By Mike DeRosenroll, Torch specialist

PWTorch VIP members have first-look access to all of Torch ROH specialist Mike DeRosenroll's latest ROH blogs in the VIP Forum. His blogs are posted under the M2_Jay screenname.

For my first Torch Specialist column on classic ROH feuds, I thought I would start with arguably the best ROH feud ever: C.M. Punk vs. Samoa Joe from 2004.

More than any other feud in ROH history, Joe vs. Punk elevated ROH to the status of a third national promotion in the United States. This was primarily because of the acclaim that their second 60-minute draw, Joe vs. Punk II, drew from the wrestling media. Torch coverage of ROH increased noticeably after Joe vs. Punk II, and helped turn their subsequent third match into a major event.

This coverage also made Samoa Joe and C.M. Punk into major names among people who read wrestling newsletters, and helped both wrestlers get contracts with TNA and WWE respectively.

Feud Overview

In June 2004, Samoa Joe had been the ROH World Champion for 15 months. C.M. Punk, half of the ROH Tag Team Champions with Colt Cabana, earned a title shot in Dayton, Ohio, because he had won a lot of matches as of late. Imagine that: getting a title shot because winning matches made him the top contender and not because of a soap opera storyline. ROH was a hot product at the time, and this is why.

Joe and Punk wrestled to a 60-minute draw in Dayton and ROH marketed the show as World Title Classic. It was a very good match, but would end up being surpassed by the next two. Punk was the heel, and the story of the match was him using headlocks and other holds to wear down the larger Joe and try to pin him once he was tired. Punk continued his slow babyface turn by showing respect to Joe after a post-match sneak attack by Homicide, who was feuding with Joe.

The incident with Homicide set up a three-way non-title match between Joe, Punk and Homicide at Scramble Cage Melee in Boston that August. Homicide pinned Joe in this one. Other than this, ROH kept Joe and Punk apart for four months until their re-match at Joe vs. Punk II in October.

The separation was supposed to be even longer, but Steve Corino no-showed the October event in Chicago and ROH compensated the fans by giving them a Joe-Punk rematch. Punk had now completed his face turn, so this match was face vs. face. This 60-minute draw was phenomenal, an absolute must-see classic. Both wrestlers sold incredibly well, the near falls were outstanding and the match-closing sequence on the top turnbuckles was as dramatic as can be.

After the awesomeness of Joe vs. Punk II, the heat for their next rematch was off the charts. It came seven weeks later at All Star Extravaganza II. This was billed as Punk's last shot at Joe, and there was no time limit to guarantee a winner. About ten minutes in, Joe busted open Punk's forehead and story of the match became about Punk's fighting spirit to hang in with Joe. This built to an excellent finale in which Joe became ever more desperate in the face of Punk's underdog comebacks, but finally wore Punk out.

Analysis

Several factors came together to make this an incredible feud. The obvious one was the in-ring wrestling, which makes this a great feud to go back and watch even years later. But the context added something as well. First, ROH had patiently built up Joe as an unstoppable monster champion for 15 months by the time he wrestled Punk at World Title Classic.

ROH kept Punk away from Joe (the exception being a non-title match early in Joe's reign at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies) and built up Punk in feuds with Raven, The Prophecy, and Ricky Steamboat. The fans therefore saw Punk as a real threat to Joe, and the draws made Joe's long title reign look to be in serious jeopardy.

The booking was perfect because it let the wrestling and the prestige of the championship draw the fans. Between the first two matches, on-air characters would talk about Punk being a threat to Joe's title even while both wrestlers were occupied with other feuds. This let the rivalry percolate and build anticipation for the rematch. After the second match was so great, the fans could not wait for the third. Adding some kind of angle, or milking the feud with even more matches, would only have detracted from the three wonderful spectacles that Joe and Punk put on, and the story that they told about two great wrestlers competing to see who was the best.

This feud shows that the classic wrestling formula of building a strong fighting champion and a strong challenger, so that fans want to see who is better, still works extremely well in this era of watered-down "sports entertainment." TNA stumbled onto their best drawing feud of last year with this formula in the Kurt Angle-Samoa Joe feud, but either failed to understand why this feud drew so well or deliberately avoided going back to this formula (perhaps to make sure nothing overshadowed Jeff Jarrett's imminent comeback).

Even though Joe won the feud cleanly over Punk in the last match, both wrestlers came out stronger. The lesson here for WWE and TNA is that, with smart booking, doing a clean job does not have to weaken a wrestler. This feud portrayed Punk as very nearly Joe's equal, so they came out of it as the 1A and 1B stars of the company. Punk went on to feud with Prince Nana's Embassy, making stars of Jimmy Rave and Prince Nana, while Joe would soon drop the belt to Austin Aries but remain ROH's top star even without the title.

Joe and Punk would only meet in a ROH ring once more before Punk would leave for WWE in the following summer. Their meeting was in a Four Corner Elimination Match also involving Christopher Daniels and James Gibson (WWE's Jamie Noble), to conclude the great "Summer of Punk" angle. But that angle is another column entirely.

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