Text By Jed Shaffer

What if...CM Punk took the Ring Of Honor World Title to WWE??

Part IV

Our story continues on WWE Monday Night Raw. Mick Foley, having walked away from wrestling, is set to conduct a farewell interview. One person who isn't going anywhere, however, is the man who acted as catalyst for Foley's departure, as well as the mental disintegration of Ric Flair, the deterioration of Flair's relationship with Triple H, and the firing of Eric Bischoff: CM Punk. Punk is knee-deep in enemies from all sides, be it James Gibson in the WWE, or virtually the entire Ring Of Honor roster, who are shadowing every move Punk makes ...

Nov. 7, '05: WWE Raw:

Despite the hellacious beating taken by Edge and Matt Hardy a mere 48 hours prior, both are not only scheduled to compete on Raw, but in the main event, a tag match partnering Hardy with Triple H against Edge and Kurt Angle. An interview via satellite with Mick Foley from his home, is also scheduled for the evening, as is Vince McMahon's "taking of the reins".

Leading off the show is the fulfillment of James Gibson's promise made at Vendetta, a match for the Intercontinental Championship with CM Punk. Punk hobbles to the ring, his leg still sore from the 60-minute attack it withstood two days prior. Unfortunately, the limp acts as a big bulls eye for Gibson, who goes right back to work on the leg. Punk has to go downstairs to stop Gibson's onslaught, but his advantage is short-lived, when he catches sight of two men sitting in the front row. Punk yells over the ropes at Colt Cabana and Bryan Danielson, who sit perfectly still, smiling as Punk derides them as losers. Cabana makes the "blah, blah, blah" gesture as Danielson gestures at his own waist and yells out, "kiss it goodbye, Punk."

Suddenly, Punk is spun around and kicked in the gut. Gibson drags him to the middle of the ring and quickly hits the Gibson Driver, then transitions it into the Trailer Hitch. Punk tries to reach for the ropes, but Gibson pulls him back to the center of the ring. Gibson wrenches down as tight as he can on the hold, making Punk scream for mercy, something Gibson is in no mood to grant. Finally, the pain becomes too much for Punk to bear; the crowd comes unglued as Punk slaps the mat and the ref signals for the bell.

But before Lilan Garcia can announce Gibson as the new Intercontinental Champion, Edge races down the aisle and tackles Gibson. Before Edge can help his friend get to his feet, Triple H is behind him, spinning him around and laying into Edge with fists to the jaw. Gibson joins in, double-team clotheslining Edge to the floor. Triple H and Gibson drop out, chasing Edge to the back as Raw goes to commercial.

When Raw comes back, Punk is still in the ring, now holding a microphone in one hand, and his head with the other. "I am sick of this! This isn't fair! James Gibson couldn't beat me in sixty minutes two days ago, and now, he beats me because I let myself get distracted by two indy scrubs, and you idiots cheer for him?!? What, does Vince McMahon have buzzers under your seats to cue you to cheer? Don't you realize who I am and what I represent? I am the future of this business! I'm better then you! Then all of this! This isn't fair! I deserve better!"

"You know what's really not fair?"

The attention of everyone in the building is suddenly drawn by the other voice filling the arena. The voice's owner, Eric Bischoff, stands up from the broadcast booth, throws down his headset, and strides to the ring with pride and determination. Bischoff snatches a microphone from ringside and gets in the ring.

"Let me educate you on the definition of 'unfair', Punk," says Bischoff as he paces around the ring. "'Unfair' is when you spend five years building a company for someone else, and when they decide to sell it, they cancel the television programming that comes with it, killing the deal. 'Unfair' is when you get hired by someone you spent a lifetime opposing, and you take that job with the intention of burying the hatchet because you love the business ... but your new boss hired you just so he can humiliate you on a regular basis. 'Unfair' is when, despite being put in the most difficult of circumstances, despite having obstacle after obstacle and handicap after handicap thrown in your way, you succeed at your job, you excel at it, in fact ... until someone else comes in and messes everything up, and you get thrown under the bus for it. And 'unfair' is when you get stuck in a piss-ass, go-nowhere job like play-by-play commentary next to some lecherous old man, calling the action on a show you used to run, all because your boss would rather torment you then just put you out of your misery. That's unfair, CM Punk. And believe me, as much as you hate Vince McMahon for what he's done to the industry, nobody has been made to suffer like I have by that rotten, miserable son of a bitch! So, Vince, let me right now tell you that you can take that job and shove it up your ass!" The crowd cheers, since Bischoff is attacking possibly the most reviled man in the company. "And, and, hey, I'm willing to admit where I made mistakes. I let Hulk Hogan get too big for his britches. I shoulda pushed guys like Chris Benoit and Raven. I'm big enough to admit that. But when it comes to my getting fired as General Manager of Raw," says Bischoff, now jabbing a finger in Punk's direction, "I place the blame squarely on you. Because, until you showed up, I had Raw under control. Until you showed up, I didn't have wrestlers from other companies coming onto my show, attacking them with forks and throwing bleach in their eyes. I didn't have my Raw Superstars going to other companies, risking injury competing for another company's belt. I didn't have two legends in this business trying to tear out each other's throats. There wasn't a single problem I didn't have a handle on until you showed up. And for that, I owe you."

"And what do you owe me?" says Punk, stepping forward.

The answer comes from behind, as Danielson and Cabana leap the barrier, slide in and blast Punk from behind. Cabana and Danielson stomp away at Punk as Bischoff watches. "This is what I owe you, CM Punk! A life of torment! A career spent scared of what's around the corner!" Danielson puts on the Cattle Mutilation; Bischoff gets down on the mat, as close to Punk as he can get, and speaks in a calm, but scary, voice. "You cost me everything, CM Punk. So now, I am going to get my revenge on you by haunting your every move, and spoiling any possibly glorious moment in your career that you will ever come across. I will make you resent yourself for ever signing with the WWE, CM Punk. I will be there, lurking over your shoulder, until every achievement, every treasure and every trophy you have is tainted."

Bischoff stands up, looks down at Punk as he screams in pain, smiles, then looks at the camera. "And most of all, I'm going to use you, CM Punk, the same way you used me. You used me as a door to get into the WWE, and now, I'm going to do the same. Because, while you may deserve a hundred percent of my hatred, Vince McMahon, you deserve just as much, if not more. So, by getting revenge on CM Punk, by enlisting the aid of men like Bryan Danielson and Colt Cabana, I will undermine your precious Raw. I will corrupt it from the inside out. I will eat away at it until you either come crawling on your hands and knees, begging me to call off the dogs and repair this show, or until you stick the dagger in your own heart. Either way, I will win, Vince. I kicked your ass before, and I will do it again!" Bischoff gives a nod to Danielson and Cabana, and they all leave through the crowd.

As Raw comes back from commercial, Michael Cole steps in for Eric Bischoff in time to explain to the home viewers what they are seeing: cameras following WWE officials, security and paramedics racing to a reported disturbance backstage. When they get to the site of the disturbance, cameras are able to catch a glimpse of Edge and Homicide running away as the authorities approach. Hardy is lying face down in a pool of blood, unconscious. Among the interested parties looking on is Triple H, who watches in frustration Hardy, his intended partner for the evening, is carried away. Vince McMahon approaches, and Triple H immediately confronts him.

"This is how you take the reins, Vince? This is how you make Raw a better place? Who the hell am I supposed to partner with now?"

"So find a new partner, Triple H," says McMahon. "I'm sure a charming man like yourself has plenty of friends in this company."

