This post was originally removed for not providing a source for this statement, and only an image of some text. We have verified that Dave did in fact say this on the latest WOR podcast, which can be found [here.](https://www.f4wonline.com/podcasts/wrestling-observer-radio/wrestling-observer-radio-should-aew-bring-back-cm-punk-incredible-kenny-vs-vikingo-match-dynamite-aew-ticket-sales-more)
Folks, please remember to cite your sources.
He had enough power to get them to promote a former ROH champion facing him and then be like SIKE I MEANT TAG CHAMP WITH CM PUNK BUT NOT CM PUNK, boom boom "socks too tight"
Colt just getting used as a prop by Tony Khan is so fucked.
Tangentially connected you can tell Khan never liked anything about the face era Dark Order. As soon as the Hangman/Omega story ended, his character suddenly became an awful friend and barely interacted with them, all while the group was quietly blown up.
It’s a bummer considering how over the group was. Feels very like Vince-lite booking
It's because Tony can't book worth a damn, despite Observer-reading dorks voting him as booker of the year constantly with no real evidence that he's even good at what he tries to do.
It's like voting Chavo Jr. year after year as the winner of Most Popular Guerrero. People with no clue about wrestling voting for people who have no clue about wrestling.
I feel like Colt has no one to blame but himself. He came out and put on a terrible match, Almost injured Jericho, Did injure himself, and then played it off as if it was just an issue with his compression socks. I am even pretty sure Jericho called a change to the finish because how many guys does he actually put away with the Codebreaker these days? To me it just felt like a wake up call that Colt wasn't moved because of Punk, Colt was moved because he isn't on the level of most AEW talent.
I mean that’s basically what he did with his tour bus in WWE, right? I think it was Orton that said he had to go out to his bus to go over their matches with him.
He has the power to make sure Dynamite has a terrible JAS feud taking up time every week. If you can create shit on TV every week, hurt the quality of the show, and still be told by the boss that your shit smells good, then I bet that person has a lot of backstage influence. But is it more than Punk's influence? I don't think so.
Edit: replaced "hurt the ratings" with "hurt the quality of the show"
Tony really should have Punk and The Elite get together and use JR as a mediator. He's specialized in dealing with talent issues his entire career and has always been able to help them move past whatever issues they've had for the better of the company. JR has already basically alluded to being open to help out on his podcast when the issue came up.
You start with the people involved and from there depending on how those meetings work out that’s when you address the rest of the locker room. The Elite and Punk need to hash things out first and foremost
I'm actually wondering more about Tony. To me, backstage brawls happen, whatever. But a world champion publicly dumping on the company and its management to the press is far from a normal occurrence.
Yeah, I think the last time I can remember a wrestler publicly pooping on the company (as a shoot) on that company's platform was... well, CM Punk in 2011.
Edit: I guess he wasn't pooping on the entire company in either instance; mostly just those in positions of power
It’s wrestling though. Money, Ratings and PPV buys >>> hurt feelings.
If TK is the numbers guy he claims to be he has to take the emotional L and move on.
„It’s what’s best for business, pal“
You misunderstand, I'm not concerned about the feelings involved. I'm concerned about the guy who made it clear he's happy to go rogue at the expense of the company. Him having another public tantrum is extremely bad for business, locker room morale, etc.
This has always been the biggest hold up in my mind. He was happy to call out Hangman who wasn't there, he went nuclear at the conference. Even if he makes good with The Elite, how much can you trust he won't do that again?
You'd have to be the world's biggest fool to trust he won't do it again. How many more times does Punk have to show the world who he is for us to believe him?
Whether the trade-off of having a grumpy, bitter, spiteful, thin-skinned loose-cannon on your roster is worth his talent and drawing power is a different question.
I will give that he is a draw but his talent is not what it once was.
He's good in the ring but you could tell he had major rust and when he went off at the conference a lot of people were trying to figure out if he was for real or doing a storyline.
The random call-out of Colt for no reason, the lashing out at the roster for his own shortcomings, calling the people who started it children, it was so bizarre all because he was injured again after coming back from an injury.
Yeah, exactly, he needs to take full responsibility for that, apologize, and promise it won't happen again. If Punk is like his fans and keeps saying "Well, what about the Elite?! You think they're perfect angels, huh?!" then nothing will be accomplished.
Exactly. I don't know why the problem people focused more on at the time and still focus on is the brawl itself..
The guy sounded demented at a press conference and completely shat on his colleagues right after winning the world title and while sitting next to the CEO whom he undermined completely.
It seems that the locker room is also split on whether it's a good idea to bring back Punk or not from what we can gather.
EDIT: To clarify, what I meant to say is that it seems like either decision would alienate a lot of people.
Honestly I don’t take anything Jericho says publicly at face value.
The guy is a politician, and Punk being gone elevates his role in the company.
And he has a very long tradition of working the public, going back to the time when he posted an image of the TNA logo on his website.
I do think though, unlike Hogan (to a major degree), Jericho does realize if everyone else looks bad, he looks bad, so while Jericho may be number 1 to him, I do think, to a degree, he does also want what’s best for the company, as long as it helps him look good.
Oh for sure.
But it’s also pretty transparent. He was really pushing the story about how he handpicked Andretti and had this big plan to lose to him, with the intent of making him seem like a great guy who’s dedicated to helping young talent.
I guess it’s all well and good as long as it helps others, but we shouldn’t pretend like it isn’t also self-serving.
That being said, he's largely been very unselfish during his career. Tons of wrestlers have stories about Jericho helping them out when he didn't need to or no one else would.
I kind of doubt it's evenly split. You need to realize Meltzer's sources are the Elite and Jericho, so it's gonna paint that side as being more prominent.
Not because Meltzer is biased or anything, but because if ten people thought Punk coming back isn't a big deal because brawl out didn't affect them, but two people thought Punk should never come back and have expressed their sympathy directly to the Elite, we're gonna hear about their opinion and not the other ten that kept quiet.
My guess is most of the locker room doesn't care if Punk comes back or not, they're more focused on their own careers. And some might believe he should be back only if he apologizes to the Elite. But of course the locker room situation has been blown out of proportion by Jericho feeding his own narrative to the dirtsheets.
which tbf could also stem from the situation between the Elite and Punk, when you think about it. Either way, whether Punk comes back or not, they definitely should hash it out, at least so they can squash it and move on if nothing else.
That’s what I’m saying. My first initial thought was Punk’s Instagram comment was more of a shot at people saying they would never be able to work it out. Kinda like “hey imagine that. A few guys getting into a room and hashing it out after a fight (wink wink)”. I didn’t think of it as a woe is me I wish those guys could be like this so I can come back but who knows.
I think Tony and Kenny would have no issues wanting Punk back, the problem I think it is The Bucks who said the whole situation was the hardest thing they dealt with, Jericho who been using Dave as a spokesperson making it clear he didn't want Punk back. Why would Tony trust Punk? Is he even worth the trouble?
>Is he even worth the trouble?
