CM Punk "Best in the World" (Blu-Ray Review)

OK finally got around to watching this on Blu-Ray. Wow another wrestling masterpiece. It sheds a lot of light on the character, the man - but more importantly - the business dynasty he works for. A slightly inside look at the arcs and angles that CM Punk was involved in - how they unfolded - and the backstage reactions of those it affected. It was great to see the early footage in the history, but it doesn’t make or break the project. Probably could have got the same effect with a few still photographs credited to PWI magazine. Still, it was cool - and it certainly does get you hype when they discuss his chapters with Chris Hero and Colt Cabana in particular. It also explains the Straight Edge origins very thoroughly - which was a movement I was completely unawares of until Punk started flaunting it. His ornery brash nature is kind of glossed over, although I’ve shared firsthand experience of his dickery. One of the reasons I can honestly say I’ve never been a *CM Punk guy* (like VKM Jr). I distinctly remember the first time I ever saw him was on a ROH show in Cambridge in 2003 during his war with Raven and it was so awesome to have that feud, and what it meant to his characters evolution, recapped on the disc. From the very beginning CM Punk struck me as a narcissistic heel character, despite being overwhelmingly cheered. I even wrote in article in 2006 or so calling him “Greatest Heel Never Booed”. The Original Summer of Punk run was one of the freshest, most exciting times in recent wrestling history. Sort of like when Biggie Smalls & 50 Cent were first coming up in the mixtape circuit (1992 and 2002 respectively).

Punks affiliation with Paul Heyman is thoroughly documented, and runs deeper than I ever knew. Those “I’m a Paul Heyman guy” comments in his famous rant (aired in its entirety during the show) were heavy foreshadowing for sure. It covers his aborted title runs (the first ended by a Randy Orton punt kick backstage) and the backstage reactions to that (CM Punk wasn’t told until day of, for example. But it also covers some very compelling personal ground as well, and his whole arc with Joey Mercury (and how it climaxed with his real life return to WWE under the SES banner) is told in gripping fashion. The interviews with Colt Cabana, Daniel Bryan, the Lars guy from Rancid, Kofi Kingston and even Curt Hawkins shed light not only on CM Punk the character and person - but themselves as pro wrestling fans and artists too. They showed CM Punk backstage chatting up some of the younger breed, including Dean Ambrose! But what the heck was up with that weird bathrobe outro?? Lol

So the main story is great, and climaxes with his run at MitB. But then you get the extras and it’s like a freakin sequel. Just great stuff - unbelievable stuff like the skull fracture story - or the sharing of girls clothes - etc is really illuminating and entertaining. ). It covers the December to Dismember scenario in agonizing detail. “The Conversation with Lars” and “OVW vs. Albright” were my favorite chapters here, and we even get one of those lost classics in the match extras. The only slightly corny thing to me was super long musical montage outro that reminds me of some CW, 90210, Dawsons Creek, I dunno-type shit like that. The matches are a good piece-by-piece look of his characters evolution (through his WWE career, starting with OVW - no full IWA or ROH matches) and my Blu-Ray extra match is the IC finals from Armageddon 2008. Overall, as a guy who’s not even (and still *isn’t*) a CM Punk guy, I can say this is a great story. Another home run for WWE video and I encourage all wrestling fans to check out the documentary portion at least. Even die hard CM Punk fans will learn something new.

10 out of 10.

peace,

MSD

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