On a recent episode of AEW Collision, Christian and CM Punk did the dance, sharing an extended all-star tag team main event. I loved that match and was left pondering their prior meetings, so I thought I’d delve into a few of those with some of my free time. We start with another tag team main event, heading back to the November 17th 2009 edition of ECW TV. Christian is the brand’s champion, operating as their ace since returning to WWE in February.
In the months prior to this, William Regal had been his main rival, with the pair sharing a memorable title tilt in Sheffield, one week prior. This match is a Survivor Series preview, with two SmackDown superstars joining those foes for a television headliner. Punk is just six weeks removed from his second World Heavyweight Title reign, returning to ECW for a guest spot after being murdered by The Undertaker. Opposite him, R-Truth has been back for over a year, now cemented as a popular underneath babyface.
Pre-match, Christian and CM Punk share a backstage interaction, with the former going full Big LG via “nerd” insult. These two had both been in that year’s Money in the Bank ladder match, sharing the ring for three other multi-man scenarios previously. They get us underway here, with Christian dropping Punk immediately, then bringing in and using Regal as a weapon. Truth soon gets in on the act, with the babyfaces running wild as we head to the break.
We return to Truth still shining, sending both Punk and Regal back to the floor. The latter attacks Truth from behind, yanking him to the floor as the referee tends to Punk. That allows for some heat, with Truth’s leg serving as the target. They don’t have a ton of time here but this chunk is executed wonderfully for what it is, cutting the ring off and working that body part with palpable intent. Quick tags also, two heels who just understand pro wrestling to its absolute core.
Eventually, Truth earns some distance, making an admittedly flat hot tag that’s quickly heated up by Christian’s comeback. He and Punk then go into some back and forth action, teasing their respective finish and showing striking chemistry along the way. Things then “break down,” allowing Regal to land a running knee as the illegal man, setting up Punk’s GTS for the win. Truth was just kind of lying down by the way, re-injuring the leg that had been worked over all match.
This is nothing really, but I enjoyed the glance at Punk and Regal’s chemistry or more specifically, their understanding of the heel tag team role. Truth plays a decent babyface in peril and while we don’t get much Christian, his interactions with Punk are lovely. Even still, it’s like seven minutes of television wrestling, simply plugging these names into that era’s main event tag formula. Nice little grin, but absolutely nothing of note which I mean, why would it be, in fairness.
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