got to see him in the Embassy. He had to have been in at least one TPI, right? Danny Dominion, where have you gone??
JJZ: Ace Steel like I've never seen him before. Wow, this is super Indy. Really reminds me of when I was going to a lot of shows in the early 2000s. CM and CC looking like some little babies over here. I'm loving that the last two matches have some of the biggest Indy stars ever but when they just broke in. Colt is flying all over the place. Looking like he belongs in the J-Cup. I'll be honest, if I was judging off this match alone I'd predict that Cabana would become the bigger star. I'm enjoying Punk, but he's got backyarder written all over him. Steel and Dominion are playing the old salty veteran heel role to a tee. Colt's getting the nice babyface pops while Ace and Danny are pulling great heat from the crowd. I'm totally marking out over this 2001 move set. Bring on all the tornado DDTs you got! Wheel barrel bulldog?? Hell yeah! I think you undersold this match a little bit baby. I got a real kick out of it.
CM Punk VS Jimmy Rave - ROH Steel Cage Match 5/14/2005
CJD: So as we allude to on here every now and then John, you and I have been getting together to hang out and watch pro wrestling for two decades and counting. And in the early days we played anything and everything, but circa 2004 we both started keeping books of matches to play for each other and our friends. Well this match comes from my big book which I just added the 782nd match to last week. This is match number 49 for all you stat geeks out there. And while I'll never get to play it for you and the gang in person, I'm more than happy to share it on PIF instead (and finally cross it off!).
I think this bookends last week nicely, going from a match that's all about building to a payoff, to a match that is as classic of a way to end a feud as you can get. I loved this Punk/Rave feud at the time even though I wasn't a huge fan of either guy. Rave grew into a great heel in the Embassy and say what you will about Punk, he's the type of personality you want to watch even if you don't like him. This match is a wild ride and didn't disappoint revisting it all these years later. And if you ever wanted a reminder of just how shitty Gabe was on commentary, well, here you go!
JJZ: This is fantastic Chris. I so remembering talking about this match with you and feel like I'm sitting in my old apartment at 2AM after a Wawa run. Loving that my match was a build to a cage match and your match actually is one. This crowd is lit to the tits. Jimmy Rave, at one time I hated him then came to love him. He does not suck and has talent no matter what people shout during his matches. I'm feeling the slow, taking his revenge build to start this match. The way the feud built to this match was done so well from what I remember. I know I was driven insane by Rave's chicken shit tactics during their matches and it continued in this one. Punk could of hid that cut job a little better. The Crown Jewel really brought his A game though, playing his role to perfection with Punk doing what Punk always does best in story telling. This match is seriously the anti-WWE cage match with all the blood and choking. Jade Chung bumping her ass off! This match is truly one of the best Punk matches I've ever seen and a lot of credit needs to go to Rave. You pulled an Ace outta your deck for this one CJD.
JJZ: As a person I think CM Punk is a jerkoff. As a wrestler he always brings psychology and story telling to his matches. He is also probably the best talker of the most recent generation. I only ever remember seeing the Mania match between these two before this and I think they work really well together. Punk trying to chop Taker down and keep him down to eliminate the size and power difference is basic but done so well. Even though Punk still needs to learn how to throw a kick the strike exchanges in the match are solid and I love love love the battle on the top rope. The finish of the match put this over the top for me. Very nice story building television match.
CJD: I don't remember these two feuding so many years before their famous Wrestlemania match. This makes me want to watch the Hell In A Cell match that follows. I remember people saying in podcasts and such that Undertaker never had a problem selling for smaller guys as long as you stay on him, and Punk did that in this match. This was definitely one that was more about building to a payoff than it was about the match itself but that's pro wrestling 101. Also if we ever pick a match between two wrestlers you think are shitty people who are both wearing the same color tights I'm pretty sure your brain will implode!
