IWA Mid-South Top 18 Matches, #4: CM Punk vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio 3/1/02

CM Punk vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio 3/1/02

ER: What a cool little slice of history, with three future WWE world champs all wrestling at a time when nobody but the most ardent fantasy bookers were ever expecting them to be WWE champions ("so then AJ Styles debuts as the mystery opponent for Shawn Michaels, and they main event WrestleMania, and then Eddie and Rey bring back the LWO to feud with the also returning ECW, and..."). This was quite the coup that IWA got Rey and Eddie to come in. Eddie was on his rehabilitation tour to show WWE he had changed, so he was wrestling with purpose, and clearly looked like the best wrestler in the world. I'd always been an Eddie fan, but 2002 Eddie jumped to another level. Every single one of his movements is gold, right down to how snug he holds cradles and small packages. Everybody busts butt in this match, but Eddie is God. Three ways stink as a rule, but I thought they managed to work through several spots nicely, and since everybody committed to being a bump freak the spots all worked. When Punk whips into the ring with a sunset flip that causes Eddie to fling Rey with a German, and Rey bumps wildly into the ropes on his shoulder? It works. 

Everybody works in their signature offense in natural ways, and it's cool to see the Rey and Eddie - already opponents for a decade at this point - mixed in with a reckless indy worker with something to prove. Also notable, is that out of all the times Eddie/Rey crossed paths, this was maybe the only time it happened outside of AAA/WCW/WWE. Somebody fact check that, it sounds right. Punk is pretty awesome here, working really fast, hitting the back of his head on a chair catching a Rey dive, hitting a bonkers blockbuster, knowing when to pounce and when to stay out of the way. At one point Rey practically scalps him with a 619. Eddie was such a bundle of dynamite, bumping big for Rey on armdrags and at one point taking a wild bump toward the ringpost and to the floor (through the bottom rope). The finish is a real killer, as Rey hits Punk with a big rana, then Eddie runs in and throws Rey to the floor (with Rey doing his stomach first Halloween bump that the camera mostly misses) before hitting a stiff frog splash to somehow win the IWA title. This could have been a mess. This could have been a couple names big timing a small indy and working shtick (which also would have ruled and now maybe I want that match more). Instead all parties went out and had probably the best match possible, a real fun treat.