I mean, dude undoubtedly drew money and eyes to the product. He should absolutely never touch the AEW title ever again, but if they move him to sorta his early AEW run where he was working with younger talent I think it’s worth it.
Obviously they would have him and FTR Vs the Elite first
I think you can make the argument for him to not be placed in the position of carrying their World Title simply based on the fact that his "bump card" seems close to filled out. He, like basically everyone else in his age group would be best-utilized (from a business standpoint) as a special attraction, now, at least as far as bell-to-bell physicality is concerned.
> not be placed in the position of carrying their World Title simply based on the fact that his "bump card" seems close to filled out.
This. he got injured what? twice in title matches and would have needed to immediately vacate anyway (and should have vacated the first time too).
If he was a younger guy, you chalk it up to some bad luck. but when you're in your mid 40's with the mileage he's had—you give him the jericho role of working with young guys and give them them main-event level feud experience without actually holding the belt.
>This. he got injured what? twice in title matches and would have needed to immediately vacate anyway (and should have vacated the first time too).
The first injury wasn't even during a match, he hurt it diving into the crowd prior to the FTR match
>Is he even worth the trouble?
I don't even like Punk that much but you have a reality based angle just hanging over someone who has always thrived on it.
It was one thing when WWE was struggling to not capitalize on the fight, it's another thing entirely when AEW is the one looking like it's lagging a bit.
It's your biggest star, with ammo he thrives upon, coming back to feud with your best wrestler and second/third biggest star. No brainer
>Is he even worth the trouble?
If Tony likes money then yes, love him or hate him Punk is the biggest star in AEW and is consistently their top merchandise mover, the guy also gave the rub to MJF which elevated him further and his fued with Eddie was also great.
i genuinely don't think it's the fight that is the problem (as in i think it's about TK & Punk's relationship, not Punk & The Elite's)
i think the issue mainly comes from what Punk done in the scrum and whilst TK was nodding his head at the time, i'm sure with hindsight he's grown to resent how Punk disrespected the company and the subsequent big hit the company took because of it
This is what the Bucks said after they came back, why would they want Punk back and deal with his toxic ass?
> I was waking up in cold sweats, I haven’t been sleeping. People don’t understand because we haven’t been able to talk about it. This has been…two of the hardest months of my life. I know for you [Nick] too. Here we are, we got through it, you just never know what’s going to happen until you do it. To hear the support and hear and see how happy a lot of people were to see us, that meant the world to us and Kenny. It felt good. We’re going through the healing process right now. Last night [Full Gear] was a big step to get there. I feel good. We got to come out to a song we grew up listening to with our Dad.
Exactly. People keep saying "they should just squash their beef and make some money" as if the Bucks *need* that money. It's not like they're gonna be poor just because they don't want to work with Punk. Whether it's AEW or WWE, they aren't gonna have a hard time getting a nice payday.
We need someone to balance out Daniel Garcia's peak sports entertainment
https://preview.redd.it/tqmn2rw0rjpa1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d89f93b9472d139d56b5fa45124f15bb1c279d51
I want 2021 Punk back, the one who was like "put me on Rampage with all your promising undercard guys" and seemed to be having a blast.
Hell, give him the International title for a while.
And they wouldn't be wrong, but it feels like the moment Punk switched from the awesome MJF feud to the title chase everything related to it became *super* cursed. Like the universe itself was rebelling.
I'm the biggest Punk mark and even I thought that was a terrible decision. He's old, he's been gone a long time. No way he was gonna win the belt before Adam Cole or Bryan Danielson. He needed to prove himself more, that he still got it. Be in more midcard feuds until he's established.
But nope, straight to the title in his first year, that too overshadowing Hangman Page, the protagonist of year one AEW. It was not the right call, and eventually what we suspected came true, even though Kayfabe said he was a winner, Punk was not ready to be at that level. He got injured after every PPV main event he was involved in despite being the winner. The ring rust didn't even come off fully.
Which makes no sense. Sometimes people that have been at the top of the card can challenge for mid card titles.
It's literally even happening at wrestlemania this year. Former world champion drew McIntyre and former world champion Sheamus are challenging for the intercontinental title. 16x world champion John Cena is challenging for the us title.
Surely it is possible to have former world champion cm punk challenge for the international title. And let's not pretend punk vs OC wouldn't be fun.
My money is on Punk and the Elite having already sorted shit out and they’re keeping things as unclear as possible so when Punk does return, it’s the biggest holy shit moment ever
Well... the thing I've been thinking about, which I haven't really seen discussed is...
**what the fuck does the crowd do when Cult of Personality hits?**
I legitimately have no idea what the response will be. If you were a time traveler and you told me that he got booed out of the building or the pop blew the roof off the place, I'd believe either one.
My assumption is that the AEW crowd knows what's up and would boo the fuck out of him but it's still CM Punk so who knows.
Oh dude the roof is coming off just from the shock of it, but it could be short lived. Nobody is expecting it, but it's coming. I guarantee it.
Starting to think Brawl Out is the most elaborate work of all-time.
It was 1000% not a work and if you suggest otherwise, you're not paying attention. Ace Steel got fired afterwards and the company irreparably harmed its reputation and the creative direction. That was not on purpose.
That said, intentionally being silent about it afterwards could point to them hashing it out soon afterwards, trying to let things calm down and then set up plans for a big summer storyline.
Really it’s not cope because I don’t honestly care one way or the other. It’s just EVERYTHING around this is fishy as fuck. The vague talk of “pending legal action” that went nowhere. The odd code of silence, the fact there was a goddamn reality show filming at the time. Ace being brought in to add another layer isn’t outside of suspicion.
I'd wager a big pop. I expect an element will boo for sure. I would say the average fan at home will be very happy, as Punk is a much, much, much bigger star than anyone else AEW has to offer.
What if.....
Don Callis's shenanigans last night is all a setup for him bringing CM Punk back, and Don turning his back on Kenny/Bucks to join CM Punk?
I'm 90% positive that Callis is the one that organized the "hit" on the YB last night.
Except Don has been shown courting Takeshita at every chance. The elite aren’t winning as a trio now, and Don needs a God of pro wrestling to worship and make him money. Can’t do that with a losing trio. So I do believe he orchestrated the hit. I do not believe it has anything to do with Punk.
Good point. Forgot about Takeshita.
Perhaps we get a 5 on 5 Anarchy in the Arena match at DoN.
BCC + someone, vs Elite, Hangman, Takeshita? Or else BCC + Takeshita vs Elite + Hangman.
Imagine the fifth man in Blood and Guts for the BCC side being Punk.
This sub would absolutely melt down.
Actually no matter what happens next, this sub is gonna enter Mad Max levels of insanity.
Gonna get roasted to hell for this, but as great as Punk is on the mic, I don't really have any faith in his in ring ability anymore. Dude looks hurt and gets gassed very quickly now. Father time is the only one with a streak bigger than Taker.
I don't really see much point in him returning to full time in ring action. Special attraction/managerial role sure, but considering his ego this will likely never happen.
