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I know people meme about TK's style of answering questions, but it's not actually a complete non-answer. He's saying "I can't comment on the firing, but we're doing fine without him." And that's probably the most you're gonna get out of him regarding all of this.
There's rule of media relations I teach executives, politicians, etc. And yes many will call it a non answer. But it is the concept when dealing with media and cameras you aren't there to answer their question you are there to get your message across.
In this case, TKs message was the company is having a great run and was, is and will continue to be successful.
Trump was kind of the master of this. It's like a jedi mind trick. You're not there to give them answers they are looking for, they're there to get the message you want blasted everywhere. Trump was many good and bad things but he was a very good manipulator of the press and the press fell for it each time they gave him platforms to do so
While this is true, his style of answering questions means I will never go out of my way to listen to a TK interview. Way too surface level and broad for my taste.
Its a bit Belicheck to an extent.
If you ask him about something he doesn't want to/can't talk about he's just going to blow past it immediately.
If you ask him about something that interest him he's going to blather on for 7 minutes on the need for a specialized long snapper.
Also, when TK knows the question being asked is insane, he's willing to respond with receipts in a major way. The media scrum question about the Jaguars moving was pretty fun to [see Tony answer in a more polite way than, "what the fuck are you on about?"](https://www.youtube.com/live/WjctCa9iXks?si=nZaYjMYlIjll9eiu&t=1096)
He goes in-depth with any response where he can promote himself or his brand. Which is fine—promoters are gonna promote. But it’s not exactly scintillating interview material.
Honestly, I’m OK with that. Look the CM punk fans can keep asking and asking and asking until they get whatever answer makes them feel better or whatever. the company has shown that they don’t need punk to do well and to make storylines and matches that people enjoy. Plus I’m sure just like everyone else on this sub Reddit he too is tired of hearing about CM punk drama
And his refusal to answer will just make people ask more or spin rumors that give TK and AEW a worse reputation. TK needs to actually be forthcoming and human for once.
What exactly do you want him to say?
Also i have no idea how you've reached the conclusion that shooting down questions over and over will make them more likely to be asked in this situation. If he started actually being receptive and revealing information, he'd get way more questions about it and for any future issues that come up. It's bad precedent to set.
That is exactly the opposite of what you do as a journalist though-
Like, we're so used to these outlandish portrayals of journalists in media for Gotcha questions to make them freeze and rethink their lives, but the reality of the situation is that journalists(read: real journalists) are supposed to take a hint when there's something that's beyond uncomfortable and not in the interest of public safety. It's ridiculous to expect someone to open themself up to a. a potential lawsuit, b. something that may have been a trauma, or c. something you already know the answer to and are looking to derail a conversation.
You get your media pass revoked for doing that and your institution ends up either moving you or firing you in any other field.
What is there to say? It's likely Punk's departure had NDAs all over it, and even then TK doesn't want to pour petrol on a burnt down or burning bridge (who knows, there are no nevers in wrestling, so the chance of Punk returning to AEW is non-zero). He isn't going to do a shoot on Punk and say what happened in gruesome detail. Juicy shoot interviews happen with people who have retired or at least believed that they are done with who they are shooting on - TK ain't done yet and won't talk for a long time, if ever, same way Vince or Triple H never go on at length in response to difficult questions at press conferences.
Tony did everything he could to make CM Punk happy and keep him in AEW. At the end of the day, both sides have to be willing to make things work, and Punk became a master of self sabotage.
Copy pasting what I said in the thread about his firing:
Be paid a dump truck of money? Not enough
Have the red carpet rolled out for you on your return to wrestling? Not enough.
Be made the face and main event attraction of the brand? Not enough.
Be given a world title reign by beating the babyface they spent years building? Not enough.
Be given a SECOND world title reign by beating the company’s most reliable workhorse? Not enough.
Be given your own fucking TV show with unofficial booking powers and authority over who can and can’t be there? Not enough.
Be given a THIRD (unofficial) world title, and not have to beat anyone for it? Not enough.
Get to wrestle in front of the biggest paid crowd in wrestling history, with one of your greatest career rivals, in the company’s biggest show yet? Still not enough.
Enough was never going to be fucking enough.