Triple H smirks, then unloads with a vicious right hand to McMahon's jaw, putting the Chairman on his backside, and walks away in search of a new partner. Vince barks at a stagehand to help him up, and, once on his feet, marches to his limo and leaves.

Live, via satellite from his home, Michael Cole welcomes a very bandaged and beaten Mick Foley. Cole welcomes Foley, then asks about his injuries.

"Well, Michael," says Foley, "I partnered with Matt Hardy two days ago at a Ring Of Honor event. He asked for my help, and since Homicide stabbed me in the forehead at Taboo Tuesday with a dinner fork, I figured I owed him a receipt. As you can see, we took a pretty good butt-kicking. None of my injuries are serious; lots of cuts, abrasions, stab wounds from barbed wire. I'm pretty bruised up, but I'll be fine in a couple weeks."

"Now, you said on Raw last week that, once you wrestled at Taboo Tuesday, you'd walk away from wrestling and from Raw. You were putting the events with Ric Flair and CM Punk behind you. Is this still true?"

"Unequivocably, Michael Cole. As I said last week, I'm done. If the problems I've had with Ric Flair and CM Punk have taught me anything, they've taught me that sometimes, it's better to leave things well enough alone. I should never have stuck my nose in Ring Of Honor's business with CM Punk, and I should never have let Ric Flair get to me. What happened between us in WCW is as dead as WCW is, and letting it, and him, get under my skin ten years later is just ludicrous. And I don't need to wrestle anymore, Michael Cole. I retired, five years ago, as a matter of fact. I don't need the money, I don't need the beatings, and I don't need the f--"

The sound of feminine screams coming from another room kills Foley's sentence dead. He gets to his feet and runs into the kitchen, where he sees his door kicked in and his wife being backed into a corner by Ric Flair, screaming in her face.

"You make that fat son of a bitch fight me! You make him fight me, you tramp!" Flair screams as Foley runs into the room. Foley grabs Flair by the shoulder and spins him around, but Flair catches him by surprise and stops Foley in his tracks with a can of pepper spray. As Foley staggers back, Flair snatches a frying pan off the stove and brains Foley. "Make him fight me, Collette!" he yells, stomping on Foley. "I want a match at Survivor Series! Make him fight me!" He wheels around and gets in Collette's face again, his face a twisted mask of rage. "You make him fight me, or next time, I'll make your kids see what a fat, worthless sack of crap he is by beating him in front of them!" Flair stomps Foley one more time, and spits on him as he leaves through the broken door.

As Edge and Kurt Angle make their way to the ring for the main event, the home viewers get a special surprise; a phone call is patched in from Homicide. The call is short and sweet, with Homicide running over Michael Cole's attempts to ask questions, or to chide him for such a cowardly attack.

"I don't care what you gotta say, bitch," snaps Homicide. "I only callin' in for one thing; I told Hardy it wasn't done between us until I said it was. I wanna end it, and I wanna embarrass his ass one more time, in his company. You and me, Hardy, at Survivor Series. You talk to your boss when you get out the hospital, and we'll go one more time." The phone disconnects abruptly, leaving Cole and Jerry Lawler to speculate on whether or not Vince McMahon will allow the match.

With that, Triple H comes out and, instead of going through his normal intro ritual, waits on the ramp. Triple H gestures to the entrance; the sound of the pop from the audience is enough to break glass as the WWE Champion John Cena steps through the curtain. Cena and Triple H shake hands, then race to the ring. The match never officially starts, however, as the four pair off in fistfights in and around the ring, Cena taking to Angle while Triple H brawls with Edge. Cena gets tossed into steel steps, which allow Angle and Edge to double-team Triple H and stomp him to the ground. As Triple H weathers a barrage of kicks, Edge grabs a microphone.

"Remember how you used to have a theme song called 'My Time'?" Edge says between kicks. "Well, it's my time now, Hunter! Your day is over, and I'm putting you out to pasture once and for a--"

Edge's whiny rant gets cut off with a stiff shot from a steel chair to the skull, courtesy of James Gibson. Gibson puts the edge of the chair into Angle's ribs as Cena gets to his feet. CM Punk races down the aisle, but stops when Gibson dares him to get closer, brandishing the chair. Cena grabs a steel chair for himself and, after fishing around under the ring, grabs a sledgehammer and hands it to Triple H as he gets up. Together, as Angle and Edge try to regroup, Triple H and Cena introduce their steel to the skulls of their enemies. Only Punk is wise enough to stay away, but as he backs up the aisle, he vows he'll make Gibson pay.

Nov. 14, '05: WWE Raw Eddie Guerrero Memorial:

In honor of the sudden passing of Eddie Guerrero, WWE suspends all normal programming, and dedicates both Raw and Smackdown to memorials of Guerrero. No storylines are advanced.

Nov. 19, '05: Ring Of Honor's "A Night Of Tribute":

With a solid card of wrestling featuring Bryan Danielson & Colt Cabana defending the ROH Tag Titles against Austin Aries & Roderick Strong, Homicide taking on James Gibson in his final match in the company, and CM Punk defending the ROH World Title against Christopher Daniels, Ring Of Honor is set to pay tribute to Eddie Guerrero in the most honest, decent way possible: by wrestling.

But to start things off, following a ten-bell salute, ROH announcer Bobby Cruise introduces a special surprise guest: Mick Foley. Foley waves to the crowd, however stunned they are, and takes the microphone from Cruise when offered.

"Thank you," says Foley sheepishly. "I gotta admit, even though I wrestled here a week ago, I didn't think I'd get a phone call asking me to come back."

Immediately, ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette comes to the ring. He shakes hands with Foley, then asks; "Say, Mick ... you said you got a phone call?"

"Yeah. From, well, from someone from your office."

Cornette chuckles. "Mick, I know you're used to how things go up in Stamford, where even the secretaries have secretaries. And I know it's been a few years since you worked down here in the indies, so, let me clue you in on something; I don't have an office, let alone a staff of people beneath me. There's me, and there's the owner. Whoever called you, it wasn't me."

The Godzilla intro cues up and the lights go down, signalling the arrival of Samoa Joe, who comes to the ring with a sick, evil smile on his face. He hops in the ring and gets right up in Foley's face. "I called you," says Joe. "I wanted you to come here, because I wanted to see if you could lie to my face one more time."

Foley is speechless in his surprise. "Joe, I, uh ... I ... I'm not sure ..."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Foley," Joe says with more then a dollop of uncharacteristic anger in his voice. "I told you at Unforgettable not to come back, or I'd put your fat ass in a wheelchair. You walked outta here, and the crowd told you not to come back. and you even said on WWE TV, that you were done with Ring Of Honor. You can put on an old t-shirt and call yourself by another name, but the bottom line is, Mick Foley, you broke your own promise. You don't see me on Raw, screwing up your show, and yet, even when you say you won't be back, you keep coming back and fucking up my company. So you got exactly three seconds to open that yap of yours and give me one good reason why you broke your promise, and why I shouldn't break every bone in your body alphabetically."