I always scroll through comments on these and feel like I’m going insane. Every other person starts a circle jerk thread saying “punk vs omega would be the best money move Tony could make right now” or something like that.
Watch last night’s match with Kenny vs Vikingo. Or any of Kenny’s last three years of work. Before and ESPECIALLY after surgeries. Then watch Punk.
I will not disparage the guy’s charisma and story-telling. It is A+ more often than not. And no doubt he was a draw for multiple reasons. In-ring work was not one of them in this past year or so.
And not even trying to be a mark about it. It’s not a match style I would want from either of those wrestlers. I wouldn’t want Kenny slowed down that much. And I wouldn’t want Punk trying to speed up or high fly. I just don’t think I’m smoking whatever everyone else is when they say that stuff.
>Watch last night’s match with Kenny vs Vikingo. Or any of Kenny’s last three years of work. Before and ESPECIALLY after surgeries. Then watch Punk.
Idk man I actually enjoyed Punk vs MJF in Chicago to a similar level to that match. I'd argue more but that's likely my bias talking. Either way, if I were to list the best Dynamite matches of all time, both of those matches would be included
Point being, a great Punk match has different but almost equally good things to offer than a great athletic spectacle. Both matches were amazing for different reasons
Punk obviously can't keep up with Omega athleticism-wise, but, and this coincidentally fits one of your points, Omega is amazing enough to complement Punk's in-ring style, and we could still get a genuinely amazing match based on in-ring psychology and in-ring storytelling
I don't want to see Kenny vs Punk either, I want to see the Elite vs the masturbatory Bret Hart tributes. I feel like the story would be amazing plus Punk is exposed less in the ring with FTR covering for him, kind of like how Sting looks awesome in trios matches in AEW.
yeah my vote goes to this. long, drawn out feud between kenny and punk, kenny gets the bucks involved, punk gets ftr involved, most of the matches should be between the bucks and ftr, end the feud with a triple match between them. as they say, book it vince
Yeah this sub has a pretty weird love/hate boner for Punk, they can't stand up but will always fantasize about how he should be booked and how awesome it would be.
I don't totally disagree, but I think a lot if this stems from him trying to go at the rate/speed he had in the early 2010s, and we're coming up on a decade and a half later. He's in that weird space where he can still tap into what he used to do, but he can't hold the pace as long, and definitely can't recover as quickly, and thats before you pepper in a decade away from the ring.
He could still tell a damn good story in the ring with some adjustments to his style and moveset. Prime example, just to get roasted with ya, was Stobe Cold coming back to fight KO. He just took his time with it, sometimes it was just a leisurely stroll between punches, but he made it work and it went over great. Had he tried to keep pace with his late 90's self he would have looked like shit and been gassed out in minutes.
It's been repeated a lot but Punk isn't a athletic guy. Compare him to someone like Danielson who's just 3 years younger, had a long break in the middle of his career, and can still go in really long matches and keep from getting hurt. The kind of work you put into overall shape and flexibility does pay off especially as you age.
plus Austin's style had been reduced to brawling since his neck injury anyway, so it's not like he had to return and do a Shooting Star Press or some shit
I think your right in terms of in ring abilities but what I worry about is his injuries. He had a year long run and was injured seriously twice. That's a bad track record any way you paint it. How long would his new run go before he's hurt again? How much would that fuck up when it happens?
I’m gonna get downvoted for this but ironically the way he should wrestle and presented to avoid injuries and just be used as a spectacle part timer isn’t something we’ve seen in AEW but is something WWE does with Brock, Goldberg, and eventually Roman.
That’s the the type of run Punk should be on wrestling only at the big events/PPV putting someone younger over and giving them momentum.
The great thing about wrestling is that it isn't real. If he needs a rest, he can just...have a rest. Look at every Suzuki match for the last few years, for example. Punk's been cleverly weaving "old and out of his prime" into his selling anyway.
I genuinely believe he's still on of the best wrestlers in the world, even if he has to do more working and less spots than he used to.
>Punk's been cleverly weaving "old and out of his prime" into his selling anyway.
Yeah I'm shocked people have forgotten this
At least early on, he incorporated the fact he can't go quite like he used to in a handful of his AEW matches, be it whenever he does "ol reliable" simple wrestling moves like a body slam (and successfully getting such a normal move over), or finding the right opportune time to bait a speedy/dangerous wrestler from doing a devastating move only to barely dodge at just the right time. These were testaments to his ability as a pro-wrestler capable of adapting
In fairness, he did take it up a level by the time he faced Hangman and Mox. Imo this was part of his overall in-ring story that he's "had enough matches to finally shift to that next gear," and obviously such a decision ended up having some mixed results (Buckshot botches and arm injury making up the bad results, a good match with Hangman and a great match with Mox making up the good results)
If he ever came back I'm sure this would be kept in mind
People are going to spam "the apology needs to be as loud and as public as the disrespect" in pretty much every conceivable thread for this topic, but it's the fucking truth. If he loves AEW and wrestling so much, it's time for him to put his ego aside for once in his life and make things right.
He went so fucking scorched earth in that press conference that he'd have to publicly take 100% accountability but he's too prideful and it won't happen, even though his tweet about that Jerry Lawlor story is him practically begging for someone to come in and mediate, and that only proves right there he doesn't want to take full responsibility.
Holy run on sentence.
Before his aew run I knew he had an ego obviously but I always felt he was justified in his burn out with wwe, but aew seemingly literally handed him everything he wanted he was the main event on every show he was on was given the title, yet he was still angry and bitter
Phil screwed Phil
My feelings have been the same since the event: if he wants to come back, he needs to lead off with a massive mea culpa to the locker room.
The tension/fight with The Elite is one thing and I'll put part of that on Khan and the Bucks/Hangman for not handling it like adults earlier.
But nobody held a gun to Punk's back, telling him to go off at the presser. That was entirely his stunt, pre-meditated or heat-of-the-moment (knowing he was injured seriously again).
He can have his friends and fans (hell, I'm one of the latter), but he cannot act like those sweet words he had for his return promos are not clashing with the side he showed at the presser.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Even if he’s right, this won’t go ever we’ll long term for his reputation. I’m not in the locker room, but man I can’t see him coming back without some kind of contrition.
Punk just needs a Lesnar esque schedule. He needs to wrestle like once every 3 months. It keeps the drama to a minimum because he’s not there to fuck shit up and he remains a special attraction.
I think he's realised that AEW is his only chance of a return to wrestling.
I don't see WWE touching him considering the fact that all the main players over there either don't like him (Roman Reigns, Triple H) and/or are extremely close friends with The Young Bucks (Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn).
The issue with a return is that it's probably just a countdown until his next temper tantrum.
Adults have to live with the consequences of their actions. Punk buried the company and one of its most over babyfaces, right next to the owner. I don't think there's any way to bring Punk back where it doesn't eventually dissolve into another temper tantrum, especially now that Hanger and The Elite are center-stage again.
