CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana

[6.0] "This is alright, obviously two famous guys with a very famous public feud but the match is just fine. 3 stars"

[7.0] "The first good Punk match in ROH. Him and Colt wrestled multiple times prior to this and it's clear here that they have great chemistry. It's a fairly even match to start with, until Punk starts working Colt's arm, which Colt sells really well throughout the match, even if it's not the main focus. Towards the end, there's a major struggle as both guys attempt to put the other away, until Colt is able to muscle Punk up and hit the Colt 45 for the win. There's a few awkward moments throughout this, mostly from Punk who still looked to be figuring out his style here, but this was still a pretty good match overall, with both guys showing flashes of the performers that they'd eventually become. ***1/2"

[6.0] "It's fine. Young Punk has a tendency to try and engage in intricate technical reversal sequences and feats of athleticism which has never been his strong point and most of the first half of the match falls into that trap, causing the early proceedings to look clunky and uncoordinated. The second half starts to show signs of Punk's legendary ability to pace a match and control a crowd and brings it back around to a good undercard showing. Clearly a step up from some of the undercard trash on the early 2002 shows."

[7.0] "This is Colt Cabana's ROH debut, and I was surprised to see that he presented himself pretty seriously here. I don't believe there was a single moment that veered at all close to being comedy. The two had a little of that 2002 indy awkwardness, but they both pulled out some fairly unique offence, and Colt was surprisingly physical at times. Good effort for two guys still so early in their careers, and you can see why it wouldn't be long before they were regulars in ROH as they are clearly a cut above a lot of the promotion's midcard roster members in 2002."

[8.0] "Good match. It was a great showcase for Colt Cabana, who showed some of his moves, such as the asai moonsault, the tornado snap suplex, the cradle DDT and his finisher, the Colt 45. CM Punk looked fine, with some cool stuff as well, like the double underhook backbreaker or some knee strikes. This two had a great chemistry and they showed how they are used to wrestle each other, as seen on the ending sequence when CM Punk was dodging the Colt 45, until Cabana hit it at the third attempt. Good match, I want to see their next bout on the following show."

[8.0] "Both Punk & Colt are still very athletic around this time. Young Colt Cabana was a beast at this point, Asai Moonsault, A sick looking cradle DDT, he even threw a stiff Lariat. Punk did some great stuff as well using his quickness against Colt, he even brought out a poison rana. I really enjoyed the finish with Punk trying to escape the Colt .45 but Colt eventually got him and dropped him with it. Great Match."

[7.0] "A very solid exhibition-y match with good energy & good work throughout. Thought that Punk was on low-key fire in this w/ his awesome, creative (but brief) attack on Colt's arm, and then all of those 'rana's he busted out. Good shit."

[7.0] "This was a good exhibition match between Punk and Cabana, Punk did some filler armwork in the beginning, so it was no big deal. I like the little story of Colt wanting to prove that he deserved to be called before CM Punk by ROH officials. (***1/4)"

[3.0] "This really felt like your run-of-the-mill Ring of Honor undercard match circa 2002 so i'm not sure why it's held in such high esteem. It seems to me like it was just there to give the commentators a chance to put over the history of the Punk-Cabana friendship/Rivalry as Cabana is really sloppy in this match and Punk doesn't exactly bring his A game."