"I was asked to come and tag with Matt Hardy by Matt himself," says Foley quickly and sternly. "I called the owner, and I called Jimmy Cornette here and made sure it was okay that I come back for the one match. So believe me, the last thing on my mind was coming back here ... but Matt needed a partner, and to be honest, I wanted a little piece of Homicide for mistaking my head for a pork chop. But, except for one match in the WWE, I've kept my promise not to get involved in the business with CM Punk." Foley gets right up in Joe's face, which makes Joe take a step back out of surprise. "And what in the hell kind of man are you to lure me here so you can run me down? Shouldn't you be concerned with trying to get a match with Punk, or do you really have so much free time that you can screw with an old, washed-up, retired wrestler? Is this how you get your kicks? You're pathetic!" Foley turns to Cornette and extends a hand. "Jimmy, good to see you. Hope things work out around here. You may wanna have a talk with some of your wrestlers, though. Seems some of 'em are taking this just a little too seriously."

Foley turns to leave, but before he can step through the ropes, Joe lunges like a snake, snatching Foley back and locking on the Kokina Clutch. Joe ignores the yelling of Cornette to release the hold, tightening the grip until Foley is almost unconscious. Just as quick, he released, gets to his feet, snatches the microphone out of Cornette's hand and says; "You'll come out of retirement to wrestle Homicide, you'll fight CM Punk, but you won't fight me? You're the pathetic one, Mick! Fight me! Get off your fat ass and fight me!" Joe drops the microphone and, as quick as a hiccup, is down on the mat again with the Kokina Clutch on Foley until Foley blacks out. It takes 10 wrestlers and a cadre of referees to pry Joe off Foley and escort him from the ring, all the while Joe telling Cornette to tell Foley he wants a match.

Despite being not only a WWE employee, but the WWE Intercontinental Champion (which he wears to the ring), the audience showers James Gibson with streamers for his last match with the company. It is a far cry from what Homicide gets, which is a deafening display of raw hatred by the audience. From the opening bell, Gibson keeps Homicide off-kilter by switching between superior technical skills, and a surprisngly able brawling strategy. Homicide, however, is willing to go a step further in brutality, and uses the ringside area and the tables around it to wear down Gibson. Gibson manages to come back, using Matt Hardy's Twist Of Fate to draw a near-fall, and a Gibson Driver for another near-fall, but Homicide's corner man Julius Smokes proves the difference maker, distracting the ref so Homicide can use a chair to bash in Gibson's skull. Homicide follows it up by climbing to the top turnbuckle and, with a little Guerrero shoulder-shimmy, nails a nice frog splash for the victory. Before leaving, Homicide puts his Eddie Guerrero "Cheat 2 Win" shirt on the steel chair and points at the sky, which gets draws an "Eddie" chant. After Homicide leaves, Gibson gets a standing ovation; when the applause dies down, Gibson takes a microphone and announces that, for WWE's Survivor Series, he's issuing a challenge to CM Punk and Edge to face him for the Intercontinental Championship.

CM Punk's ROH World Title defense goes on as the semi-main, something that annoys Punk enough to share it before the match begins. "I am the World Champion of this two-bit, bullshit, glorified backyard fed! How in the hell can anyone justify me getting bumped down to the semi-main in favor of a tag team match two events in a row?!? I cannot wait to be done with this company!"

AC/DC's "Back In Black" hits the PA, the theme music for Eric Bischoff. With a wry smile, Bischoff approaches Punk. "There's a reason you're not headlining tonight, Punk," says Bischoff matter-of-factly. "See, you're not a businessman, so you just don't get it. Let me break it down for you: in this business, you lead with your big money draws. You headline with the guys people want to see, and Punk, nobody wants to see you anymore. You're not wanted here. They wanna see guys like ... well ... like them," he says, pointing to the entrance, where Colt Cabana and Bryan Danielson appear. The ROH Tag Champions approach the ring and take seats at ringside, big smiles on their faces. "They are the guys these people wanna see. They bring in the fans, they sell the shirts and they make the fans cheer. You make the fans puke. You wanna headline here? You wanna be the draw?" Bischoff shrugs. "Just sign on the dotted line, Punk." Bischoff leaves the ring, stopping briefly to shake hands with Danielson and Cabana, before leaving, although the ROH Tag Champs stay in their seats.

The challenger and ROH original, Christopher Daniels, along with his valet Allison Danger, enters the ring to a tremendous ovation. When the ref instructs the wrestlers to shake per the Code Of Honor, Punk extends a hand ... only for the crowd to chant "Don't shake his hand" at Daniels. Daniels puts his hand out to shake, much to the dismay of the crowd, then pulls it back when Punk goes in to shake it and flips off the champ. Before Punk can snarl, Daniels starts kicking and chopping, every move as crisp as a new dollar bill. Punk decides discretion is the better part of what he thinks is valor and tries to high-tail it from the ring, but Daniels gives chase into the crowd. An entire section of folding chairs is wiped out in the brawl, mostly from a back body drop on Daniels, a Punk reversal to an attempt by Daniels at his finisher, the Angel's Wings. With Daniels laid out, once again, Punk tries to walk away, but this time, Danielson and Cabana chase him down and stand in his way. Punk tries to get around them, but Danielson and Cabana keep cutting him off, until Daniels is recovered enough to attack Punk from behind and drag him back into the ring.

Once back in the ring, Daniels manages to dictate the pace, wearing him down with his precision attacks. An attempt at the Koji Clutch almost draws a tap-out, but Punk is able to angle himself so his feet touch the ropes. When Daniels looks to finish off Punk late in the match with his Best Moonsault Ever, Punk comes up from behind and clubs Daniels in the back, interrupting the jump to the top. Punk climbs up from the outside and looks to set up the Pepsi Plunge, but Daniels is able to back body drop Punk down to the mat, and follows it up with a moonsault. Unfortunately, Punk rolls out of the way and Daniels' moonsault eats mat. Punk quickly rolls onto Daniels and applies the Anaconda Vice. With nowhere to go, Daniels has no choice but to tap. Punk snatches his belt from the ref and books it out of the arena, flipping off Danielson and Cabana on the way out.

Once Punk leaves and Daniels goes back to the back, Danielson and Cabana step into the ring for their tag title defense against Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Unlike Punk and Daniels, everyone shakes hands before they begin wrestling, although Danielson and Cabana eye each other cautiously. For an amazing forty minutes, every combination of of the four squares off, trading offense and defense at a breathtaking pace. But for all their individual prowess, the format favors the cohesive team, and with Aries and Strong being founding members of Generation Next, the duo of Danielson and Cabana, at obvious cross purposes for months, slowly breaks down. When Cabana hits the ropes, unaware that Danielson is on the apron about to attack Strong, he sends Danielson flying into the guard rail. The shock of the mistake distracts Cabana long enough for Aries to grab Cabana, hit the brainbuster and the 450 splash for the three count. The crowd cheers for the new champs, showering them with streamers, even as, on the outside, Danielson and Cabana argue about the loss. Arguing leads to pushing, but before pushing can lead to punches, Eric Bischoff steps between them and tells them to cool their jets. He tells them the situation couldn't be better and, though Cabana and Danielson scowl at each other, they both walk away with Bischoff to the back.

Nov. 21, '05: WWE Raw:

The final Raw before Survivor Series opens not with fireworks in the arena, or with the opening graphic and music, but on Vince McMahon, in a pre-taped message from his office.