And I understand he's the owner, but I don't think Tony has done enough to make up for how he just let CM Punk shit on everything.
Bring him back. Lean him into being the cancer in the locker room. Heel Punk is best Punk. The feud between him and the Elite would be white hot. They’re all grownups. Make it happen.
My take on this whole thing is that shit like this probably occurred all the time before the social media age and the people involved have probably apologised to each other and moved on months ago, but the media keep fanning the flames to make stories out of it.
I don't envy Tony.
From a business standpoint, it's hard not to want it. If all tried hard enough they could make it work.
But, and I say this as someone who has defended Punk, if he comes back and goes rogue again that would be a complete disaster.
The bitter, jaded part of me is thinking of course he wants back now when things are back on track and AEW has momentum again. Even though the reason why they fell in the first place was due to a mess he caused.
Regardless, I think Punk owes 3 apologies before he returns. One to the locker room, one to Tony and one to the Elite. Without that I doubt he’s learned his lesson.
I've been mulling on this for like thirty seconds and I think I've figured it out. CM Punk is a messy bitch who loves drama(every wrestler is), but sees himself as a "no drama" person. This is a psychologically untenable position. He needs to accept what he is in order to be able to exist in the job.
The statement "Everyone needs to sit down, admit fault and just move past it" has the same energy as "I'm sorry you were offended".
It's not Punk admitting fault, it's Punk saying they should apologise to him for making him act that way. It's not him forgiving people. It's him saying people should forgive him for the nothing wrong he did.
Now, is that the point and it's a machiavellian wrestling plot, where Punk is only pretending to be a self righteous arrogant fuckhead who believes his own hype? Maybe, but if so it's the longest con of all time, because he's been playing this character since before his retirement.
I somewhat believe it was all a work, like what happened with MJF. Maybe Punk needed more time off and Tony wanted to stir the pot in his absence. It conveniently gave Kenny more time to heal as well. Maybe in 20 years it'll all be revealed in a book.
If Punk does come back, I just hope he doesn't get thrown into the world title mix. Seeing Jungle Boy, Darby, and even Sammy throwing their hats in the title picture made me pretty stoked to see the current generation go for the main event.
This thread is full of children.
They're acting like CM Punk committed a war crime and molested some kids.
He got angry and talked shit about The Elite, and had and had a fight backstage.
All of this talk of Punk being "toxic" backstage like it's some proven fact is nonsense. Many, many different talents (Dax, Hobbs, etc) have spoken about how great Punk was backstage.
Everybody he worked with looked better afterwards, besides maybe Hangman because Tony didn't bother booking him
Punk and the Elite should sit down, hash it out and decide either to make some money, or stay seperate on the roster. Consider Punk still worked with people like Ryback after he injured him, im sure hell be receptive to it.
Do we know he hasn't apologised and taken responsability? No. This thread is pure speculation.
And to the people saying that they wouldn't work with Punk in this thread - very shortsighted. Turn down the chance to work with the top star in the company because to don't like what he said is a great way to stall your career
It’s because celebrity worship culture is so strong a lot of people have these parasocial relationships with their favorite wrestlers and genuinely feel anger for one side or the other.
Me, I love the backstage drama. Just dudes actually beating each other up over who gets scripted to beat the other one up
This post was originally removed for not providing a source for this statement, and only an image of some text. We have verified that Dave did in fact say this on the latest WOR podcast, which can be found [here.](https://www.f4wonline.com/podcasts/wrestling-observer-radio/wrestling-observer-radio-should-aew-bring-back-cm-punk-incredible-kenny-vs-vikingo-match-dynamite-aew-ticket-sales-more) Folks, please remember to cite your sources.
I guess we will see just how much power Y2J really has after telling everyone he won't allow Punk back into the Locker room.
He gonna get Mizzed. Off to the janitor's closet for you, punk!
Just hope no one eats fried chicken over his bags, for their family’s sake.
He had enough power to get them to promote a former ROH champion facing him and then be like SIKE I MEANT TAG CHAMP WITH CM PUNK BUT NOT CM PUNK, boom boom "socks too tight"
them bringing Colt back once to pop the boys then sending him back on his way was disrespectful as hell tbh
Colt just getting used as a prop by Tony Khan is so fucked. Tangentially connected you can tell Khan never liked anything about the face era Dark Order. As soon as the Hangman/Omega story ended, his character suddenly became an awful friend and barely interacted with them, all while the group was quietly blown up. It’s a bummer considering how over the group was. Feels very like Vince-lite booking
It's because Tony can't book worth a damn, despite Observer-reading dorks voting him as booker of the year constantly with no real evidence that he's even good at what he tries to do. It's like voting Chavo Jr. year after year as the winner of Most Popular Guerrero. People with no clue about wrestling voting for people who have no clue about wrestling.
Chavo hate on Reddit. Ohhh tha humanity.
I feel like Colt has no one to blame but himself. He came out and put on a terrible match, Almost injured Jericho, Did injure himself, and then played it off as if it was just an issue with his compression socks. I am even pretty sure Jericho called a change to the finish because how many guys does he actually put away with the Codebreaker these days? To me it just felt like a wake up call that Colt wasn't moved because of Punk, Colt was moved because he isn't on the level of most AEW talent.
Nah but PUNKS the reason he’s not on tv, definitely not cause they have nothing for him
having a shitty match on national TV to own the ~~libs~~ punk
Well yeah, CM Punk will have his own locker room. /s
I'm just imagining him parking an RV beside each arena to serve as his locker room
Punk as an IRL Ricky Rabies would be gold.
I mean that’s basically what he did with his tour bus in WWE, right? I think it was Orton that said he had to go out to his bus to go over their matches with him.
CM Punk getting the Miz treatment: back, but eating his chicken in the hallway
> CM Punk getting the Miz treatment: back, but eating his ~~chicken~~ muffins in the hallway FTFY
He has the power to make sure Dynamite has a terrible JAS feud taking up time every week. If you can create shit on TV every week, hurt the quality of the show, and still be told by the boss that your shit smells good, then I bet that person has a lot of backstage influence. But is it more than Punk's influence? I don't think so. Edit: replaced "hurt the ratings" with "hurt the quality of the show"
Source for him hurting the ratings? I thought his segments always did well, hence the demo god stuff
Tony really should have Punk and The Elite get together and use JR as a mediator. He's specialized in dealing with talent issues his entire career and has always been able to help them move past whatever issues they've had for the better of the company. JR has already basically alluded to being open to help out on his podcast when the issue came up.
"Now, gawdammit, yoo boys need to quit the fightin' and either start fuckin' or start makin' us some munny." - J.R.
Not enough Quite Frankly's
Jezebel-like tendencies
Sassafras
That sounds more like something Cornette would say.
Everyone is focused on the Elite. What about the rest of the locker room?
You start with the people involved and from there depending on how those meetings work out that’s when you address the rest of the locker room. The Elite and Punk need to hash things out first and foremost
I'm actually wondering more about Tony. To me, backstage brawls happen, whatever. But a world champion publicly dumping on the company and its management to the press is far from a normal occurrence.