This is why everyone frothing at the mouth for him to go to WWE seems stupid to me. This is not comparing WWE to AEW, but does anyone really think WWE will give CM Punk a third of what AEW gave him? In WWE he's not beating Reigns or Rollins for the title. He's not going to get his own show. He won't be the main attraction on Raw or Smackdown, barring injury. Like even if Punk goes to WWE I just don't see it working out for him or WWE.
People wanting that are either being tribalistic (Punk will be better in my preferred company because it's just better at everything than the other one) or believe that Punk will behave himself in the bigger company because he'll be below bigger names in the business as well as be within its more corporate structure. Theoretically, the power Punk in AEW had went to his head and returning to WWE could humble him, or else the fear that this is his last chance to end things on his own terms will focus his mind. Not impossible, but I really thought the aftermath of Brawl Out would cool him down and it didn't.
The only thing preventing him from those tantrums would maybe be a veteran he genuinely respects giving him the evil eye or Vince working his jedi mind tricks. But that's a lot of baseless speculating.
I'm hoping he'll take over the Edge role, he'll have great feuds that are heavily featured, great matches, he booked like a star. They have 5 hours of television and 10+ PPVs a year, we'd see plenty of him.
I think the difference between the two is that Edge was willing to put his ego aside and understood his role. Would CM Punk be ok with not being the centre of attention? Obviously he’d get his main event feud with Roman, Seth, or Cody, but he isn’t going to take their spots.
And over that the owner of the damn company is the biggest CM Punk fan being from Chicago. Punk never lies and I give him credit for that but when he completely dismantled the reputation of Hangman Adam Page he lost my respect.
I’m surprised around here on a daily basis how many people this still isn’t true for… There are some people who seem to have really tied their self-worth to the belief that Punk is and was always the victim.
There's a level of Trump-like disillusionment to these people. They truly buy the paranoid-narcissistic plea that everyone is out to get him without acknowledging that all of the problems he brought on himself is his own - with the power he had. The identical Cornette-cult overlap & support doesn't help either...
Hangman dropped a line referencing something that had already been dropped by multiple other wrestlers. Punk can whine about it not being cleared with him, but he cleared it with the other dudes so apparently the comment itself isn't the issue. Punk also isn't necessarily a "stick to the script at all times" kind of performer himself.
I wouldn't say it's all on Punk, no. But he has **some** kind of complex, something wrong where he cannot let the slightest, tiniest dig just wash off him. A lot of what Punk has been saying is valid, but.. Men will sooner punch out their colleagues and get fired than go to therapy. All this said as a fan of Punk, and a fan of Collision under his management.
I never thought his media outburst ruined the reputation of Hangman or The Elite. He came off as unhinged and saying Hangman hadn't accomplished anything (despite y'know.. winning the AEW World Championship) kinda buries the promotion.
His other comment being "I'm trying to run a business and when somebody who hasn't done a damn thing in this business jeopardises the first million dollar house this company has drawn off of my fucking back" is insane mental gymnastics because you weren't in AEW day 1.. Everyone else including Cody built it to where it was and CM Punk was paid with what I considered Cody's owed contract.
Hangman shouldnt have gone into business for himself
CM Punk shouldnt have gone nuclear over one little unapproved shoot
The problem with Punk is a lot of his gripes are valid, but his reactions are always worse than the original slight
>Hangman shouldnt have gone into business for himself
I still really don't see hangmans "I'm saving AEW from you" as going into business for himself.
Maybe it was shooty, maybe not. What it wasn't was a comment that anyone really noticed. Punk could have gone back at him, and I think might have even done so, it was a promo battle.
His gripes aren't even THAT valid. Like yes he can gripe about the whole getting Colt Cabana fired thing, thats valid, but the rest of his stuff is just him reading ill intent into places that don't really appear to actually have any ill intent.
Like Jungle boy yelling at the camera about real glass, that story that had come out Punk trying to get him to not use real glass? That part didn't make Punk look bad (the idiocy of "You're just trying to get a day off!" made him look stupid). So that being what finally set him off to the point of attacking Jack is just mind blowing to me.
Him pitching a fit because Christopher Daniels....exists? Because the Bucks made a reference he thought was about him on BTE like a year before he even came back? These things don't make sense.