"Good evening," begins McMahon. "Tonight, I have three issues on which I feel the need to address directly, and they all relate to the rampant lawlessness and disregard for the rules that have poisoned this company for the past several months. The first regards the final moments of the main event of Raw two weeks ago. The unprovoked and heinous attacks perpetrated by many men, both those involved and not involved in the main event, have convinced me to book two matches for Survivor Series to settle these issues: James Gibson will defend his Intercontinental Championship a four-way elimination match against Triple H, Edge and CM Punk, while John Cena will defend the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle. Secondly, in response to the overwhelming demand shown by both WWE fans, and the two men in question, I am authorizing an unsanctioned match between Matt Hardy and Ring Of Honor's Homicide; this will be the one and only time these two will meet in a WWE ring and, win, lose or draw, if I see Homicide at a WWE event after Survivor Series, I will see him bankrupted and imprisoned. Lastly, as it relates to the previous issues, the lawlessness in this company has grown to proportions that, frankly, sicken me as a human being, and embarrass me as the owner of this company. I cannot, and will not, abide it. There have been too many attacks that border on criminal action, and too many occurences of wrestlers from another organization setting foot in my company without prior approval. Next Monday, I will introduce a new General Manager for Raw, who will bring Raw back to the glory it was before Eric Bischoff tainted it. I defeated Bischoff once before, and as God as my witness, I will not fail in crushing him again."

With that, Raw begins with a surprise in the announce booth to replace Eric Bischoff: Joey Styles. Styles runs through the card for the evening, featuring a non-title main event between CM Punk and John Cena, an Intercontinental Title match between James Gibson and Edge, and a hardcore match between Ric Flair and Tommy Dreamer.

Raw's in-ring action kicks off with Matt Hardy squaring off against Carlito, but, before the match can get underway, cameras pick up Eric Bischoff sitting in the front row. Bischoff smiles and waves to the camera, then pantomimes McMahon's gestures and blustery delivery in his message. Hardy spares Bischoff a cautious glance, but doesn't get distracted from the task in front of him. Carlito provides a decent challenge, but Hardy is able to dispatch him in a few minutes. But as Lilian Garcia announces Hardy the winner, the TitanTron goes live to the parking lot, where Homicide is outside the arena, yelling for Hardy. Hardy takes off as Raw goes to commercial. When it comes back, Hardy gets outside to where Homicide is, only to find him and Edge and laid out. From behind Hardy, Bryan Danielson, Colt Cabana and Eric Bischoff step out of the shadows; Danielson and Cabana are holding tire irons.

"Hope you don't mind," says Bischoff. "Edge was hiding off to the side. You oughtta know better, Matt." Bischoff looks at his clients and says; "Let's get going, gentlemen. Our night isn't over yet."

Back inside, the action continues with Ric Flair, vowing to send a message to Mick Foley by way of his old ECW friend Tommy Dreamer. With no rules, the Innovator Of Violence is free to get in touch with his ECW roots and get extreme as possible. But between Flair's psychotic temper and intentions to send a message through Dreamer, the Dirtiest Player In The Game once again shows how he got the moniker, by using pepper spray to stop Dreamer dead in his tracks. Incapacitated with burning eyes, Dreamer is an easy pin for Flair, but Flair keeps beating on Dreamer after the bell has rung on his victory. The referee tries to pull Flair off Dreamer, but Flair kicks the ref in the crotch and goes right back to stomping on Dreamer. Within seconds, Triple H is racing to the ring; he tears the pepper spray out of Flair's hands and tosses it aside.

"Ric," says Triple H, "what in the hell are you doing? You blind a guy with pepper spray, you, you break into a man's house and terrorize his wife? What the hell is the matter with you? You've gone over the line, Ric! This, what you're doing, it isn't right, it isn't how we do things! If you want a match with Mick Foley, you don't go like this!"

The look in Flair's eyes is cold and dead, the look of a maniac deep in the throes of his madness. "I will beat the living hell out of his children if that's what it takes! Now help me put the boots to this piece of trash, or get outta my way!"

For a few seconds, Triple H is too shocked to do anything but stare, slack-jawed, as Flair stomps away on Dreamer. Finally, Triple H snaps out of his fugue, grabs Flair by the shoulder and cocks back a fist. But Flair surprises him by pulling a tazer out of his tights and jamming it right in Triple H's torso. Triple H drops like a sack of rocks, and keeps jittering as Flair keeps the tazer on him.

Suddenly, the crowd comes alive as Mick Foley races out of the back, slides in the ring and lays into Flair. Flair drops to his knees and begs for mercy, but Foley doesn't buy it for a second and kicks Flair in the face. Foley scoops up the pepper spray and, as Flair staggers to his feet, sprays it in Flair's face; Flair falls from the ring, screaming in pain, holding his eyes and walking into whatever is around him. As Flair stumbles around, Foley grabs the microphone off the mat. "You want a match, Ric? Survivor Series ... as the late Gordon Solie once said ... 'Two words, five letters: I Quit'! And I promise you, you sick son of a bitch, I will take you to a hell you've never seen before! I will beat respect into you if it's the last goddamn thing I do!"

From the opening bell, Edge shows James Gibson visible disdain, treating the smaller Gibson like an inexperienced scrub instead of someone worthy of being the Intercontinental Champion. Gibson quickly corrects Edge's misconception when he peppers his challenger with stiff chops and targeted strikes against Edge's legs, setting up for the Trailer Hitch. Rocked by Gibson's unrelenting and precision attacks, Edge tries every shortcut and evasive maneuver he knows to stop Gibson, but the IC Champ is relentless, taking Gibson to the proverbial woodshed. With certain humiliation only seconds away, Edge resorts to grabbing his Money In The Bank briefcase and blasting Gibson in the face, drawing the blatant disqualification. Edge's temper gets ahold of him and he lays into Gibson a few more times with the briefcase, all the while screaming "This is you, Triple H! This is you!" Edge leaves Gibson in the middle of the ring as medics rush to check on him, laughing and smiling like it's his birthday.

As CM Punk comes down the aisle for his match with John Cena, he is subject to an unusual barrage of heckling and garbage being thrown at him. When Punk looks at the source, his face twists in a scowl at the site of Colt Cabana. Punk walks up to the barrier and is about to berate Cabana when the jovial Cabana splashes a cup of beer in Punk's face. Punk's eyes go wide with fury and indignation, but, with a great effort, he walks away, wiping the offensive alcohol off his face as he climbs in the ring.

When the bell rings, Punk is stunned by Cena, who shows off a more technical, mat-based wrestling style. Determined not to be shown up, Punk throws in his kicks and high-impact maneuvers, and although Cena mixes it up with his more standard brawling, he starts to lose ground to the Ring Of Honor World Champion. Punk turns on the heat, working over Cena with a flurry of offense both legal and shady, all the while keeping an eye on Cabana, who watches with mask of stone.

But Punk's offense is derailed when he sees someone in the front row, a young lady with striking black hair and pale white skin. His eyes go wide at the sight of Lucy, his once-upon-a-time girlfriend, watching Punk with blank eyes. Suddenly, her eyes perk up when a bucket of popcorn is placed in her lap; the supplier of the snack, Bryan Danielson, kisses her on the cheek, then turns and waves to Punk with an evil grin.

Punk's face flushes with rage, all his attention now focused on Danielson and his ex-girlfriend. He doesn't notice Cena up on his feet behind him, waiting impatiently for Punk to turn around. As soon as he does, a kick in the gut leads to an F-U and the three count for the WWE Champion. Cena's celebration is short-lived as Kurt Angle rushes the ring and attacks him, and the brawl takes the two out of the ring.

As they clear out of the way, Eric Bischoff comes out of the audience, jumps the barricade and gets in the ring. He stands above Punk as the ROH Champion tries to clear the cobwebs out of his head. "So," says Bischoff, "you can either give my clients what they deserve, or next time ... well ..." Bischoff smiles and lets the end of the sentence hang in Punk's mind as he walks away, leading his clients and Lucy out of the arena.

