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WWE Champion CM Punk def. Chris Jericho
MIAMI – For weeks, Chris Jericho made things personal with WWE Champion CM Punk, bringing his family into things. The two used The Grandest Stage of Them All to settle their score and finally prove who indeed is best in the world.
Before the match, Punk was informed by new General Manager of Raw and SmackDown John Laurinaitis that if he lost his temper and were disqualified, he would lose his title. “I don’t want a brawl out there,” Laurinaitis warned Punk before the match. Even before he entered the squared circle, the deck was stacked against the champion.
Punk and Jericho couldn’t have had a better stage to back up their claims of being the best in the world. They went to war in front of 78,363 in attendance at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium – a new record for the venue. The massive event was also only the third time in history that WrestleMania was held outdoors.
With the stage set, the rivals went to work, each bringing a wealth of experience to the ring. Heading into his 11th WrestleMania, Jericho boasted being the first-ever undisputed World Champion, a six-time World Champion, and a nine-time Intercontinental Champion. Going into his sixth WrestleMania, Punk was a five-time World Champion.
As the battle began, Jericho wasted no time trying to get Punk disqualified. When Punk raised a steel chair and was poised to strike his opponent, Jericho urged him on with taunts about his family. But Punk didn’t let his emotions get the better of him and held back before getting himself disqualified.
As the two went toe-to-toe, it appeared Punk had Jericho where he wanted when he blasted him with the GTS. But Jericho avoided the pinfall by cleverly putting his leg on the ropes.
Next, Jericho locked the champion in his punishing Walls of Jericho. But Punk dug deep and found his way to the ropes to break the hold. When Jericho served up a blistering Codebreaker, even that was not enough to bring down the champion who continued to scratch and claw to prove who was best in the world.
As The Second City Saint continued to fight tooth-and-nail to defend his title, he went for another GTS. But Jericho countered with another session in The Walls of Jericho. Yet again, Punk fought his way out and locked his foe in the Anaconda Vise. Unbelievably, Jericho fought his way out. But the champion regained the upper hand and pulled his foe into his clutches one last time, making him tap out to the Anaconda Vise.
On The Grandest Stage of Them All, Punk proved he is indeed best in the world. Who will be the first to challenge his claim?
“CHAMPION OF MIAMI,” 10:33 a.m.
If you ask Punk what “CM” stands for today, it’s “Champion of Miami.” The Voice of the Voiceless is chomping down the earthy blend of green “chuice” as he sits on a bus that’s bound for Sun Life Stadium. It’s WrestleMania Sunday, which explains why the WWE Champion is, unexpectedly, fixed in the front seat of a lengthy charter bus to transport him and his fellow Superstars to the site of The Show of Shows.
“I don’t really feel the pressures or magnitude of WrestleMania until the day of,” the champion states from underneath his “1969” Chicago Cubs cap. “I’m definitely feeling it now. We’re maybe eight hours away from kicking off the show. We’re going to blow off a bunch of fireworks and then it’s really on.”
Punk seems like the type to be toward the rear of the coach (and he probably is), but his eagerness for this day plants him as close to the grand stage as possible. He’s able to get through three songs on his iPod – played at high, speaker-like volume on his neck wrapped headphones – until the very last Superstar climbs aboard: Mick Foley. It’s off to the races, or rather, the longest, hardest, greatest race of the year.
THE LAST ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA, 10:58 a.m.
The vessel transporting WWE’s ring warriors pulls away from the WrestleMania hotel en route to Sun Life Stadium miles away. Up ahead of the bus is a police escort blocking traffic for the first of several WWE charter buses. Punk’s skull is wrapped with his analog headphones pumping a rabid metal melody while he snaps pics of the motorcycle mounted policemen up ahead and dreams up an alternate reality for the scenario.
“One of my favorite things about WrestleMania is the police escort,” Punk explains. “I kind of look at a little different than everyone else, I’m sure. I look at it like we’re a bus full of convicts, maybe getting carted off to death row. Some of are going to live, some of us aren’t.”
