Official Ring of Honor ROH - CM Punk "The Summer of Punk" 2 Disc DVD Set

When speaking of the most controversial figures in all of wrestling, CM Punk was always one of those much-discussed individuals; from his very beginnings to his infamous walkout from World Wrestling Entertainment the night after Royal Rumble 2014.Those who’ve followed CM Punk’s career will recall his infamous shoot promo in 2011 which ultimately led to Money in the Bank against John Cena. And they’ll also talk about his work as part of the Straight-Edge Society and the feud with Jeff Hardy. But before all of that, there was Ring of Honor.Everybody knows it was Punk’s time in ROH that really put his name on the map, what with his epic trilogy with Samoa Joe, and possibly the most infamous angle in ROH History: The Summer of Punk.In 2005, Punk had signed his contract with WWE, and announced his departure. What followed was a tremendous angle that swerved all fans’ expectations, and blurred the line between reality and kayfabe. In what was billed as his final match for Ring of Honor, CM Punk captured the ROH World Title…and in an amazing promo afterwards, insulted all those who supported him and declared he would be leaving with the championship.For two months, chaos ensued. As Punk actually signed his WWE Contract on the ROH World Title to insane amounts of heat, and challengers emerged from every corner to desperately get the belt off him before it was too late! All of Punk’s title matches became so heated, and filled with such urgency that you had no idea what was going to happen. The Summer of Punk was such an incredible angle – certainly one of ROH’s finest – that it definitely deserves a DVD release dedicated to it.The Summer of Punk is a 2-Disc DVD released back in 2012. At the time, CM Punk was busy with his 434-day reign as WWE Champion; so understandably he couldn’t be on hand for this project. There are no narrative pieces either between the bouts/segments included in this feature to help provide context. However, program manages to work well without it. So if you haven’t followed ROH that much (if at all), then you’ll be able to grasp what’s going on.There are seven bouts included in total; from his first ‘final match’ with Austin Aries (where he captures the ROH World Title) to his actual final match with long-time friend Colt Cabana. From start-to-finish, The Summer of Punk is captivating viewing; from its outrageous segments, to Punk’s masterful promos, and the wealth of scientific and emotional wrestling on offer.However, the content isn’t as consistent as it should be. The title bouts against Jay Lethal and James Gibson (AKA Jamie Noble) – although solid – feel more like exhibition bouts and chapters that are just used to develop the intensity of the angle instead of being amazing matches in their own right. The four-way elimination bout between Punk, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and James Gibson also suffers from being too long, which betrays the multitude of well-told stories on display. Granted, it has an emotional ending, but the bout could’ve benefited more from better pacing and a shorter-length.Nonetheless, there are so many amazing moments littered throughout the DVD. The first bout against Austin Aries is a terrific thirty-minute collision with bags of emotion, and even more to come with the outcome and amazing promo afterwards! The match with Roderick Strong is another excellent outing with Strong making fans believe he can dethrone Punk, and the sixty-minute bout with Christopher Daniels is an absolute rollercoaster that will have you hooked!Segments consist of Punk’s infamous WWE Contract signing on-top of the ROH World Title, numerous intelligent confrontations with Mick Foley himself, and many heated altercations with James Gibson; all of which – along with the entertaining farewell bout with Colt Cabana – make this DVD not just one of the most essential purchases out of ROH’s library, but in all of wrestling. For those who’ve been curious to check out CM Punk’s work in Ring of Honor after watching CM Punk: Best in the World, then The Summer of Punk is the ideal companion. It’s not the all-round definitive DVD like Best in the World, but it’s certainly essential for fans of the man, and truly one of the best things that he’ll be remembered for throughout his wrestling career.

This DVD highlights one of the greatest storylines in ROH history; The Summer of Punk and it features the seven matches from that angle. It also contains all the promos and segments from the storyline. These are good but the sound quality makes it hard to hear everything that's said, it's still good that they're included though as they tell an important part of the story. The matches included are:CM Punk vs. Austin Aries - This was thought to be Punk's final match in Ring of Honor as he had recently signed with WWE. It was for the ROH world championship which Aries held. Punk was first to gain the upper hand as he started targeting Aries' neck and wearing him down. Aries managed to counter on the outside and hit a death valley driver on the ring apron to get back in the match and Aries then worked over Punk's back and neck. The match had a good pace, building from a methodical start to a fast paced finish with lots of exciting near falls. A really great match.CM Punk vs. Jay Lethal - Lethal hits his dragon suplex to start the match but Punk rolls outside. Lethal takes the fight to Punk and goes right after him, nearly ending the match early. Punk came back and injured Jay's neck and he would go on to target the neck through out the match. The match went back and forth with so many near falls and counters. Samoa Joe came out to cheer on Lethal which led to Punk mocking Joe as he hit a musclebuster on Lethal. This was another really good and exciting match.CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong - They start off with some technical wrestling going back and forth. Strong hits Punk with his signature chops before sending him out of the ring and doing some damage on the outside. Back in the ring he tries to soften up Punk's back to try and set up for his strong-hold. Punk turns things around and tries to wear down Strong and keep him grounded. This match, like the others was full of near falls, especially towards the end, it wasn't as good as the previous matches but it was still a really good match.CM Punk vs. James Gibson - Punk and Gibson got in a fight earlier in the show which left Gibson bloodied. Punk went right after James as soon as the match properly began but Gibson turned it around and went after Punk's shoulder. When Punk came back he would target Gibson's head where he was split open earlier. Punk bleeds quite a bit from his back too. Towards the end both men are desperately trying to get the win as they're exhausted. It was another really good match, especially worth a watch if you've only seen Gibson as Jamie Noble in WWE as I had.CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels - They start off wrestling back and forth trading holds, Daniels was getting the upper hand more often than Punk and eventually started to target Punk's neck. They were wrestling a more methodical pace than previous matches as both men were expecting the match to go long. Punk comes back and targets the mid section of Daniels as the matches pace picks up. This was another good match, it was a different style of match to previous ones though, with less near falls and big moves until the final section of the match, both men were working at a slower pace trying to wear down their opponent and so there was less desperation to end the match for a long time. It was still a good match though but I do think it could have been shorter.CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels - This was an elimination match for the ROH world title where two men were in the ring at one time. We got to see every combination of wrestlers throughout the match but Punk did all he could to not have to face Joe one on one as he was who Punk saw as his biggest threat. Punk hit Gibson with a chair which injured him and he was escorted out of the match by officials. Punk wrestled very smartly, doing all he could to keep his title. This built up into a really good match with lots of near falls and memorable moments.CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - This two out of three falls match was to be Punk's final match in ROH(he would return for one more surprise match the next year). The Summer of Punk was over so CM Punk was back to normal for this farewell match. They wrestled back and forth throughout, CM Punk eventually grew frustrated by Cabana's antics which led to the first fall. After that the match picked up and they had a really good and competitive match. It wasn't as intense as the previous matches on the set as it was more of an exhibition match but it was still a lot of fun.This was a really good DVD, seven matches doesn't sound like a lot but they are all of decent length, one of which is an hour long so there's still a lot of wrestling on the set. Every match is at least very good if not great and the DVD tells the story of the Summer of Punk very well through all the promos and matches.