CM Punk and Samoa Joe made names for themselves in the early days of Ring of Honor at the start of the century. The two legendary wrestlers were involved in a rivalry that not only made CM Punk and Samoa Joe names to look out for, but also helped put Ring of Honor on the map as one of the top wrestling promotions in the world.
After their Ring of Honor feud, CM Punk and Samoa Joe reached major heights in the world of professional wrestling. Punk had a legendary run in the WWE and became one of the most influential wrestlers of the past decade. Joe went on to help make TNA one of the top wrestling promotions in the world before having a successful run in the WWE. Today, both wrestlers continue to make waves in the industry in AEW. However, it is important for all wrestling fans to know their history, which starts in Ring of Honor.
9 Famous Trilogy
What made the Samoa Joe and CM Punk rivalry so special were three Ring of Honor world title matches that took place in 2004.
Their first match took place in Dayton, Ohio in June 2004. Samoa Joe defended the ROH title against Punk for the first time. The match ended in a 60-minute time limit draw. Their second and arguably most famous, meeting took place in Oct. in Chicago, Punk’s hometown. On this night, Joe and Punk once again fought to a 60-minute time limit draw. In their third world title match, in December, Joe was able to defeat Punk in just over 31 minutes.
8 First Match
While they are most known for fighting each other for over two hours for the ROH title, Samoa Joe and CM Punk had their first singles match against each other a year prior.
In Aug. 2003, in Fairfield, Connecticut, Joe and Punk wrestled in a non-title match. This match was not an all-time classic, and it did not take much time for the match to have a winner. Joe took just over 13 minutes to defeat Punk in their first meeting.
7 PWG
Ring of Honor is not the only promotion to host a Samoa Joe and CM Punk singles match. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) booked the match in Nov. 2003 in Los Angeles.
Similar to their first singles match in ROH, Joe did not take much time to defeat Punk. The match lasted only 12 minutes. While Joe fighting Punk would typically be the biggest match on the card, their match was overshadowed by a PWG title match featuring Frankie Kazarian and Bryan Danielson. The card also featured a match between Adam Pierce and Colt Cabana.
6 Wrestled In The UK
When it comes to independent professional wrestling, when two wrestlers have a highly-touted match in a promotion, other promotions around the world will attempt to book the match for their shows.
In more recent years, matches such as Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix, Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic, and Alex Zayne vs. Blake Christian, have been popular matches booked on indie promotions around the world. Prior to these feuds, CM Punk and Samoa Joe were in the same spot. A promotion in Europe booked the match to take place in 2005. At that show, Joe once again defeated Punk.
5 5-Star Match
Among their three famous ROH title matches in 2004, their second match is arguably their best. The Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk match in Chicago received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer, of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
A five-star rating from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is one of the highest honors a match can receive. It is like winning an Academy Award for a wrestling match. The second match between Punk and Joe was the first match in ROH history to receive a five-star rating. Joe would go on to have another five-star match in ROH one year later against Kenta Kobashi. In 2005, Joe also had a five-star match in TNA in a triple threat match against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. Punk’s only other five-star match took place in WWE in 2011 when he defeated John Cena at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.
4 Other Meetings
During their tenure together in ROH, Samoa Joe and CM Punk met numerous times in matches that were not one on one. While other wrestlers were involved in the match, these encounters helped build ROH’s iconic feud.
In Nov. 2003, Punk earned his only victory in a match involving Joe. In a four-way match, Punk and Joe also competed against Christopher Daniels and Steve Corino. The match ended with Punk and Corino both pinning Daniels at the same time and being ruled co-winners. The following August, both Punk and Joe were on the losing end of a three-way match involving Homicide. One week prior to their final singles match, the team of Joe and Jay Lethal defeated Punk and Spanky, who is better known as Brian Kendrick.
3 Last Match
In Aug. 2005, Punk and Joe shared the ring together for the final time in Ring of Honor. At this point, Punk was ROH champion and defended the title in a four-way match featuring Joe, Christopher Daniels, and James Gibson, who is better known as Jamie Noble.
Gibson won the match and became ROH champion. This match was towards the end of Punk’s time in ROH. Punk would only wrestle two more times in the promotion. Joe continued to wrestle in ROH until 2007. Joe returned to the promotion in 2015 after leaving TNA. He most recently appeared in ROH this year after signing with AEW.
2 Launched Their Careers
Ultimately, the three legendary title matches between CM Punk and Samoa Joe helped launch the careers of both men.
Not long after the matches took place, both men achieved bigger things in other promotions. For Punk, he signed in the WWE where he became one of the promotion's biggest stars. He went on to have one of the longest WWE title reigns in history. For Joe, he became a major star in TNA. In 2008, Joe would win the TNA title. In 2015, Joe signed with WWE where he would win the NXT and United States titles.
1 AEW/ROH Future?
For the first time in over 16 years, CM Punk and Samoa Joe find themselves working for the same promotion. Last year, Punk joined AEW after leaving the world of professional wrestling for seven years. This year, Joe signed with AEW after being released by the WWE.
While their paths have yet to cross in AEW, a showdown between the two seems inevitable. Earlier this year, AEW purchased Ring of Honor. This means a match between Punk and Joe could also once again take place in an ROH ring.