Note: I’m going to do something a little different this week. Usually, I just do commentary and really little, if any, play by play. This week, I’m doing the opposite. I know I’ve said quite a bit about how much I love John Morrison and CM Punk in 2007 and how great their feud was, but I couldn’t resist talking about another one of their matches. I’m a pretty big fan of wrestling history and love watching old matches. There’s something fascinating about looking back at how a wrestler, feud, or storyline evolved over time.

When Nitro and Punk wrestled for the first time on February 20^th ECW, Nitro was still a Raw superstar and was led to the ring by Melina, who was the Women’s Champion. Their entrance was complete with red carpet and paparazzi, in the style of MNM. Punk joined ECW in June 2006. He instantly became a crowd favorite. The reaction he got at the 2006 Survivor Series was amazing.

The match starts off with a tie up. Punk goes for a quick roll up on Nitro. After a two count, they got in a little trash talking, which is a trademark of both men. Nitro targets for the legs, hoping for a take down, but Punk got in a headlock and brought him to the mat. He pushes down on Nitro’s shoulders and got a quick one count. Nitro reverses it with a chinlock, which Punk countered into a wristlock. Nitro breaks that with a well-placed elbow and gets a headlock of his own on Punk.

Did you know MNM is one of Taz’s favorite tag teams? It’s not for the fur coats. I love inspid Taz commentary.

Punk pushes Nitro back to the ropes and throws him across the ring. Punk hits a nice spinning reverse heel kick. He goes for a count, but doesn’t even get a one. Punk returns to the kicks and hits both of his hamstrings, trying to knot them up. Nitro goes into the corner. Punk pulls him out and it’s reversed. Nitro sends him into the turnbuckle chest first. He then hits Punk with the flying chuck, leading Joey Styles to say “Oh Shi… Man!” and Melina to scream loudly. I miss Melina’s wrestling, but not the screaming.

Nitro goes for the cover and gets a two count on Punk. He tries for another cover, but still only gets two. Constant covers were another early Nitro/Morrison trademark. He puts Punk in a chinlock and rocks his face with two stiff forearms. Another cover and another two count. Nitro gets Punk with an European uppercut and points to Melina who is cheering him on. Nitro throws Punk to the ropes and goes for a hiptoss. Punk reverses it into a body scissors and then rolls Nitro into a pinning combo for a two count.

Nitro is up quickly and gets Punk into to a backbreaker into a side Russian leg sweep. This is vintage Nitro. He loved backbreaker combos and almost always performed the leg sweep. However, he also used a neckbreaker. Next, Nitro hits a spinning leg drop and goes for a cover. He gets a two. Nitro is frustrated. He gets on top of Punk and starts hitting him. He goes for another cover and Punk kicks out.

Nitro gets a headvice and pushes Punk’s shoulders to the mat, much like we saw Punk do to him in the opening minutes. He gets a one. Punk fights back to his feet and breaks the hold with several shots to the midsection. He returns Nitro’s punches, hits a spinning backhand, but misses the crescent kick. Nitro shoves him into the corner, but Punk catches himself and comes out with a forearm. Punk hits a clothesline and an elbow. Finally, he gets Nitro with the roundhouse kick.

Punk has the momentum. He hits Nitro with two kicks to the midsection and then pulls him into the corner. Punk hits Nitro with one of his signature move combinations – a high knee to the face into a bulldog. Punk gets a kick in and then goes for a vicious backbreaker. He goes for a cover and gets a two. Punk goes for a follow up move off the ropes, but Melina distracts him. Nitro misses a sneak attack and Punk tries to hit his midsection. Nitro knees him in the head instead. Nitro has Punk in the ropes still. He flips him over and hit a nasty uppercut.

Punk is still in the ropes when Nitro hits a spinning heel kick, but only gets a two count when he goes for the cover. Nitro looks angry. He kicks Punk in the stomach and then slaps him in the face. Nitro goes to the top rope for a corkscrew moonsault, but misses. It was not Starship Pain, which is a split-leg corkscrew moonsault. (When you watch the match, you’ll see the difference.) This allows Punk to hit the GTS, which gives him the three count. Punk wins and goes on to the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania 23. It was won by Mr. Kennedy that year, but Punk would have better luck when both he and Morrison would be in MITB the next year.