CM Punk and MJF have been engaged in a bitter feud since November, and the two rivals finally clashed in a singles match for the first time on the February 1 episode of AEW Dynamite.
By the time AEW rolled into Punk’s hometown of Chicago on Wednesday, the time for talk was over. Instead, as soon as the bell rang, Punk took the fight to Dynamite Diamond Ring winner. The match quickly spilled out into the crowd, and “The Second City Saint” controlled the opening minutes of the action.
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MJF gained the upper hand when he sent Punk arm-first into the ring post, and he proceeded to target the wounded limb. “The Salt of the Earth” grounded Punk and dominated the next stretch of the match. “The Second City Saint” rallied with a crossbody and slammed MJF onto the apron. With a Pepsi Twist, Punk gained even more momentum, but MJF choked him out with some concealed tape. MJF then made the fan-favorite pass out, briefly giving the dastardly heel the win. But the referee saw the tape, so he restarted the match.
Once the action resumed, Punk took control again with a flurry of offense. MJF regained the advantage and grounded the fan-favorite star again, but the veteran again rallied. He dove onto the leader of The Pinnacle at ringside, but he landed badly on his knee. MJF then wisely targeted this new weakness, leaving Punk with a bad arm and a bad knee. “The Second City Saint” went for his signature Go To Sleep, but his knee gave out. The war continued, and when Punk busted out a reverse hurricanrana, he landed roughly on his neck. MJF continued to attack Punk’s arm and his knee, and he got a near fall after a low blow and a roll-up.
The Dynamite Diamond Winner seemingly had Punk on the ropes when he locked Punk in a Figure-Four around the ring post. Yet again “The Second City Saint” kept fighting, and he took an old page out of his playbook when he dropped MJF with a Pepsi Plunge. Punk got a near fall with a diving elbow, but Wardlow came to ringside to sway the outcome of the match.
Given his brewing conflict with MJF, some fans expected to see Wardlow turn on him. Instead, after he stared Punk down, Wardlow secretly handed MJF the Dynamite Diamond Ring. “Mr. Mayhem” then distracted Punk, which allowed MJF to blast him with the ring around his finger. MJF then pinned Punk to hand him the first loss of his AEW career.
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This loss marked Punk’s first televised defeat in a wrestling match since 2014; Roman Reigns beat him on the January 6, 2014 episode of WWE RAW.
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