Ring of (Dis)Honor

True wrestling junkies may remember CM Punk’s pre-WWE career with Ring of Honor (ROH). Did you know the original “Summer of Punk” took place six years before his infamous Pipebomb promo (more on that later) in ROH?

It was June 2005 and Punk had agreed to sign with the big, bad WWE, which is why his victory over Austin Aries to win the ROH World Championship (for the first time) was shocking. Even more shocking was what Punk, then a face, said immediately after to the cheering crowd: “I am the devil himself, and all of you stupid, mindless people fell for it… Ladies and gentlemen, the champ is here.”

The reference to John Cena—a despised figure among independent wrestling fans given what he stood for—put an exclamation point on Punk’s heel turn. It was a legendary moment in Ring of Honor that gave Punk one final memorable run in the company as a corporate sellout, threatening to take the ROH title with him to the WWE.

Over a decade and a half later, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) remixed lines from his childhood hero’s promo in their feud. Speaking of which…