CM Punk Compares ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ To 1994 SummerSlam Match

In a recent episode of WWE Backstage, a video chat was organized with CM Punk and Bret Hart attending. As a big fan of “The Hitman”, Punk compared the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” to one of Hart’s iconic matches.

The year was 1994 and WWE was still an up and coming name in the business. Competing with NWA, WWE had just introduced its own version of the ‘Steel Cage Match’.

The major storyline of that SummerSlam was The Undertaker Vs The Undertaker. No, that isn’t a typo, “The Deadman” did actually fight someone trying to impersonate him.

However, what stole the show was Bret Hart’s Steel Cage Match against Owen Hart. The two took things to a different level that night and definitely did fight a big match.

In the stands was a very young CM Punk, who watched the match live! He used the opportunity of having Hart himself on the video call to express how he felt watching that match.

“If you really were a wrestling fan, you’d know the main even was Bret Hart vs Owen Hart,” he says. Punk reveals that as a young fan, he was blown away by the show that the two wrestlers put on in the ring.

CM Punk explains how both matches faced similar restrictions

He compares that match to the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever”. It was fought a few days ago at Backlash between Randy Orton and Edge.

“I look at the limitations of a 1994 big blue cage match almost the same as I look at the same limitations that Randy and Edge were kind of a little bit handcuffed with,” says Punk.

At that time WWE had a lot of restrictions. Firstly, the cage had to be made differently from the chain-link design of the NWA. That’s why it was made blue with thin bars.

Secondly, WWE did not agree with blood being shed during the matches at that time. Punk explains how these major restrictions could have easily prevented the match from being great.

Randy Orton and Edge did a great job selling their performance

CM Punk says that Orton and Edge had similar restrictions and it was like they were “handcuffed.”

“To go out where you’re supposed to have the greatest wrestling match of all time but there are no fans so you can’t do this and you can’t do that.”

The empty stadium meant that they had to do without the crowd backing. At some times that could be very demoralizing. Edge and Orton had the job of selling the match as the greatest of all time without an audience.

Despite these restrictions, “The Viper” and the “Rated-R Superstar” gave us a huge match that paid tribute to WWE legends such as The Rock, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero.

They really managed to pull it off and while it may not be the greatest match of all time, it’s certainly up there in the list.

CM Punk dials it back to 1994 when Bret Hart did a similar thing. The Harts pulled off huge moves and took big risks, which made the entire affair thrilling. CM Punk praises Hart for this very accomplishment.

“I find personally the best wrestlers take their circumstances and they pardon my language, they make chicken salad out of chicken sh**.”

Punk is right. The best in the business can always adapt to the situation and make a side match into one of the greatest. At the end of his statement, he thanks Bret Hart for all those moments and is glad to call him a friend.