Nov. 27, '05: WWE Survivor Series:

Survivor Series gets off to a violent start as the unsanctioned confrontation between Matt Hardy and Ring Of Honor's Homicide takes the opening match slot, and before the two can even get to the ring, they're trading fisticuffs in the aisle. The set is used as a bludgeon for the two to throw each other against, as are the audience barricades, the walls of the arena itself, and anything else they happen to see. Homicide is bleeding in short order after Hardy grabs a coffee pot off a catering table and breaks it over Homicide's head; likewise, Hardy ends up with his head flesh torn, courtesy of Homicide's fork and several jabs to the forehead. Hardy manages to put out Homicide's lights by finding a loose cinder block and breaking it across Homicide's head, but from behind, Edge scrambles Hardy's brains with a steel chair. But before he can do any more damage, Triple H and James Gibson hit the scene and chase Edge to the back.

With the playing field re-levelled, Hardy and Homicide drag themselves to their feet and take their blood-soaked carnage towards the ring. A number of items get pulled from under the ring and turned into weapons, and the amount of broken wood in the ring from tables could stoke a campfire for a month. But Homicide's crucial mistake comes in mis-timing a leap at Hardy as he leans against the ropes; Hardy ducks and Homicide's twisting leap gets him tied in the ropes, hanging outside the ring by the neck, two of the ring ropes wrapped around his neck. Hardy, grinning through a curtain of blood, slides out, grabs a steel chair and tees off, hammering Homicide over and over and over again. Homicide tries to reason with Hardy, but after months of assaults with plastic bags, bleach and attacks in the hospital, there is no room for negotiations. Hardy climbs the nearest turnbuckle, chair in hand, looming down over Homicide as he tries to get out of his ring-rope prison. Hardy raises the chair high over his head, like an executioner preparing for a beheading, and steps into the air; the meaty knocking noise the chair makes as it impacts Homicide's skull almost reverberates off the ceiling. Homicide's eyes roll back and he goes limp, but before the ref can signal for the bell, Hardy slides back in and stops him; he gets Homicide loose, drags him into the ring and pins him. The crowd counts along with the referee, and there is almost a sigh of relief when the ref's hand hits the mat for the third time. Medics and trainers help Hardy to the back, but Homicide refuses the assistance and is helped out by his buddies in The Rottweilers.

One by one, the participants of the four-way elimination match for the Intercontinental Championship come out, and Edge, having already made friends earlier, draws the short straw and comes out first. As soon as Triple H comes out, Edge drops out of the ring, almost hiding behind Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler. CM Punk comes out third, holding up his ROH World Title and crowing about being wrestling's "real" champion. It doesn't get half the reception from the partisan crowd as does James Gibson and his Intercontinental Title.

As soon as the bell rings, Edge rushes Triple H, but The Game is ready and pops Edge in the jaw with a haymaker. Gibson and Punk step back and let Triple H and Edge have it out. For the first couple minutes, Triple H overwhelms Edge, but when he tries for a Pedigree, Edge counters with a low blow and quickly tags out to CM Punk. With Triple H doubled over holding his aching crotch, Punk tries to roll him up, but Edge breaks up the pin. Punk is on his feet instantly, asking what Edge is doing; Edge points at Triple H and growls "He's mine." Punk's expression is one of incredulity and dismissal, but when he turns around, Triple H socks him in the jaw like he did Edge. Triple H tags out to Gibson, who goes after Punk with a strategy similar to the one that got him the IC Title, but tags back to Triple H when Punk wises up. But Punk manages to get the upper hand when, again, Triple H goes for an early Pedigree that Punk turns into a back body drop. Punk and Edge trade offense on Triple H for a bit until Edge goes for a back body drop on a throw to the ropes, and Triple H makes him eat a knee; Punk runs in and tags Triple H with a kick to the back of the head, which gets the ref's attention. Edge uses the distraction to snatch his briefcase, clobbers Triple H in the head and makes the cover, stunning the crowd by eliminating the match's odds-on favorite.

But Edge's celebration comes to an abrupt halt when Lita, looking healed and healthy, enters the ring. Edge holds out his arms to welcome his partner in crime, but Lita stuns him and everyone else by hauling off and punting him in the nuts. The referee grabs Lita and starts to haul her away, even as she shrieks at Edge about being forgotten and left behind. When the ref turns around, CM Punk is covering Edge. Three seconds later, Edge is eliminated, leaving Punk with the man who took the Intercontinental Championship from him, James Gibson. The two stare at one another for a few seconds, waiting for the other to flinch first ... and then rush each other simultaneously, lashing out with chops, kicks, punches and every other conceivable strike.

Having faced so many times before, many of the strikes whiff or are blocked, and many of the moves they attempt are countered or reversed. But Gibson is able to keep his emotions in check, and trips up Punk by pushing him until his temper makes him make careless mistakes. Punk's only recourse is to use shortcuts to keep himself out of trouble; once in control, Punk moves at such a methodical pace as to almost be lazy, or toying with Gibson. Eventually, Gibson uses Punk's cockiness against him and gets him in a number of pinning predicaments, but on a back body drop attempt, Gibson gets caught by the Devil Lock DDT. Punk makes the cover and gets the three-count, giving him the Intercontinental Championship once again.

But when the timekeeper goes to grab the belt to hand it to the ref, the belt is gone, taken by Eric Bischoff. Bischoff looks at the belt, smiling, then at Punk. "Oh, did you want this?" says Bischoff. "Well, see, we have a problem now. I've had to go in search of new clientele and new allies to help bring down Vince McMahon, and just yesterday, I landed quite possibly the biggest client I could hope for." Bischoff smile gets so big, it could swallow a 747. "See, my client has decided it's time to fight fire with fire. In this case, since Vince McMahon is more then willing to allow one of his contracted WWE Superstars to steal the property of another company, my client, Ring Of Honor, has asked me to do no less. So, if you want this ..." Bischoff holds up the belt. "... you'll just have to come to--oh, wait. I forgot. I won't be at Steel Cage Warfare. I forgot, I have a meeting in Hollywood that evening. I'm only available on the 17th ... oh, wait, that's Final Battle. You were gonna take that day off, weren't you? Well ..." he says, shrugging and turning around, "good luck explaining to Vince how you went on vacation instead of retrieving his property."

Punk almost trips over himself running towards the side of the ring Bischoff is on. "Fine, fine, what do you want? What do you want?"

"Why, I told you already, Punk." Bischoff's smile could light up a black hole, but any shred of humor is strictly ironic. "Come to Final Battle, and do the right thing." With that, Bischoff climbs over the barricade and walks away, the Intercontinental Title under his arm.

Before heading to the ring for his historic confrontation with Ric Flair, Todd Grisham catches up with Mick Foley, and asks how he feels. "I feel ... well, I feel a lot of things, Todd," says Mick. "I feel a sick sense of glee when I think of what I'm about to do to Ric Flair. Then I get nauseous, because I've worked hard to drive that part of me, the part that likes the sound of ripping flesh and the sight of pools of blood, I've worked hard to kill that part of me, and it makes me sick to know it's still alive. And then I get mad at Ric Flair for making me find that place in me again. And then I get ashamed."

Grisham looks perplexed. "Why, Mick? Why ashamed?"