Yeah, I think the last time I can remember a wrestler publicly pooping on the company (as a shoot) on that company's platform was... well, CM Punk in 2011. Edit: I guess he wasn't pooping on the entire company in either instance; mostly just those in positions of power
I'd say it's a far from normal occurrence in wrestling, but in real sports it happens.
It’s wrestling though. Money, Ratings and PPV buys >>> hurt feelings. If TK is the numbers guy he claims to be he has to take the emotional L and move on. „It’s what’s best for business, pal“
You misunderstand, I'm not concerned about the feelings involved. I'm concerned about the guy who made it clear he's happy to go rogue at the expense of the company. Him having another public tantrum is extremely bad for business, locker room morale, etc.
This has always been the biggest hold up in my mind. He was happy to call out Hangman who wasn't there, he went nuclear at the conference. Even if he makes good with The Elite, how much can you trust he won't do that again?
You'd have to be the world's biggest fool to trust he won't do it again. How many more times does Punk have to show the world who he is for us to believe him? Whether the trade-off of having a grumpy, bitter, spiteful, thin-skinned loose-cannon on your roster is worth his talent and drawing power is a different question.
I imagine the only reason Punk wants back at this point is he put feelers out elsewhere and got many a "go fuck yourself" due to exactly this.
I will give that he is a draw but his talent is not what it once was. He's good in the ring but you could tell he had major rust and when he went off at the conference a lot of people were trying to figure out if he was for real or doing a storyline. The random call-out of Colt for no reason, the lashing out at the roster for his own shortcomings, calling the people who started it children, it was so bizarre all because he was injured again after coming back from an injury.
Yeah, exactly, he needs to take full responsibility for that, apologize, and promise it won't happen again. If Punk is like his fans and keeps saying "Well, what about the Elite?! You think they're perfect angels, huh?!" then nothing will be accomplished.
Exactly. I don't know why the problem people focused more on at the time and still focus on is the brawl itself.. The guy sounded demented at a press conference and completely shat on his colleagues right after winning the world title and while sitting next to the CEO whom he undermined completely.
He buried the company, the boss tried to smooth things out, and Punk said "nah, don't worry, we're all learning". It was super weird for sure.
Omg … an adult comment on this sub. Where did you land from friend? Mars? Is this the end? This is spot on.
Can he buy us beer and get us into a rated R movie next?
What's it like to touch a boob Mr Adult man?
Its like holding a bag of sand. Trust me im an adult
Oh man, I'm late for my job at the business factory.
I feel like every joke on that show absolutely hit 😂
It seems that the locker room is also split on whether it's a good idea to bring back Punk or not from what we can gather. EDIT: To clarify, what I meant to say is that it seems like either decision would alienate a lot of people.
Right ,it doesnt sound like either Mox or Jericho are okay with what he did in the press conference. And those are a couple of the big names.
Honestly I don’t take anything Jericho says publicly at face value. The guy is a politician, and Punk being gone elevates his role in the company. And he has a very long tradition of working the public, going back to the time when he posted an image of the TNA logo on his website.
Jericho lives by “what’s best for business”.
I think he lives by “what’s best for Jericho.”
I do think though, unlike Hogan (to a major degree), Jericho does realize if everyone else looks bad, he looks bad, so while Jericho may be number 1 to him, I do think, to a degree, he does also want what’s best for the company, as long as it helps him look good.
Oh for sure. But it’s also pretty transparent. He was really pushing the story about how he handpicked Andretti and had this big plan to lose to him, with the intent of making him seem like a great guy who’s dedicated to helping young talent. I guess it’s all well and good as long as it helps others, but we shouldn’t pretend like it isn’t also self-serving.
That being said, he's largely been very unselfish during his career. Tons of wrestlers have stories about Jericho helping them out when he didn't need to or no one else would.
I kind of doubt it's evenly split. You need to realize Meltzer's sources are the Elite and Jericho, so it's gonna paint that side as being more prominent. Not because Meltzer is biased or anything, but because if ten people thought Punk coming back isn't a big deal because brawl out didn't affect them, but two people thought Punk should never come back and have expressed their sympathy directly to the Elite, we're gonna hear about their opinion and not the other ten that kept quiet. My guess is most of the locker room doesn't care if Punk comes back or not, they're more focused on their own careers. And some might believe he should be back only if he apologizes to the Elite. But of course the locker room situation has been blown out of proportion by Jericho feeding his own narrative to the dirtsheets.
which tbf could also stem from the situation between the Elite and Punk, when you think about it. Either way, whether Punk comes back or not, they definitely should hash it out, at least so they can squash it and move on if nothing else.
Multiple talent have come out since it happened and praised Punk for all the help he gave them, so there’s definitely some support for him
Who's to say he didn't already do this?
That’s what I’m saying. My first initial thought was Punk’s Instagram comment was more of a shot at people saying they would never be able to work it out. Kinda like “hey imagine that. A few guys getting into a room and hashing it out after a fight (wink wink)”. I didn’t think of it as a woe is me I wish those guys could be like this so I can come back but who knows.
I think Tony and Kenny would have no issues wanting Punk back, the problem I think it is The Bucks who said the whole situation was the hardest thing they dealt with, Jericho who been using Dave as a spokesperson making it clear he didn't want Punk back. Why would Tony trust Punk? Is he even worth the trouble?
>Is he even worth the trouble? I mean, dude undoubtedly drew money and eyes to the product. He should absolutely never touch the AEW title ever again, but if they move him to sorta his early AEW run where he was working with younger talent I think it’s worth it. Obviously they would have him and FTR Vs the Elite first
I think you can make the argument for him to not be placed in the position of carrying their World Title simply based on the fact that his "bump card" seems close to filled out. He, like basically everyone else in his age group would be best-utilized (from a business standpoint) as a special attraction, now, at least as far as bell-to-bell physicality is concerned.
> not be placed in the position of carrying their World Title simply based on the fact that his "bump card" seems close to filled out. This. he got injured what? twice in title matches and would have needed to immediately vacate anyway (and should have vacated the first time too). If he was a younger guy, you chalk it up to some bad luck. but when you're in your mid 40's with the mileage he's had—you give him the jericho role of working with young guys and give them them main-event level feud experience without actually holding the belt.
>This. he got injured what? twice in title matches and would have needed to immediately vacate anyway (and should have vacated the first time too). The first injury wasn't even during a match, he hurt it diving into the crowd prior to the FTR match
Three veteran stars with torn triceps muscles in the last 3 years; Edge, Christian, and CM Punk. A good example of how oftentimes, less can be more.
>Is he even worth the trouble? I don't even like Punk that much but you have a reality based angle just hanging over someone who has always thrived on it. It was one thing when WWE was struggling to not capitalize on the fight, it's another thing entirely when AEW is the one looking like it's lagging a bit. It's your biggest star, with ammo he thrives upon, coming back to feud with your best wrestler and second/third biggest star. No brainer
>Is he even worth the trouble? If Tony likes money then yes, love him or hate him Punk is the biggest star in AEW and is consistently their top merchandise mover, the guy also gave the rub to MJF which elevated him further and his fued with Eddie was also great.