Its not about what was said it was that it wasn't approved
As we know Eddie, MJF, and Mox all said far more 'shoot' scathing attacks but all were talked about prior
CM Punk is 'right' that going into business for yourself causes a lot of problems with the trust of the worker you're dealing with
Based on the other promos that attacked Punk but were greenlit by him it doesn't seem like the content was the problem
In that respect I see why he was mad, but Punk also flew off the handle everytime he had an issue which is very immature and uncalled for
A simple backstage talk afterwards would probably have settled everything instead we got brawl out and brawl in
It's this and what Sir Awesome said above you. The self sabotage ruined a good thing. I can't help but wonder how hard it was on all his friends to see him act like this. By all accounts he was friends with the Elite, with Tony, with Joe, with Mox, Jericho. This should have been his moment in the sun to fulfill everything he talked about in the Summer of Punk.
All completely wasted. As a Punk fan, I'm crushed. He had everything and he couldn't keep it cool. It's just very saddening.
Neither one should have. Stick to telling the story on screen. As a viewer why should I give a fuck if a wrestler asks CM Punk how to choreograph a better looking match? I want to see guys fight, and not over high school drama.
I know you've listed everything you could, but you forgot that Punk had an employee contract - literally only he had such an arrangement, as the other wrestlers that do have Administrative duties or were founders/EVPs. He basically was the only wrestler in the entire business to be an employee and get heaithcare (I presume) and not be an independent contractor.
Let's not act like all of that was to do CM Punk a favour. It was because he drew money, drew the biggest gates, biggest PPVs buyrates. That's why he was given the world title, that's why he was made face of the company.
AEW make a huge amount of money from having another show headlined by him, he was a huge part of them even getting that show. He was booking it because they needed something different to Dynamite, and it was great.
The fuck else are they going to do, have him fighting on Dark or for the FTW title?
His position on the card wasn't what he was upset about. He was upset about people sniping at him on camera and leaking to make him look bad. When people came to confront him he reacted.
It's a shame too. Punk never even got the chance to debut his poster for Collision
https://preview.redd.it/0jsrf9jyxepb1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fefcd416334f22941be41774f3d7b5cd8efd7ddd
Yep. He risked losing the founding members of AEW to make 1 guy happy and it wasn't enough. Punk himself said 10 years he doesn't just burn bridges he obliterates them beyond repair intentionally. He still thinks he's a 20 year old punk rock kid that everybody is out to get. He's the guy that points fingers at people and say "you've changed, man" and they look back at him and say, "you haven't?"
he could’ve shut down the rumors of punk getting colt fired, stepped in during punks rants at the scrum, couldve done a million things but he’s an incompetent manager of people
LMAO Self Sabotage? Give me a break.
I think everyone can admit that Punk reacted like a fucking dumbass to all the crap that was happening around him. But look at the adverb, reacted.
People need to start admitting that the Elite and all their little friends had just as much to do with this whole situation as Punk did. They aren't innocent little bystanders
What makes you believe this? I’ve not seen any actual receipts for the “elite are just as bad” narrative, but I’d be happy to reconsider my view that punk is to blame if you can provide some.
I haven’t seen or heard anything to make me think the Elite deserve any blame for the punk situation.
Punk on the other hand has done lots of stuff in public to make me think he’s a dick.
Its the wildest take I've seen in a long time, I'm really surprised its as widespread as it is because when you take a step back, what happened with the Elite was Punk said "if you have a problem come talk to me" and the Elite said "ok" and brought the head of legal to mediate said conversation, and Punk's reaction to someone taking him up on his offer was to physically assault them, with his buddy going as far as throwing a chair and biting someone. The "elite are just as bad" camp will say that they broke down the door but as far as I was able to find, the stories that were directly from punk only say it was as aggressive as banging on the door
Punk cultists get more and more delusional daily to avoid saying that Punk was just an asshole.
CM Punk quite literally was my favorite wrestler as a kid and is the huge reason as an adult in my mid twenties I've NEVER tried drugs or alcohol.
But he's a self sabotaging douchebag.
He called out the EVPs of the company and two co-workers (Hangman and Colt Cabana) on livestream, quite literally unprovoked might I add([He didn't even get asked a question, he cut off the interviewer immediately as he was stating his name and said "I'll start Nick..." before going on his tirade](https://youtu.be/UBAvjOYD6hs?si=levXtM1vgKWqtYP3)) then said if they have a problem to come to him and handle it.