Within a few moments, The Second City Savior has a visual on the site of his all-important performance that draws nearer. He turns his head to size up the massive beacon-like stadium before the bus makes a right turn to deliver the WWE Champion to his battleground.
COMMON MEN, 11:50 a,m.
There is certainly a correlation between The Voice of the Voiceless and The Common Man, making their run-in notable. The WWE Champion gets a pep talk from WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes in the locker room area within Sun Life Stadium. The legendary performer checks in with the Chicago native and wishes him the best tonight at The Show of Shows.
Tonight, Rhodes’ son, Cody, defends the Intercontinental Championship but Dusty still shows his paternal instincts with The Straight Edge Superstar. The “American Dream” pats Punk on the chin affectionately, providing the champion with a motivational encounter hours before showtime. Read the rest of this entry »
SOUND AND FURY, 11:40 a.m.
A treadmill hum and generic lobby music is infiltrated by muffled yet audible riffs of metal punk music. These sounds reverberate louder as WWE Champion CM Punk steps further into the hotel gym for a workout.
Hoodie and all, he gets rolling immediately on the elliptical while the sounds of This is Hell pound through his Beats headphones. It’s the morning before his match against Chris Jericho and Punk’s focus will not sway. The zipped up Straight Edge Superstar warms up and gets his heart rate moving for a more intensive training to follow.
TIME TO BOUNCE, 12:12 p.m.
The gym starts to crowd up with some of CM Punk’s fellow Superstars by the time The Second City Savior has already worked up a sweat. The sweatshirt’s come off and the music has cycled into some Metallica – specifically, “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” shades of The Game’s WrestleMania entrance in Atlanta a year before.
Punk’s diet has varied over the past several months, including a three-month stint as a vegetarian, and his workout is equal in variety this morning. He moves quickly between chest presses and planks, incorporating a medicine ball workout in the set rotation. The WWE Champion takes the ball, holds it overhead and slam-bounces it to the floor with all his strength from a dozen to 16 times each. While serving as core training, Punk’s smile suggests he may also find a youth-like satisfaction at the ruckus of the 12-pound ball springing up to the ceiling to rattle the tiles.
HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS, 5:04 p.m.
It’s hours prior to the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and back at the hotel, WWE’s Superstars, Divas, Legends, family and friends are slipping into suits and cocktail dresses for one of the most important nights of the year. About one mile from that same hotel, CM Punk and his friend Lita are sloshing through a Floridian downpour in sopping wet sneakers and clinging cotton tops. They couldn’t be happier.
Crossing over the Miami River Walk, the two unhurriedly pass through puddles toting veggie and fruit smoothies to be sucked down after this evening’s event. Their conversation thrives while people under umbrellas hustle past to find drier ground.
His Thor tee thoroughly drenched, Punk is probably more comfortable now than he will be in a snug necktie later tonight. In fact, The Voice of the Voiceless makes Gene Kelly look like a grump as he and the former Women’s Champion parade through the streets of Miami, enjoying the crash of the heavy raindrops on their skin. Read the rest of this entry »
IN PRODUCTION, 2:39 p.m.
This time last year, a discontent CM Punk played a supporting role in the production of Randy Orton’s DVD. But as has been well documented, a lot can change in 12 months. Today, the tattooed antagonist in The Viper’s home video is the (six-pointed) star of the next WWE DVD release being developed.
This fall marks the rise of CM Punk in the first-ever home video to spotlight The Straight Edge Superstar. Presently, The Voice of the Voiceless is speechless while a WWE camera crew captures a healthy portion of the biographical documentary in the emptied, WrestleMania-starved alcoves of Sun Life Stadium days before the event. Shapely shadows are cast upon the locker room cubby while Punk and WWE producers discuss roadblocks the tattooed titan has hit, plus, the role he’ll play in affecting a change that will permanently alter the future of wrestling.