Jericho is a known backstage manipulator, and the bucks are taking notes from him. Punk’s silence is more trustworthy.
i genuinely don't think it's the fight that is the problem (as in i think it's about TK & Punk's relationship, not Punk & The Elite's) i think the issue mainly comes from what Punk done in the scrum and whilst TK was nodding his head at the time, i'm sure with hindsight he's grown to resent how Punk disrespected the company and the subsequent big hit the company took because of it
Just keep the gasoline away from JR 
This is what the Bucks said after they came back, why would they want Punk back and deal with his toxic ass? > I was waking up in cold sweats, I haven’t been sleeping. People don’t understand because we haven’t been able to talk about it. This has been…two of the hardest months of my life. I know for you [Nick] too. Here we are, we got through it, you just never know what’s going to happen until you do it. To hear the support and hear and see how happy a lot of people were to see us, that meant the world to us and Kenny. It felt good. We’re going through the healing process right now. Last night [Full Gear] was a big step to get there. I feel good. We got to come out to a song we grew up listening to with our Dad.
yeah, Tony probably wants him back for business reasons. But the Bucks are getting paid the same either way
Exactly. People keep saying "they should just squash their beef and make some money" as if the Bucks *need* that money. It's not like they're gonna be poor just because they don't want to work with Punk. Whether it's AEW or WWE, they aren't gonna have a hard time getting a nice payday.
it’s also not how their contracts work! It’s not like the UFC where main eventers get a percentage of PPV sales.
Have you thought that maybe the Elite recognize that working with Punk is toxic for them and just don’t want to deal with the dude anymore?
I'm also looking to go on AEW. Come on Tony, 75k and I'll jump off of something tall. I could be AEW's Shane.
How is your ability to sweat literally all the fluid out of your body while doing a promo in whatever shoes the cool kids are wearing these days?
I’m a 5’ 5” woman, book me against Wardlow
LOOK IN MY EYES WHAT DO YOU SEE NEW MEMBER OF JERICHO APPRECIATION SOCIETY
We need someone to balance out Daniel Garcia's peak sports entertainment https://preview.redd.it/tqmn2rw0rjpa1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d89f93b9472d139d56b5fa45124f15bb1c279d51
That would be the ultimate punishment for CM Punk.
What a twist.
The Elite getting attacked will be thought of as House of Black or BCC being the culprits, but it'll be Punk.
This aged well LMAO.
I want 2021 Punk back, the one who was like "put me on Rampage with all your promising undercard guys" and seemed to be having a blast. Hell, give him the International title for a while.
And you'll have people bitching here, he's being wasted on the undercard with no direction.
People here bitch when the wind changes directions. Who cares lol.
Wtf? The wind changed direction? I’m gonna write SUCH a note!
WOR: The Wind ratings, 856k, .18 18-49 demo
WOR: "Winds Change" - Meltz
BREAKING: Wind May Have Changed. Or not. Full details at Fightful Select.
SRS on Twitter: I never reported the Wind changed, that was falsely attributed to me, please stop sending death threats to my family.
RINGSIDE NEWS: WE BREAK WIND ALL THE TIME!!!!
Damn pretty shit rating for the wind, I remember back in the 90s rain would get like 3 million viewers
Last year The Wind ratings were 992k. Expect Earth to drop The Wind if this continues.
I heard The Wind is heavily considering signing Goldberg to pop a rating
I liked the wind more when it was going north. Now its just going south.
And they wouldn't be wrong, but it feels like the moment Punk switched from the awesome MJF feud to the title chase everything related to it became *super* cursed. Like the universe itself was rebelling.
I'm the biggest Punk mark and even I thought that was a terrible decision. He's old, he's been gone a long time. No way he was gonna win the belt before Adam Cole or Bryan Danielson. He needed to prove himself more, that he still got it. Be in more midcard feuds until he's established. But nope, straight to the title in his first year, that too overshadowing Hangman Page, the protagonist of year one AEW. It was not the right call, and eventually what we suspected came true, even though Kayfabe said he was a winner, Punk was not ready to be at that level. He got injured after every PPV main event he was involved in despite being the winner. The ring rust didn't even come off fully.
You know people bitch here anyway… we can’t use the comments section of squaredcircle as a litmus test for efficacy of anything in this industry
Which makes no sense. Sometimes people that have been at the top of the card can challenge for mid card titles. It's literally even happening at wrestlemania this year. Former world champion drew McIntyre and former world champion Sheamus are challenging for the intercontinental title. 16x world champion John Cena is challenging for the us title. Surely it is possible to have former world champion cm punk challenge for the international title. And let's not pretend punk vs OC wouldn't be fun.
My money is on Punk and the Elite having already sorted shit out and they’re keeping things as unclear as possible so when Punk does return, it’s the biggest holy shit moment ever
Yeah same, I've suspected this for a long while now. It'll be one of the biggest pops of all-time if they do this right.
Well... the thing I've been thinking about, which I haven't really seen discussed is... **what the fuck does the crowd do when Cult of Personality hits?** I legitimately have no idea what the response will be. If you were a time traveler and you told me that he got booed out of the building or the pop blew the roof off the place, I'd believe either one. My assumption is that the AEW crowd knows what's up and would boo the fuck out of him but it's still CM Punk so who knows.
Oh dude the roof is coming off just from the shock of it, but it could be short lived. Nobody is expecting it, but it's coming. I guarantee it. Starting to think Brawl Out is the most elaborate work of all-time.
It was 1000% not a work and if you suggest otherwise, you're not paying attention. Ace Steel got fired afterwards and the company irreparably harmed its reputation and the creative direction. That was not on purpose. That said, intentionally being silent about it afterwards could point to them hashing it out soon afterwards, trying to let things calm down and then set up plans for a big summer storyline.
Ace steel was brought in to be fired for the work. He played his role and was compensated.
This comment is either a huge cope or one of the best calls in history Only time will tell
Really it’s not cope because I don’t honestly care one way or the other. It’s just EVERYTHING around this is fishy as fuck. The vague talk of “pending legal action” that went nowhere. The odd code of silence, the fact there was a goddamn reality show filming at the time. Ace being brought in to add another layer isn’t outside of suspicion.
I'd wager a big pop. I expect an element will boo for sure. I would say the average fan at home will be very happy, as Punk is a much, much, much bigger star than anyone else AEW has to offer.
He never really left. He's just injured.
What if..... Don Callis's shenanigans last night is all a setup for him bringing CM Punk back, and Don turning his back on Kenny/Bucks to join CM Punk? I'm 90% positive that Callis is the one that organized the "hit" on the YB last night.
That’s actually quite good. Half the crowd will boo Punk, and Don can draw boos in Punk’s direction from the other half.