Foley looks at Grisham, his expression blank. "Do you have children? I do. And before I drove to the airport to come here yesterday, I had to sit down with my kids and tell them not to watch my match. I had to tell my wife that under no circumstances are they allowed to see what I'm about to do, and that's because, frankly, what I'm going to do to Ric Flair would land me in prison if it wasn't happening in a wrestling ring. I want my children to look up to me, and I can't very well expect them to think of me as their hero if I'm raking barbed wire across someone's forehead. This is all my fault, I set this all in motion, and tonight, I have to become a monster. I have to extinguish everything about me that is Mick Foley if I am going to survive out there, Todd Grisham; I have to go to a place even Cactus Jack would be afraid to look. I have to find the deepest, darkest hole in my soul, and dig beneath that. And to do that, I have to shut out my children, and hope they don't hear about tonight from one of their friends at school. That's why I'm ashamed, Todd Grisham. And for that," Foley adds, looking in the camera for the first time, his eyes cold as the core of Anarctica, "I hate you, Ric Flair, more then anyone has ever hated anyone else." With that, Foley turns and walks to the ring.

From the opening bell, Flair and Foley display their raw hatred in ways that border on the criminal. Wrestling moves are entirely abandoned in favor of punching and anything they can lay their hands on. While the crowd is soldily behind Foley, they can't help but be horrified when Foley pulls a pen knife out of his boots and goes for Flair's head, twisting it in the open wound, yelling at Flair to quit. Numerous tables are reduced to kindling, chairs are dented and outright broken, and a monitor from the announce booth is turned into a heap of broken electronics and glass over Foley's head. A Pillmanizing by Flair sets up a figure-four attempt, but Foley gets out of it by grabbing jabbing at Flair's knee with the pen knife. A table is set up in one corner, covered in thumbtacks, which Foley tries to use for a superplex on Flair; Flair manages to shove Foley off, and through the augmented table. The disastrous turn of luck for Foley gives Flair a big opportunity; he reaches under the apron and produces a tazer, which he jabs into Foley's side and leans on the trigger. With Foley twitching uncontrollably from the electrocution, Flair demands Foley quit, regardless if Foley can form words or not. When Foley doesn't give up, despite almost 30 seconds of electrocution, Flair goes outside again, pulls some barbed wire from under the ring, grabs a chair, and spends a minute wrapping the wire around the chair.

The time spent making the weapon gives Foley some time to catch his breath. When Flair comes back in, holding the chair aloft, Foley snags Flair with a drop toe-hold; Flair comes down face-first on the chair. Foley gets to his feet first and from his tights produces a pair of handcuffs, which he uses to bind one of Flair's hands to one a ring-rope. Foley grabs the barbed wire chair, heads outside, and starts sifting under the ring. What he pulls out makes literally everyone in the arena go silent with shock and horror: a can of gasoline. Foley takes off his flannel, douses it in gas, wraps in in the barbed wire, then gets back in the ring, bringing the chair and the gas with him. Flair's horror turns to shrieking terror when Foley starts splashing gas on him; when he pulls a lighter from his tights and ignites the chair, the crowd starts chanting "please don't do it", but the cold, dead glare in Foley's eyes says reason will not reach him. Even the ref begs Foley not to do it, but Foley ignores him. Foley cocks back the chair, ready to smash, rend and burn his helpless prisoner all in one shot. It takes Flair less then half a heartbeat to scream the two match-ending words, and he does so over and over and over again. Foley glares at Flair, still holding the chair ready to swing, as Flair officially quits; Flair's submission turns into pleas of mercy, but Foley still holds up the chair. Finally, even though the fire is burned out, Flair screams out; "What do you want from me?!?"

Foley speaks without a shred of emotion; though it is a shout, it is only to be heard, not out of anger. "Are you sorry? Are you sorry for what you've done to me and my family?"

"Yes, for God's sake, yes!"

Foley drops the chair, pulls out the handcuff key, hands it to the ref and walks away. For a brief moment, he turns around and regards the crowd, who give him a polite round of applause. He waves once, turns back again and leaves.

Dec. 3, '05: Ring Of Honor's "Steel Cage Warfare":

The week between Survivor Series and Steel Cage Warfare sees CM Punk silently going about his wrestling career; minus the title belt, he successfully defends the Intercontinental Championship on Raw, and says nothing when he is dressed down by Vince McMahon for losing the belt. Even when Eric Bischoff shows up in the parking garage by Punk's rental car, Punk goes about his business with cold silence.

When he gets to Steel Cage Warfare, it's another story entirely.

The opening contest, a match between two ROH students is interrupted by Punk, who dispatches with both of the rookies easily. Once the students are tossed out, Punk stands in the middle of the ring, holding the belt above his head. The crowd boos, but Punk just nods. "Just remember: it's me taking an ass-kicking over this piece of crap belt that put every one of you in these seats," he says with a smile. "But the fact of the matter is, this back-and-forth bullshit is getting old. Eric Bischoff harasses me steals my belt, I humiliate your wrestlers on a near-weekly basis ... I'm done. It's time to end this, once and for all. Now, I know I said I was taking the holidays off, but between Bischoff, McMahon and the old cranks who run this one-ring circus blackmailing me from every direction, I'm kinda forced to cancel my big Carribbean cruise and show up at Final Battle. But since I hold the gold, that means I still make some rules, and here it is: whoever I face--and believe me when I say I've proved myself as superior to everyone back there so many times, I couldn't care less if I face everyone all at once--it will be the last match I have in Ring Of Honor. If I win, the belt goes with me. Forever. You can strip me, vacate the title, but I will always havehave the distinction of being Ring Of Honor's only undefeated champion. You have two chances to get the job done: tonight, and at Final Battle. If you can't get it done by then, you never will. You can send every lawyer, agent, promoter and fan after me; I'll retire if I have to. So, Commissioner Cornette, since you're Mr. Matchmaker ... send your best. Just keep in mind, how matter good your best is, I'm better then them."

A grudge match pitting student versus teacher bows, with Samoa Joe taking on his backstabbing protege Jay Lethal. Turned on recently by Lethal, Joe goes after his former protege with a vengeance, looking to end the match quickly. But Lethal is able to counter his former instructor's tactics, setting off a brilliant cat-and-mouse match of Joe having to break out of his normal patterns, and Lethal having to adapt to Joe's shifting gameplan. Unfortunately, the stunning game of attack/counter/re-counter comes to an abrupt and unsatisfying halt, when Joe gets taken down from a chair shot from behind, not from Jay Lethal but from Mick Foley. The crowd, never able quite to settle on a feeling towards Foley in the past, unites against him as he plasters Joe with shot after shot, drawing the DQ victory for the Samoan submission machine. Lethal hands Foley a microphone when he demands one.

"You want a fight, Joe? You got it! Final Battle! No holds barred, no ref stoppage, no more bullshit! You and me, one and one, one time and one time only!" Foley gets down on the mat, up next to the ear of Joe. When he speaks, his voice is monotone ... but a cold, malicious kind of monotone. "I hope you watched Survivor Series, Joe. I hope you saw how far I was willing to go to beat Ric Flair. And I hope you realize that I'm willing to do that to you, too." Foley gets up, spits on Joe and leaves through the crowd, leaving Lethal to get a few more stomps on Joe before walking away, too.

Another surprise for the night comes as ring announcer Bobby Cruise is doing the duties for the long-awaited confrontation between Colt Cabana and Bryan Danielson. What was expected to be a spirited, semi-grudge match suddenly takes on new gravitas when Cruise announces the 30-minute time-limit bout is for a title shot at Final Battle. Punk immediately comes out to protest, barking at Cruise, who can, as the messenger, only shrug. Jim Cornette comes out and argues all the way to the back with Punk about how "fair" it is to have turned Cabana/Danielson into a #1 contendership match. Cabana passes Cornette and Punk as he heads to the ring; the normally jovial Cabana flips off his former best friend and enters the ring without his normal fanfare, too focused on the opportunity before him for dancing and goofiness.