The Straight Edge Superstar also stumbles into a conversation about two WWE show concepts he’s pitched to the WWE Chairman. Sopping in satire, Punk describes a remake of “The Cannonball Run” starring odd WWE Superstar pairings, then moves on to “Raw: The Musical.”
“I said to Vince [McMahon], ‘You’re going to do it in five years anyway,’” he irreverently details. “I’ll dress like Fred Astaire. ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’!”
“He looked at me like I was from Mars.”
STRAIGHT AHEAD, 3:25 p.m.
The narration portion of the WWE Champion’s home video is complete and enough material has been gathered to fill CM Punk’s future DVD and perhaps some of its extra bonus material. Momentarily, Punk is left uninterrupted, which is a very rare commodity in these parts during WrestleMania week. Only a whir of the hallway’s overhead lighting can be heard in the now hushed bunker on the perimeter of Punk’s assumed temple come Sunday. Sun Life Stadium field lies only yards from this perch and on that turf, CM Punk will charge into battle to steal a show that’s his and Chris Jericho’s for the taking. Pressure mounts with each digital blink on his iPhone’s clock. Jericho, beware should this building boil start to truly roll. Read the rest of this entry »
In this video entry, CM Punk discusses his emotions upon entering Miami for WrestleMania.
Related Links:
WrestleMania XXVIII Diary: CM Punk Video Entry
HITTING THE GYM, 12:33 p.m.
Well after sunrise in the Sunshine State, the WWE Champion corrals a small entourage of fellow Superstars en route to the University of Miami for a rigorous training session. CM Punk has been in Miami for 24 hours, and yet his opponent is hours away from his arrival – which isn’t a shocking revelation for the titleholder.
“No, I’m not surprised. I think that’s par for the course,” Punk says. “On Twitter, it’s a little strange taking pictures of yourself in a mirror and say, ‘I’m coming for you.’ All right, I’m waiting for you.”
GETTING WITH THE PROGRAM, 12:49 p.m.
Punk pulls up to the University of Miami with oversized, analog headphones snug around his neck. Orange and green letters decorate the two long corridors to a sprawling gym filled with raucous players from the Hurricane football program.
It’s an odd mix as The Voice of the Voiceless, in his hoodie and signature cap, paces up and down rows of rested weights and a box full of bananas, in between the big men on campus. The tattooed Superstar devises a quick strategy for working out and stations himself at a spot just beneath appropriate signage. “Champions are made here” … but today, they also visit.
WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, 1:01 p.m.
In between his inked-stenciled fingers, CM Punk clasps a pen to scribble meticulous notes in a black journal. He documents his reps in between swapping weights for “clean and jerk” lifts, which cause his tattoos to contort around his wrists and elbows with each raised bar. The WWE Champion continues with planks, dumbbell lunges, leg presses and more. Everything’s recorded in a book that has likely traveled to places most people will ever see in a lifetime.
The Straight Edge Superstar sets aside further social media discussion. He’s been bellowing “hashtag” over fellow Superstars’ shoulders while they’re tweeting at WrestleMania week events. His focus is instead his body.
“My workout is going to include working out … not yoga,” Punk explains. “I do yoga constantly, but that’s not all I do. I incorporate other stuff into it. I don’t make ferocious faces after doing yoga, either. Read the rest of this entry »
This Sunday, April 1, beginning at 7:00 PM EST on pay-per-view, WWE presents the pinnacle of its year when WrestleMania XXVIII brings the world’s greatest gladiators together for the Showcase of the Immortals. Three days later on Wednesday, April 4, the two most powerful factions in the Marvel Universe kick off a war of their own as AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 hits stands and the Marvel Comics app.
Up first, WWE Champion CM Punk, who will put his title on the line against Chris Jericho coming up Sunday, spoke up about his impending match, WrestleMania memories, belief in Captain America, plus much more, including his kinship to Tony Stark.To get set for both of these monumental collisions, we got some of WWE’s biggest Superstars and Fightin’ Fanboys to comment on their dates with destiny at WrestleMania as well as what they see coming to pass in AvX.