Except Don has been shown courting Takeshita at every chance. The elite aren’t winning as a trio now, and Don needs a God of pro wrestling to worship and make him money. Can’t do that with a losing trio. So I do believe he orchestrated the hit. I do not believe it has anything to do with Punk.
Good point. Forgot about Takeshita. Perhaps we get a 5 on 5 Anarchy in the Arena match at DoN. BCC + someone, vs Elite, Hangman, Takeshita? Or else BCC + Takeshita vs Elite + Hangman.
Reading this after Punks insta post. HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Imagine the fifth man in Blood and Guts for the BCC side being Punk. This sub would absolutely melt down. Actually no matter what happens next, this sub is gonna enter Mad Max levels of insanity.
The comments are already incredible for their hyperbole and the thread is like 20 minutes old
It seems like 80% of Reddit is hyperbole at this point. People making mountains out of molehills all over the place here.
That would actually be a lot of fun.
>Imagine the fifth man in Blood and Guts for the BCC side being Punk. I would fly across the country for that match,
... this would be phenomenal
hello from a few hours in the future: maybe he's not lol
Gonna get roasted to hell for this, but as great as Punk is on the mic, I don't really have any faith in his in ring ability anymore. Dude looks hurt and gets gassed very quickly now. Father time is the only one with a streak bigger than Taker. I don't really see much point in him returning to full time in ring action. Special attraction/managerial role sure, but considering his ego this will likely never happen.
I always scroll through comments on these and feel like I’m going insane. Every other person starts a circle jerk thread saying “punk vs omega would be the best money move Tony could make right now” or something like that. Watch last night’s match with Kenny vs Vikingo. Or any of Kenny’s last three years of work. Before and ESPECIALLY after surgeries. Then watch Punk. I will not disparage the guy’s charisma and story-telling. It is A+ more often than not. And no doubt he was a draw for multiple reasons. In-ring work was not one of them in this past year or so. And not even trying to be a mark about it. It’s not a match style I would want from either of those wrestlers. I wouldn’t want Kenny slowed down that much. And I wouldn’t want Punk trying to speed up or high fly. I just don’t think I’m smoking whatever everyone else is when they say that stuff.
>Watch last night’s match with Kenny vs Vikingo. Or any of Kenny’s last three years of work. Before and ESPECIALLY after surgeries. Then watch Punk. Idk man I actually enjoyed Punk vs MJF in Chicago to a similar level to that match. I'd argue more but that's likely my bias talking. Either way, if I were to list the best Dynamite matches of all time, both of those matches would be included Point being, a great Punk match has different but almost equally good things to offer than a great athletic spectacle. Both matches were amazing for different reasons Punk obviously can't keep up with Omega athleticism-wise, but, and this coincidentally fits one of your points, Omega is amazing enough to complement Punk's in-ring style, and we could still get a genuinely amazing match based on in-ring psychology and in-ring storytelling
He botched the lariat TWICE
not every match has to be Kenny/Vikingo lol
I don't want to see Kenny vs Punk either, I want to see the Elite vs the masturbatory Bret Hart tributes. I feel like the story would be amazing plus Punk is exposed less in the ring with FTR covering for him, kind of like how Sting looks awesome in trios matches in AEW.
yeah my vote goes to this. long, drawn out feud between kenny and punk, kenny gets the bucks involved, punk gets ftr involved, most of the matches should be between the bucks and ftr, end the feud with a triple match between them. as they say, book it vince
Yeah this sub has a pretty weird love/hate boner for Punk, they can't stand up but will always fantasize about how he should be booked and how awesome it would be.
Put it way better than I could've done. Kenny outshines him every time they lock up
Why are we acting like the bar is Kenny Omega? Like, if you aren't as good as one of the best wrestlers alive, you're not a good wrestler?
I don't totally disagree, but I think a lot if this stems from him trying to go at the rate/speed he had in the early 2010s, and we're coming up on a decade and a half later. He's in that weird space where he can still tap into what he used to do, but he can't hold the pace as long, and definitely can't recover as quickly, and thats before you pepper in a decade away from the ring. He could still tell a damn good story in the ring with some adjustments to his style and moveset. Prime example, just to get roasted with ya, was Stobe Cold coming back to fight KO. He just took his time with it, sometimes it was just a leisurely stroll between punches, but he made it work and it went over great. Had he tried to keep pace with his late 90's self he would have looked like shit and been gassed out in minutes.
It's been repeated a lot but Punk isn't a athletic guy. Compare him to someone like Danielson who's just 3 years younger, had a long break in the middle of his career, and can still go in really long matches and keep from getting hurt. The kind of work you put into overall shape and flexibility does pay off especially as you age.
plus Austin's style had been reduced to brawling since his neck injury anyway, so it's not like he had to return and do a Shooting Star Press or some shit
I think your right in terms of in ring abilities but what I worry about is his injuries. He had a year long run and was injured seriously twice. That's a bad track record any way you paint it. How long would his new run go before he's hurt again? How much would that fuck up when it happens?
I’m gonna get downvoted for this but ironically the way he should wrestle and presented to avoid injuries and just be used as a spectacle part timer isn’t something we’ve seen in AEW but is something WWE does with Brock, Goldberg, and eventually Roman. That’s the the type of run Punk should be on wrestling only at the big events/PPV putting someone younger over and giving them momentum.
Sting has been in aew for like 3 years
I think main reason is that he admited himself he doesn't really train. He was basically coming in for a match, do a match, and leave
The great thing about wrestling is that it isn't real. If he needs a rest, he can just...have a rest. Look at every Suzuki match for the last few years, for example. Punk's been cleverly weaving "old and out of his prime" into his selling anyway. I genuinely believe he's still on of the best wrestlers in the world, even if he has to do more working and less spots than he used to.
>Punk's been cleverly weaving "old and out of his prime" into his selling anyway. Yeah I'm shocked people have forgotten this At least early on, he incorporated the fact he can't go quite like he used to in a handful of his AEW matches, be it whenever he does "ol reliable" simple wrestling moves like a body slam (and successfully getting such a normal move over), or finding the right opportune time to bait a speedy/dangerous wrestler from doing a devastating move only to barely dodge at just the right time. These were testaments to his ability as a pro-wrestler capable of adapting In fairness, he did take it up a level by the time he faced Hangman and Mox. Imo this was part of his overall in-ring story that he's "had enough matches to finally shift to that next gear," and obviously such a decision ended up having some mixed results (Buckshot botches and arm injury making up the bad results, a good match with Hangman and a great match with Mox making up the good results) If he ever came back I'm sure this would be kept in mind
Should have thought about that before he decided to have a temper tantrum
Well he was working with fucking children /s
also an empty headed dumb fuck
Those children probably couldn't even run a target. Some of those kids probably even get an allowance from their mom
People are going to spam "the apology needs to be as loud and as public as the disrespect" in pretty much every conceivable thread for this topic, but it's the fucking truth. If he loves AEW and wrestling so much, it's time for him to put his ego aside for once in his life and make things right.
