[Review] CM Punk: Best In The World
“I wish I didn’t care,” Kofi Kingston quoted CM Punk as saying as he pondered whether or not he would depart the WWE during last year’s “Summer of Punk” on the CM Punk: Best In The World documentary. But CM Punk does care, and that’s why he’s worked so incredibly hard to become the self-proclaimed “Best in the World.” He loves the art of It’s this mentality that permeates in what can only be described as the best WWE produced documentary about an active superstar.
The reason why has a lot to do with CM Punk’s personality in and out of the ring. This DVD was done his way and lacks the usual fluff that other WWE documentaries have about their current talent roster. It’s specifically for “smart marks” who were aware of the behind the scenes affairs of the WWE well before CM Punk’s epic shoot last summer.
The most significant inclusion — and the one most fans were curious about — is that it doesn’t sweep his ROH days under the rug. As a matter of fact, his tenure at Ring of Honor and footage of the original “Summer of Punk” that concluded his run with the company before joining the WWE is a huge part of this documentary. Not to mention that there are clips of his indie work with Chris Hero, his remarkable showdowns with TNA star Samoa Joe and, of course, Colt Cabana’s presence is felt throughout. It was evident that the WWE had to traverse outside of itself in order to tell an accurate story and they did very well with the inclusion of Punk’s career prior to the WWE.
The documentary chronicles Punk’s life as a punk rock teenager who became infatuated with professional wrestling. Testimonials from his everyone including his Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen to his extended “family” and fellow wrestlers paint an extraordinary portrait of the man who breathed life into a stagnant industry. You get a look at Punk’s love for comic books, music and tattoos as well as being straight edge.
What’s also interesting is the candid interviews with John Cena and Triple H as they describe how they viewed Punk prior to his meteoric rise last year. Paul Heyman is also a big part of the documentary and discusses the many times Punk was held back because he didn’t fit the mold of a WWE Superstar. While this honest discussion is welcome and well known, the absence of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis is unfortunate.
Nevertheless, it’s a great story of a man that simply wanted to bring about change as a perennial underdog with a wealth of talent but lacked the “look.” You can feel Punk’s influence throughout as no punches are really pulled and he explains his discontent with being overlooked up until the moment he decided to leave the company.
With the inclusion of several matches including his momentous match with John Cena at Money in the Bank, an epic wrestling exhibition against Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit, his TLC title match with Jeff Hardy at Summerslam and more, this is a must have DVD for any wrestling fan.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
