WWE has dived into their YouTube vault and released a secret treasure trove of an unreleased match between CM Punk and The Road Warriors. Dating back to 2003, the footage shows a young Punk teaming with Doug Delicious to take on the powerful duo also known as the Legion of Doom.
In a retrospective interview released with the video, CM Punk reminisced about this early match. “It was an amazing experience to be able to wrestle those legends so early in my career,” he said. The match was a dark match on an episode of WWE’s Velocity, the day after The Road Warriors returned to Monday Night Raw.
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Punk explained that The Road Warriors were essentially returning that night for a tryout, and were originally scheduled to face Goldust and Booker T. Punk, who had been rehired by WWE after being suspended for a hammerlock DDT during a setback the previous night, was selected by Sgt. Smith.
May 13, 2003, across from Slaughter and the legendary team.
The Road Warriors return in dominant form
When the video was played, the Baltimore crowd reacted in shock, as The Road Warriors dominated the match, defeating Doug Delicious with the Doomsday Device finisher.
They were dominant, more experienced than anyone else at the time, and so were winners in every sense of the word as they returned to a rapturous crowd. This unusual match took place shortly after The Road Warriors returned to WWE after a four-year hiatus and began their first run with the company.
For Punk, it was bittersweet timing: he signed with WWE in 2005, two years after that encounter and one year after Road Warrior Hawk’s death. Punk went on to have great success with World Wrestling Entertainment, but he never got the chance to face The Animal or Hawk in the ring again.
The broadcast of this match will add an exciting new chapter to the careers of both CM Punk and The Road Warriors and give fans a glimpse into one of the moments that changed everything in professional wrestling.
With a vast library packed with historic content waiting to be discovered by new audiences around the world, releases like this not only add more depth to the legacies of past superstars, but also enhance people’s love for sports entertainment.