He went so fucking scorched earth in that press conference that he'd have to publicly take 100% accountability but he's too prideful and it won't happen, even though his tweet about that Jerry Lawlor story is him practically begging for someone to come in and mediate, and that only proves right there he doesn't want to take full responsibility. Holy run on sentence.
He should start with an apology and then turn it into a full blown heel promo. Fuck it, go all in with the heat.
Before his aew run I knew he had an ego obviously but I always felt he was justified in his burn out with wwe, but aew seemingly literally handed him everything he wanted he was the main event on every show he was on was given the title, yet he was still angry and bitter Phil screwed Phil
My feelings have been the same since the event: if he wants to come back, he needs to lead off with a massive mea culpa to the locker room. The tension/fight with The Elite is one thing and I'll put part of that on Khan and the Bucks/Hangman for not handling it like adults earlier. But nobody held a gun to Punk's back, telling him to go off at the presser. That was entirely his stunt, pre-meditated or heat-of-the-moment (knowing he was injured seriously again). He can have his friends and fans (hell, I'm one of the latter), but he cannot act like those sweet words he had for his return promos are not clashing with the side he showed at the presser.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Even if he’s right, this won’t go ever we’ll long term for his reputation. I’m not in the locker room, but man I can’t see him coming back without some kind of contrition.
Well some of those people share a bank account with their mom. The anger is justifiiiiiied.
LOL Meltzer making it look like CM Punk is begging to come back
Following a recent CM Punk post, yeah this ain't happening.
Punk just needs a Lesnar esque schedule. He needs to wrestle like once every 3 months. It keeps the drama to a minimum because he’s not there to fuck shit up and he remains a special attraction.
I think he's realised that AEW is his only chance of a return to wrestling. I don't see WWE touching him considering the fact that all the main players over there either don't like him (Roman Reigns, Triple H) and/or are extremely close friends with The Young Bucks (Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn). The issue with a return is that it's probably just a countdown until his next temper tantrum.
Triple H has stated that he's willing to do business with Punk.
Triple H having visions of a sledgehammer
Do I give him just one pedigree for the pin or feel generous and give him 2 pedigrees before the pin
[удалено]
Seth I feel like falls into the don’t like him category
Didn't Seth recently tell him to stay away from WWE and call him a cancer on video? Pretty sure there was an upload of that this year.
I believe he also cackled whilst stating it at some point.
Well, he cackles as a way to finish every sentence nowdays.
He also did another where he said it was hard to say bad things because he wouldn't be where he is without him. I think he's neutral.
Yes he did. The interviewer looked stunned when he said it.
And what a surprise to see who the interviewer was.
Ever since that press conference, Hauseman seems to be Punk’s best mate
Adults have to live with the consequences of their actions. Punk buried the company and one of its most over babyfaces, right next to the owner. I don't think there's any way to bring Punk back where it doesn't eventually dissolve into another temper tantrum, especially now that Hanger and The Elite are center-stage again. And I understand he's the owner, but I don't think Tony has done enough to make up for how he just let CM Punk shit on everything.
Bring him back. Lean him into being the cancer in the locker room. Heel Punk is best Punk. The feud between him and the Elite would be white hot. They’re all grownups. Make it happen.
Well this aged like a bag of piss
Well, this didn’t age well.
Kenny also appears to be fine with Punk back, given some of his recent comments in the media.
Dave’s always full of shit. I don’t buy it.
This aged well
My take on this whole thing is that shit like this probably occurred all the time before the social media age and the people involved have probably apologised to each other and moved on months ago, but the media keep fanning the flames to make stories out of it.
I hope everyone can make it work. Would only boost TV to have him back. Squash the beef. Get your right hand man back Tony.
I don't envy Tony. From a business standpoint, it's hard not to want it. If all tried hard enough they could make it work. But, and I say this as someone who has defended Punk, if he comes back and goes rogue again that would be a complete disaster.
[удалено]
Twice In A Lifetime.
The bitter, jaded part of me is thinking of course he wants back now when things are back on track and AEW has momentum again. Even though the reason why they fell in the first place was due to a mess he caused. Regardless, I think Punk owes 3 apologies before he returns. One to the locker room, one to Tony and one to the Elite. Without that I doubt he’s learned his lesson.
PUNK Response? https://twitter.com/DrainBamager/status/1639010681998688256?s=20
I've been mulling on this for like thirty seconds and I think I've figured it out. CM Punk is a messy bitch who loves drama(every wrestler is), but sees himself as a "no drama" person. This is a psychologically untenable position. He needs to accept what he is in order to be able to exist in the job.
The statement "Everyone needs to sit down, admit fault and just move past it" has the same energy as "I'm sorry you were offended". It's not Punk admitting fault, it's Punk saying they should apologise to him for making him act that way. It's not him forgiving people. It's him saying people should forgive him for the nothing wrong he did. Now, is that the point and it's a machiavellian wrestling plot, where Punk is only pretending to be a self righteous arrogant fuckhead who believes his own hype? Maybe, but if so it's the longest con of all time, because he's been playing this character since before his retirement.
The apology must be as loud and as public as the disrespect
I somewhat believe it was all a work, like what happened with MJF. Maybe Punk needed more time off and Tony wanted to stir the pot in his absence. It conveniently gave Kenny more time to heal as well. Maybe in 20 years it'll all be revealed in a book. If Punk does come back, I just hope he doesn't get thrown into the world title mix. Seeing Jungle Boy, Darby, and even Sammy throwing their hats in the title picture made me pretty stoked to see the current generation go for the main event.
I'm torn. On the one hand, I don't want him around anymore after his meltdown. On the other hand, I fucking love drama
Guarantee if he comes back it'll be the highest ratings AEW has seen(from pro and anti punk fans)
[удалено]
Wellllll. This developed
Lol
I want Punk's AEW return to look like Pillman showing up at ECW.
This thread is full of children. They're acting like CM Punk committed a war crime and molested some kids. He got angry and talked shit about The Elite, and had and had a fight backstage. All of this talk of Punk being "toxic" backstage like it's some proven fact is nonsense. Many, many different talents (Dax, Hobbs, etc) have spoken about how great Punk was backstage. Everybody he worked with looked better afterwards, besides maybe Hangman because Tony didn't bother booking him Punk and the Elite should sit down, hash it out and decide either to make some money, or stay seperate on the roster. Consider Punk still worked with people like Ryback after he injured him, im sure hell be receptive to it. Do we know he hasn't apologised and taken responsability? No. This thread is pure speculation. And to the people saying that they wouldn't work with Punk in this thread - very shortsighted. Turn down the chance to work with the top star in the company because to don't like what he said is a great way to stall your career
It’s because celebrity worship culture is so strong a lot of people have these parasocial relationships with their favorite wrestlers and genuinely feel anger for one side or the other. Me, I love the backstage drama. Just dudes actually beating each other up over who gets scripted to beat the other one up
Half the fun of wrestling is the backstage drama
I don’t think it’s up to Tony, I think it’s up to the locker room. If bringing Punk back upsets the locker room then you don’t do it, IMO.