Once the bell rings, the former tag champs begin a tense, hard-hitting dance, with Cabana's size and power a counter to Danielson's speed and superior mat work. Cabana shows a stunning versatility, not going hold-for-hold with Danielson, but holding his own nonetheless. Likewise, Danielson doesn't let Cabana's size or strength advantage stop him from fighting like a man twice his size. The crowd, evenly split, chants for both as they trade moves and strikes, suplexes and holds, always keeping things above board. Not once does the match spill into the crowd in a brawl, nor do take it outside and use the ringside environment to weaken each other. The action remains soldily in the ring, as each man tries to prove themselves the better wrestler--and thereby the better candidate to relieve CM Punk of the burden of being Ring Of Honor World Champion, should he make it past the three-way dance later on.

But as the match winds on, the audience starts to get nervous; likewise, more then a couple heads pop through the curtain to take a nervous peek. With less than five minutes on the clock, Jim Cornette comes out and stands at the end of the aisle, hands wringing together as Cabana and Danielson give each other everything they have in the closing minutes. Danielson kicks out of a Colt .45 with a half of a half an inch between the ref's hand and the mat. Cabana gets to the ropes during a Cattle Mutilation that he endures for almost a minute and a half. Somehow, even with aching arms and a sore back, Cabana manages to pick up Danielson for a second Colt .45, but Danielson kicks out again. Bobby Cruise announces the one-minute mark to a rabid crowd on the edge of their seats.

With less than thirty seconds left, Danielson and Cabana fight on the top turnbuckle over a superplex; Danielson wins, but the impact of the move takes just as much out of him as it does Cabana. The ref begins a standing 10 count, but never reaches the end, as the timekeeper rings the bell. The crowd immediately boos as Cruise confirms what everyone already knows: the match is a time-limit draw. The crowd chants "five more minutes", but Cornette walks away, shaking his head.

When CM Punk comes out for his World Title defense--coming out before his theme music plays, and before his opponents come out--he laughs as he approaches the ring. Punk snatches the microphone from Cruise and holds up the title belt once again. "Get a good look, folks," he says as he turns so all sides of the venu can see the centerplate. "Get a real good look. Cause tonight is the last time you'll see it. Oh, I'd be at Final Battle, probably sipping on a Pepsi at the concession stand or something, cause it seems they don't have anyone for me to fight. Joe? Beat him. Generation? Beat them. Hell, beat three of them at once. Chris Daniels? Beat him, too. Jimmy Rave? Beat him a long time ago. I even beat guys from the WWE for this thing. Face it; Ring Of Honor had their chance. They're throwing Homicide and Corino at me in just a minute, and their last two great hopes, my old buddy Colt and a guy who quit the promotion because he wasn't getting what he wanted, they just had fizzle and die. So, get a good look; come Final Battle, they'll need to ... oh, I don't know. Tournament? Battle royal? Whatever they do, however they decide a new champion, they'll always be looked at as a fake champ, because they never beat me."

With that, Homicide and Steve Corino are introduced, and the two resume their blood feud as soon as the bell rings. Seeing no place, and no reason to make a place, between the long-feuding pair, Punk steps out of the ring as Homicide and Corino try to kill each other and takes a seat beside the timekeeper. Homicide and Corino don't even notice that Punk is gone, so focused are they on maiming each other, and Punk is all too happy to let them continue their path towards mutual annihilation. But as he sits around, Julius Smokes, Homicide's corner man, starts verbally berating Punk. Punk takes it for only so long before getting up and barking right back. He doesn't notice that Homicide has managed to stop Corino for a minute and is coming up behind him. He only notices when Homicide grabs him by the hair and throws him into the ringpost, finally bringing Punk into the action after almost five minutes.

Fortunately for Punk, just as he finds himself in serious jeopardy from Homicide's onslaught, Corino comes right back into it and inadvertantly saves him by going after Homicide. But Punk's fortunes quickly reverse when Corino, having sent Homicide to the outside, comes after him, putting Punk on the defensive again. Once again, Punk's second opponent provides the unintentional rescue, but this time, Punk goes after retribution on Homicide. The three trade moves with each other, scoring a hit before being hit themselves, one after another in a loop, until Punk suggests to Corino they pair up on Homicide to eliminate him. Together, they're able to beat Homicide to a bloody mess and pin him simultaneously. Smokes retrieves his friend and leads him away, leaving Corino--no friend to ROH--and the universally despised Punk as the final two.

The two put on a decent clinic of strong-style wrestling, with Punk dictating the pace, keeping Corino on the defensive. When Punk tries to take it to Corino in a brawl, though, the self-proclaimed King Of Old School rocks Punk back on his heels. A couple near-falls by Corino get the audience counting along, even if the result of a three-count is so fundamentally loathesome. But as Corino looks to be taking it home, Homicide runs back out, brandishing his familiar fork; he slides in and stabs both men in the forehead. And, for his longtime nemesis, Homicide puts a punctuation mark on the attack with a Cop Killa, before leaving. Punk is the first to move, draping an arm over Corino; the ref makes the count, and three seconds later, Punk is victorious once again, with seemingly no challengers left to take him on, and the ruination of Ring Of Honor only a matter of time.

Dec. 17, '05: Ring Of Honor's: "Final Battle 2005":

No less than 24 hours following Steel Cage Warfare, Ring Of Honor posts a bit on their website announcing that they are discussing a proper challenger for CM Punk in light of the no-decision between Colt Cabana and Bryan Danielson, with the leading candidate being a three-way dance. CM Punk is quick to send a reply through his agent;

"Ring Of Honor has thrown everything they can think of to take this title off my waist, and nothing's worked. Three-way dances, four-way dances, guys from other federations, matches with no time-limit ... none of it has worked. If the best they can do is to book another three-way dance, I'm very disappointed in them. If you're so intent on getting the belt off me, why not have me face Danielson and Cabana in individual matches at Final Battle? That still isn't really a challenge for me, but still ... be original."

The very next day, Ring Of Honor accepts, officially announcing that CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana will open the show, and that the winner of Punk/Cabana will face Bryan Danielson will close it. Punk, predictably, cries foul in posts and missives sent through his agent, saying he didn't really mean what he said, but ROH refuses to budge.

With great reluctance, Punk shows up at Final Battle and, as promised, is confronted at the opening bell with his former friend and Second City Saint running buddy, Colt Cabana. Despite the ref's orders to shake hands, neither man makes any motion to follow the Code Of Honor and are more then content to snarl at one another. The ringing of the bell does nothing to make the two spring into action, as they stand stock still, saying everything they need to say with their eyes.

Suddenly, Punk kicks a field goal between Cabana's uprights, dropping him to the mat instantly. Punk pulls a pair of knuckles out of his tights and jumps on Cabana, connecting several blows before there are enough officials to pry Punk off Cabana. The ref has no choice but to throw out the match, much to the chagrin of the fans, who let out with a chant of "bullshit". As soon as the ring is cleared and Cabana is taken away, ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette comes out to address the fans.

