Samoa Joe Discusses 60-Minute ROH World Title Matches Against CM Punk

More than anyone, Samoa Joe elevated Ring of Honor during his reign as ROH World Champion. But he didn’t do it alone, as a hungry CM Punk was neck-and-neck with him throughout his reign, culminating in one of the most celebrated rivalries in independent wrestling history.

The two would clash over the ROH Title in a celebrated trilogy of matches in 2004 - including two one-hour time limit draws - and during a recent appearance on AEW Unrestricted, Joe reflected on his wars with Punk in ROH:

"The biggest difficulty is kind of getting over the mental stigma," Joe said. "I know, for me, you think, 'Oh man, it's just it's hard to really go those lengths and to keep the crowd engaged and keep everything going.' That's the biggest thing and then once you're in there and it's funny, I think after the 15-minute mark, your body kind of falls into a rhythm. Mentally you fall into a rhythm, you're locked in, at least for me. Then like I said when you're in the ring with guys who are talented and both of those individuals, make that 60-minutes move at a blistering pace. So it was something that kind of was lost with the annals of time and television, to be able to kind of do that and 60-minute match or have that much time in the modern era was such a rarity and such a cool experience and there were fun matches." 

H/T: Fightful