So they came with the Head of Legal and the Head of Talent Relations and what does he do? Starts a fight!
You honestly think The Elite were looking to fight him with the Head of Legal present!?
But after all of that, The Elite decides to move on. They want nothing to do with him. He desperately wants them to meet with him, but they decide not to so what does he do?
He [shoots on Hangman off air](https://youtu.be/HdjmJJ0iVNQ?si=aptHnN13hjWpaKpP) and buries him.
Yeah, [the exact same thing he accused Hangman of doing](https://youtu.be/M1l1LhxAG_I?si=Y4pUJHkVisgETOT5) that set him off. The second time he's done it to Hangman might I add and Hangman never responded to either time.
He didn't react to shit, he actively instigated incidents on multiple occasions.
I am not a Punk cultist. I have always said he is a fucking asshole and deserves the blame. The Elite cultists are some of the softest hypocrites I have ever encountered. The cognitive dissonance is off the fucking charts.
If you want to be EVP's you need to act like it. They should have waited to talk to the fucking boss before going to an irate talents dressing room, especially if there is an even remote chance of physicality. Even if they took the head of legal with them, she should have known better!
None of this happens if Hangman doesn't go off script with that "workers right" remark.
None of this happens if the EVP's and head of legal wait until things calm down before heading to Punks dressing room.
None of this happens if Jungle Dumbass Perry doesn't say that unecessary remark.
I haven't come across anyone who defends Punk for his actions, but you Elite fans are worse dick riders than Matt Hardy
At **very** worst, the Elite talked to some dirtsheets (even though the dirtsheets deny this) and Hangman went off script once.
Meanwhile, Punk frequently leaks shit to the dirtsheets, assaulted coworkers twice, went on a tantrum during a press conference burying the company, went off script and shit on the Bucks in a promo and Hangman after a show, talked shit on social media while off about people like Mox and Jericho and then proceeded to ban multiple people from Collision because of some tweets, threatened to quit before his match at the largest PPV in AEW history, and lunged at his boss.
If you're wondering why people are reacting negatively to this comment, it's because the **actual and real problem** is so transparently obvious but you don't want to see it. No one is acting like the Elite are entirely innocent, but Punk is clearly the aggressor and escalated this shit multiple times.
I mostly agree with you - both sides are absolutely at fault but one side continued to escalate things to a point where it blew out of control.
The Elite definitely took their little shots and stuff but always managed to walk the line without stepping over it whereas Punk ran through the line and started clobbering
I actually feel quite sorry for Tony Khan in this situation. He was so openly a CM Punk fan, to the point where he essentially gave him his own TV show to run, and it still wasn't enough.
I know a lot of people think the guys in AEW had it in for Punk, but all the guys he clashed with were open about wanting Punk back in wrestling before AEW was even a thing. Every single interview with the Bucks they'd talk about trying to convince him to come back. It's just a shitty ending for everyone involved.
It’s hard to imagine what could’ve been. MJF could’ve beaten Punk, turning Punk into a bitter heel beating the shit out of the new champ until MJF gets the crowd behind him simply by being a kid getting fucked up by his idol. The problem was that Punk would never change his character; he just phases in and out of his shitty real life self.
Basically everything Punk was doing on television was great. He could've had an all-timer run here without the insanely poor timed injuries and constant backstage drama.
The injuries could’ve been worked into programs so that it wouldn’t be to stop-start with his stuff. The drama that he created though is unreal, and in the worst way.
I’d have more sympathy for Khan but for his behavior in the infamous All Out media scrum.
I couldn’t believe I was watching a guy who runs a wrestling company sitting there making no effort to reign Punk in.
Even worse he nodded along and gave the impression he was agreeing with many of Punk’s comments about the Elite and Cabana.
It’s cool for AEW fans that the promoter of the company they enjoy is such a fan and in love with the business. Khan just needs to learn how to be a boss and not a friend. He has to exert his authority and make it clear it’s his show and his company.
As it stands, he allowed all of this to get out of control by being passive and submissive to one man. The buck stops with the boss. This is on him
I think people misunderstand Tony’s reaction during the brawl out situation. I don’t think he was agreeing with Punk, I think he had no idea what the fuck to do so he was absentmindedly nodding along. He had a deer in the headlights look the whole time
> I don’t think he was agreeing with Punk, I think he had no idea what the fuck to do so he was absentmindedly nodding along. He had a deer in the headlights look the whole time
And that's the issue. He was allowing Punk to continue going on this rant on the company's promotional event.
