CM Punk Defeats MJF with Assist from Wardlow at AEW Revolution 2022

CM Punk defeated MJF in a brutal dog collar match at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view Sunday night.

Punk vs. MJF marked only the second dog collar match in AEW history, joining the TNT Championship match between Cody Rhodes and the late Brodie Lee on the Oct. 7, 2020, episode of Dynamite.

It was a bloody match that saw the use of thumb tacks among other vicious spots. The ending of the match saw Punk punch MJF in the face with the Dynamite Diamond Ring after Wardlow appeared to turn on his boss.

MJF and Punk have been going at it for several weeks, dating back to Punk interrupting MJF's promo on Dynamite days after MJF beat Darby Allin at Full Gear in November.

What ensued was weeks of promo battles in which MJF and Punk took personal shots at each other. MJF suggested Punk was old, over-the-hill and not capable of achieving his past glory, while Punk harped on MJF being insecure and overhyped.

All of that led up to the first match between them in the main event of the Feb. 2 episode of Dynamite, which took place in Punk's hometown of Chicago.

It initially looked as though MJF won by choking out Punk with his wrist tape without the referee seeing it, but when the tape became visible, the ref reversed the decision and called for the match to continue.

MJF used more underhanded tactics with Wardlow reluctantly passing off the Dynamite diamond ring, which MJF used to punch Punk, resulting in a pinfall victory for the 25-year-old phenom.

That represented Punk's first loss in AEW, and he didn't take kindly to the manner in which MJF went about beating him.

As a result, Punk called for a special stipulation to be added to their rematch at Revolution, and it was made official shortly thereafter.

The dog collar match is one of the most savage match types in pro wrestling history, as it prevents competitors from gaining separation and often leads to one or both of the wrestlers getting beaten, battered and bloodied.

MJF made things even more personal and proved the need for the dog collar stipulation on the go-home edition of Dynamite before Revolution when he left Punk a bloody mess as the result of a heinous attack.

Punk and MJF left it all in the ring during their Revolution grudge match, and with Punk getting a win back, there may be enough meat left on the bone for a rubber match in the near future.

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