AEW: Samoa Joe Reflects on Reigniting His Rivalry With CM Punk

07/18/2023 10:12 am EDT

AEW Collision recently featured the revival of a decades-old rivalry as Samoa Joe and CM Punk clashed in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Cup. The pair had an iconic trilogy of matches in Ring of Honor back in the mid-2000s, setting the standard for in-ring competition within that company for years to come. But it initially ended with Joe coming out as the definitive winner after their first two matches ended in hour-long time-limit draws. Punk managed to finally beat "The Samoan Submission Machine" in just over 15 minutes, prompting the ROH TV Champion to choke Punk out with his Coquina Clutch. 

Joe had the chance to reflect on the match in a new interview with Under The Ring, so to him it was "no big surprise" that they'd wind up wrestling again. He also explained what had changed since their initial matches. 

"Just experience, a treasure trove of experience," Joe said (h/t Fightful). "When we first locked up, we were very new in the industry and still very much a journeyman learning. You never stop learning, but at the same time, we definitely knew a hell of a lot less back then."

Punk advanced to the finals to take on Ricky Starks, who wound up cheating to win the tournament by rolling Punk up and holding onto the ring ropes to secure the pin. Starks further indicated a heel turn by yanking the trophy away from Jushin "Thunder" Liger and completely ignoring the hall of famer. 

AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts VII Results

• AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR def. Bullet Club Gold (Two Out Of Three Falls Match)
• Owen Hart Cup Finals: Willow Nightingale def. Ruby Soho
• Kings of the Black Throne def. Local Talent
• Owen Hart Cup Finals: Ricky Starks def. CM Punk
• AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy def. Lance Archer
• AEW Women's World Championship: Toni Storm def. Taya Valkyrie
• AEW TNT Championship: Luchasaurus def. Shawn Spears
  

AEW Blood & Guts 2023 Card (July 19, 2023)

• Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita & Pac vs. The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, Kota Ibushi) (Blood & Guts Match)
• Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament Finals: MJF & Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara
• FTW Championship: Hook vs. Jack Perry

ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 Card (July 21, 2023)

• ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli vs. TBA
• ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Dalton Castle
• ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia
• ROH Women's World Championship: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale
• ROH World Tag Team Championships: The Lucha Brothers vs. The Kingdom vs. Best Friends vs. Aussie Open

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