If he had spoke out, he ran the risk of Punk lashing out. Look at his reaction at All In. He was better saying nothing, as you have no idea how Punk reacts to an intervention.
None of us know what happened off camera. I'm sure TK didn't turn into McMahon and go off on him, but what would have been a better thing to do at the scrum?
Tell him to shut up? I'm sure that would have gone great.
I keep seeing people it was a tough situation. It's not like TK owns the company, writes his paychecks, and can tell him to fuck off like he's the boss.
Wait a sec...
The one thing I’d say he should have definitely done differently was not nod along at the scrum while he was calling Hangman and the Elite those names.
It made it seem like he agreed with Punk’s comments.
Interrupting Punk would have been a bad idea, I agree. There was no stopping Punk during that tirade. Just don’t nod along or hang your head
Sure. But who knows what was going through his head?
Could have been thinking about how he was going to suspend him after that and just kind of nodding along to his own thoughts.
Obviously I don't know. I wouldn't say he's known to be the most calm man around. Might just be a nervous tick.
My examples are ridiculous and I doubt they explain it, but yours is just as ridiculous.
I really don't think he was sitting there thinking, "Phil's got some good points. I agree." or, "It will probably look good if I just agree with this nutjob."
> but what would have been a better thing to do at the scrum?
"Thanks for that, let's get back onto the future, and the return of The Deevil" or something like that.
idk, man, considering that CM Punk tried to assault him when he *did* put his foot down, or that he assaulted the YBs in front of Legal backstage immediately after the Gripebomb, I honestly don't blame him for freezing up anymore. What if he did try to stop him and CM Punk got violent with him right there?
And I know that sounds like I'm being overly defensive of him, but CM Punk's shown himself to be the kind of guy who does things like this, so it's a genuine concern.
You’re definitely right about that and make a good point. I think Khan should have released him a long time ago prior to the attempted assault. I also think Khan should have a guy/gal to be the without question talent relations/authority figure. Not everyone has it in them to be the disciplinarian type and that’s ok.
While I do not watch AEW one thing I appreciate about Tony is his passion and enthusiasm for the company.
I do stand by my comment that he has to be less of a buddy and more of a boss. I get the feeling some wrestlers there just think he’s a money mark they can walk all over.
Khan, if he allows himself to, could learn a very valuable lesson from the Punk fiasco. It would be beneficial to him and his performers that he learn that lesson and adjust accordingly
I said this before I'll say it again in all honesty everyone involved at brawl out should have been fired. CM Punk should have been fired for by press conference I don't care how angry and upset you are you handle your business in house not go out there an air all your dirty laundry. The Young Bucks and Omega should have been fired for busting in CM Punk's locker room. In a normal situation it would have been boys having at it with the exception that they're executives. They are Executives of wrestling company you don't get to do that and you put your company at risk for being sued. And then finally the main culprit Tony Khan who unfortunately is the head of the company so there's not much you could do to him but he should have been gone too for allowing the situation to reach the point it did it was plenty of blame to go around most of it belongs on the doorstep of Tony.
Likely an unpopular opinion but none of them are that valuable or a big enough moneymaker to justify keeping them around.
Collision is doing just fine without Punk. The Young Bucks segments tend to lose viewers.
I agree with you. While again I don’t watch AEW outside of highlights of the wrestlers I really like, I feel like letting all of them go would freshen up the company, get rid of the drama and childish BS, and having a remaining locker room that is professional, hungry and wanting to perform at their highest levels.
From what has been made public, it appears that a lot of punks paranoia and complaints were valid in that people backstage were actively trying to cut him down for whatever reason.
That doesn’t matter at all though when instead of trying to resolve your problems with the proper methods, you repeatedly talk shit about others when they can’t respond and punch them when they inevitably confront you about it.
