CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar – An All Time Classic

(Originally published by myself on another site last year)

Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk – Summerslam 2013

I saw this match when it happened and I loved it. But re-watching it the other day made me realize that it’s absolutely one of my favorite matches of all time.

Backstory

So this feud was all about the deteriorating relationship between CM Punk and Paul Heyman. Punk didn’t want Heyman in his corner anymore and that caused Heyman to become resentful. He got Brock Lesnar to attack CM Punk and then denied accountability, swearing on his own children that he didn’t send Brock out. Then as Punk was about to win his third MITB, Heyman hit him with a ladder in the head, busting him open and costing him the match. Heyman and Punk then proceeded to have these amazing back and forth promos and Punk said he’d go through anyone necessary to get back at Heyman. Out comes Lesnar, and while Punk put up a fight, Lesnar destroyed him. But the go home show before Summerslam, Punk snuck in the ring behind Lesnar and beat him down with one of the camera man’s cameras and a steel chair, giving hope that maybe Punk does stand a chance.

The Match

The Best vs The Beast, CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar. It was announced on the pre-show that the co-main event is no No DQ. Kinda weird you couldn’t squeeze that into a regular show. Punk starts off managing to outrun Lesnar and get a few shots in. High knees from Punk. Lesnar finally goes down. Punk sends Lesnar into the ring post and hits a flying ax handle smash to the outside. Punk hits a flying clothesline off the announce table. Punk gets his eyes on Heyman and Lesnar attacks from behind. Lesnar throws Punk over the announce table and Punk gets a cut on his back. Lesnar puts the wood cover to the announce table on Punk’s back and jumps on it, snapping it. Belly to belly on the outside by Brock. Lesnar destroys Punk with fallaway slams and knees to the ribs. Punk bites his way out of a submission. Punk with some shining wizards in the corner. Lesnar reverses the third but Punk fights back and kicks Lesnar down. Flying elbow by Punk. Lesnar gets Punk in the kimura but Punk manages to get the arm and turns it into an armbar! Lesnar rolls and Punk turns it into a triangle choke! Lesnar is close to tapping and the roof is coming off this place! Lesnar manages to lift and powerbomb Punk but PUNK LOCKS IT BACK IN! Lesnar with a second powerbomb and they’re both down. Lesnar with some suplexes. He grabs a chair from the outside but as he turns around, Punk hits a crossbody off the ropes, onto the chair, onto Brock. Holy shit. Punk hits shot after shot with the chair to Lesnar. Punk hits a low blow after Lesnar grabbed the chair. Punk heads to the top with the chair and hits a flying elbow with the chair.

Punk with more chair shots. Heyman gets on the apron. Punk grabs him but Lesnar picks up Punk onto his shoulders. Punk holds onto Heyman’s tie, choking him as Lesnar tries to pull Punk away. Punk gets off of Lesnar’s shoulders and hits the GTS! Heyman breaks the pinfall but it looks like Lesnar kicked out too. Punk runs after Heyman and walks right into Lesnar who puts him on his shoulders for the F-5. Punk revereses into a DDT! Punk locks in the anaconda vise and Lesnar is almost tapping. Heyman runs in with a chair. Punk punches Heyman in the face. He locks in the anaconda vise in on Heyman. Lesnar hits Punk from behind with the steel chair. And again. And again. Lesnar picks up Punk’s dead carcass and hits the F-5 on the chair and gets the win.

Final Thoughts

There was quite a bit of talk going around the internet at the time about how they could possibly make CM Punk look believable against Brock Lesnar. Which I thought was a bit ridiculous. I think you’d really have to have issues suspending your disbelief to not be able to think that one of the most decorated wrestlers over the last two years (at the time) could take on Lesnar. Eddie had a better physique than Punk but wasn’t exactly a monster. And that went amazing. But this match did it to perfection. Punk scratched and clawed, biting, kicking and using any opportunity he could to take Lesnar down to his size. Even watching it two years later, the spot in the triangle choke was so deep into the match that I truly think the crowd fully bought into it. Both guys sold the hell out of each other. And ultimately he proved he could go toe to toe with The Beast, but his own rage got in the way. Punk is a perfect flawed character because he isn’t a guy like John Cena that has virtually no weakness. Punk can be gotten to, he has a hothead and it almost seemed like his real life persona. This match felt like it was crafted around a story and stuck to it the whole time which is what makes great matches incredible for me.

I’m not sure I could name you five WWE matches that I enjoyed more than this match. And it makes me long for this Lesnar. I love suplex city, but I miss the Brock that actually had matches with his opponents. Brock Lesnar’s 2002-2003 is one of the best bodies of work there is. And some of those were extremely competitive matches.

But getting back on topic, I just really felt the need to express how amazing I thought this match was. Let me know what you guys thought of it and if you like the format or would like to see more of this.