"I know y'all are upset, and you have every right to be," says Cornette. "We promised you a match between CM Punk and Colt Cabana, and now, we can't deliver on that. But I am damn sure not gonna allow that to happen again when CM Punk gets back in this ring tonight to face Bryan Danielson, because I am here to tell you that CM Punk will be thoroughly searched, I will make sure that this ringside area is secured just in case he's thinking of bringing in one of his buddies from Connecticut, and I'll be at ringside myself to make sure this match has a finish. Cause I promise you all this; if CM Punk tries to get himself intentionally disqualified or counted out, I'll restart the damn match! You will see Danielson and Punk throw down tonight, and there will be a winner, or so help me God, I'll quit right on the spot!"

As Mick Foley approaches the ring, a hush falls over the crowd; despite not carrying any kind of weaponry, and never having been in any sort of physical shape that could be construed as intimidating, and yet, just his posture is enough to send a very clear message about what to expect. The crowd erupts when Samoa Joe comes out, but his demeanor is just as cold and lethal as Foley's. When the two meet in the ring, standing nose to nose, the crowd is on the edge of their seats, screaming for the bloodshed to come.

And as soon as the bell rings, Joe and Foley deliver, working a stiff, borderline sickening blend of styles, combining Joe's technical skills and brawling ability with Foley's reckless abandon and hardcore legacy. It isn't long before blood is flowing on the foreheads of both men, and a section of the audience is cleared out equally quick when the two come barrelling through. A few of the plastic seats on the chairs are reduced to shards as the two heavyweights use them to either swing at one another or as props to slam each other on. The fight finally gets back to the ringside area, although not in the ring, as Joe dismantles a ringside barrier and places it across the gap between the ring and another barrier and manages to powerbomb Foley onto it. But when Joe pulls in Foley's near-lifeless body, he kicks out at two.

From there, Joe, firmly in control, unloads his arsenal of heavy-hitter moves; the Island Driver, the STJoe, and the Muscle Buster are all used, and Foley somehow kicks out of all of them. Joe's frustration starts to show as everything he throws at Foley gets pushed off when it comes time for the pin. Foley is able to get a brief reprieve when he executes a drop toe-hold that sends Joe face first into a chair, but the beating suffered is too great for Foley to mount a much of a comeback. Joe absorbs a couple of weak chair shots from Foley, and on a third attempt, hits a Yakuza kick into the chair, sending it into Foley's face. Joe pounces immediately, locking on the Kokina Clutch. After almost thirty seconds in the hold, limply, almost imperceptibly, Foley does the unthinkable and taps. The crowd comes out of their seats, but as the ref holds up Joe's hand, Foley gets to his feet and demands a microphone.

"I didn't ... I ..." Foley winces, succumbing to a fit of coughing. "You beat me, fair and square. I didn't even get the chance to bring my worst before you beat me." Foley extends a hand. "I'm man enough to admit who the better man is, and when I'm wrong. You are, and I was. I'm sorry." Foley holds out his hand, looking earnestly at Joe, who regards Foley with skepticism. After a bit of hesitation, Joe takes the hand; Foley gives it a couple firm shakes, raises Joe's hand, and then leaves, giving Joe the moment all to himself.

The tensions in the building run at an all-time high as Bryan Danielson makes his way to the ring for his one and only shot at CM Punk and the Ring Of Honor World Championship. A shower of streamers welcomes Danielson to the ring when he steps in the ring. As has become custom for Punk title defenses, the ROH locker room assumes their positions around the ring and in the aisle. But before Punk can come out, the parade of lumberjacks is joined by more--these representing Raw's roster. From Eugene to John Cena, the Raw superstars mingle into the line of interested onlookers, including a bandaged Mick Foley, who shakes hands once again with Samoa Joe before taking up station at ringside, right next to Matt Hardy.

With the ringside area now at capacity with wrestlers who loathe Punk, the embattled ROH Champion makes his way to the ring with a sneer on his face, not deigning to give anyone the satisfaction of showing anything but disdain. This time, the referee doesn't even bother trying to enforce the Code Of Honor and, after the introductions are done, signals for the bell. Immediately, Danielson goes after Punk, lighting into him with a blizzard of chops and hard elbows to the head. Punk finally answers back, and the striking battle becomes a hit-me-with-your-best-shot contest. Ultimately, Danielson's elbows and chops win out, and the minute Punk is slow to get up from the mat, Danielson jumps and tries for the Cattle Mutilation, but Punk slips out, only to run into the lumberjacks. Quickly, he gets back and Danielson is right there to take him down. But Punk, sensing just how much is at stake, reaches down deep and fights back, taking the fight to Danielson as much as Danielson does to him.

From there, Punk and Danielson spend the match chipping away at each other, with Punk showing the brilliance he had eschewed for months in favor of being a cheating coward, and Danielson showing a relentless fire never before seen. The submission finishers of both men are attempted numerous times, and both find counters, reversals or escapes. The lumberjacks watch closely, visibly upset when Punk gets the upper hand, delighted when Danielson does. But when Danielson comes on again with another onslaught of strikes, Punk snaps and deliberately punts Danielson in the groin. The ref signals for the bell, but Jim Cornette comes out, climbs in the ring and tells the ref not to ring the bell. Punk gets in Cornette's face and spits; Cornette responds by kicking Punk in the balls. The wrestlers around the ring erupt in cheers; Cornette grabs a microphone and says; "Now it's even! Re-start the match!"

Danielson is the first one to his feet, and doesn't wait for Punk to get up before laying into the champ with stiff shots to the back and arms. Before Punk can even think to respond, Danielson cinches in the Cattle Mutilation, but being too close to the ropes, Punk easily gets a foot on the ropes to break the hold. Danielson holds on until four, telling the ref emphatically that he has until five to break, then drags Punk's carcass to the middle of the ring and puts on a crossface chickenwing. After enduring it for an amazing amount of time, Punk stands up and rams Danielson backwards into the corner to break the hold. Punk lands a couple stiff kicks to Danielson's head to daze him, then starts to drag him up to set up the Pepsi Plunge. But Danielson blocks by coiling a leg around one of the ropes, while Punk goes sailing up and over Danielson, crashing into the mat. Danielson turns around, jumps off, nailing an elbow in Punk's back, then pulls Punk forward and slaps on the Cattle Mutilation again. This time, Punk has nowhere to go; he tries rolling through, but Danielson resists. Powering out gets Punk nowhere. The crowd chants "tap" over and over; the wrestlers at ringside bang on the apron, chanting in time with the crowd. Both Punk and Danielson scream, with Danielson yelling for Punk to give up, while the champ's screams are ones of agony. When Punk refuses to tap, Danielson breaks the hold himself, props Punk sideways in his lap and starts laying in repeated elbows to the side of Punk's head. After about ten of these, Danielson reapplies the Cattle Mutilation.

This time, Punk cannot resist.

The crowd's roaring is so loud, no one can hear Bobby Cruise make the official announcement of Bryan Danielson being the new Ring Of Honor World Champion. The wrestlers around the ring hoot, holler and applaud, then break into a round of "Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye", in which the audience quickly joins. Punk cries and moans, screaming about how unfair it is, but nobody listens; the relief of the nightmare finally, finally, being over is too much to deny.

And then, the moment is halted, as a very unexpected visitor steps through the curtain and looks at the ring from the entranceway. Dressed in a nice suit, he surveys the crowd for a moment, soaking in how his very appearence is enough to cause roomfuls of grown men and women to stop in their tracks. He smiles, then raises the microphone in his hand to his mouth, his smile as toothy as a crocodile's, and as friendly, too.

"CM Punk," says Vince McMahon, "now that this is all over and you're exclusively a WWE Superstar ... come this Monday, on Raw ... your ass is mine!"

The End