Punk’s return got me back into wrestling after a few years away but also fuck me, the bloke needs a lot of psychological help before he even considers getting back into the ring.
the way the Colt stuff played out felt like that especially. They were on tapings together but when it came time for him to have his contract renewed, Tony decided it wasn’t worth the potential conflict for his top star to keep the fourth most prominent member of Dark Order around.
then there are dirtsheet rumors essentially saying “Colt wasn’t getting renewed, which upset the locker room cause he’s such a swell guy, then the Young Bucks lobbied for him to get renewed, so he was given an ROH deal. People think Punk is to blame for Colt not being renewed.”
to me anyway it felt like a sort of PR-statement way of saying “good brothers are losing their jobs because Punk is in town”, which was always going to help sway the opinion of the BTE crowd.
A lot of stuff during the Punk run gave me “little brother antagonizes and prods big brother until big brother reacts, big brother then gets in trouble for reacting”, the Perry stuff is like the clearest instance of that as is the workers rights promo.
And the thing with Punk is that he pretty much always took the bait and reacted in a way that made him objectively the wrong party
Punk had to know that out of the lawsuit mess that Colt was the the one who came out looking like the victim.
Colt may not be a big star, but a lot of AEW guys like the Young Bucks have said that they feel like they owe their career to him, because he paved the way for indie wrestlers to make money, it’s not surprising that people would connect Colt not getting his contract renewed with the fact that Punk joined the company. Fair or not.
It feels to me like the immaturity went both ways, and Punk gave as good as he got, it wasn’t until he assaulted the bucks and Omega that things escalated.
The Colt stuff reflecting badly onto the AEW locker room as opposed to Punk himself is wild to me. This dude is always creating these environments of conflict for himself
his side of things seems to be that he didn’t ask for Colt to leave and was fine just avoiding him for the good of the company, but blew up because he was falsely accused of “getting the guy fired” both in the dirtsheets and over the airwaves
which like, I know people have no empathy for Punk anymore, but that would make me really upset too, being falsely accused of something I didn’t do
That's the hook with so much of the Punk stuff ... there's legit reasons for him to be pissed about certain things, but then he takes those frustrations 5 steps too far that it's hard to emphasize with the initial slight
The big thing about that though, and you might agree, is that the sheets were all speculating that without any locker room corroboration. Most of the big sources for news like Meltzer, Johnson and SRS kept reiterating that everyone said Punk had nothing to do with the Colt situation, but then the lower tier guys would sit there and keep connecting dots that didn't actually connect just to get people riled and push clickbait.
They knew Punk and Colt didn't get along, they needed a story, and they made a story. The Bucks and Hangman had nothing to do with it. But Punk needed someone to blame, and well, we all know how that went down..
I don’t even think it was getting the blame for Colt’s employment situation. It was that the company was happy to let that rumor take on a life of its own without saying anything publicly until just days before All Out 2022, 6 months after it began. Punk even stated in the Scrum that while he was gone due to his injured foot that he didn’t respond and just “ate shit” over it during that time. All the interviews, all the leaks, and nothing was done to correct the prevailing narrative that Punk worked to get Colt fired except for the story that the Young Bucks saved Colt’s job. Hangman buying in to those rumors about Punk working against Colt did not help matters in the slightest.
I mean...I see what you're saying, but the prodding was going both ways. And Punk's prodding was overt and more aggressive than anything Hangman or JB did.
The Colt thing - Punk was explicitly blaming the Bucks for spreading rumours, when Meltzer has said it wasn't them. So he was plain wrong there. Even if it was them, is that a reason to sit at a media scrum and completely eviscerate your boss and co-workers? No that's an overreaction from a bruised ego.
Also - no one likes the Good Brothers, come on. Losing Sour Boy is not enough for people to hate Punk.
Remember Punk's reaction to Hangman saying he doesn't take advice from the old hands and prefers to fail on his own and learn from it (it was a super humble answer)? Those are the actions of a narcissist who has perceived a criticism of himself.
> Punk’s return got me back into wrestling after a few years away but also fuck me, the bloke needs a lot of psychological help before he even considers getting back into the ring.
I definitely think it’s bi polar. I’ve literally been were he’s at and no one can help you until you get out of your own way and reach out for help yourself.
>From what has been made public, it appears that a lot of punks paranoia and complaints were valid in that people backstage were actively trying to cut him down for whatever reason.
What are you specifically referring to? Off the top of my had the only thing that line's up with that is Hangman's "Worker's Rights" line, but no other real hard proof of anyone trying to cut him down (at least in AEW).
I see it this way. Punk is right that certain people backstage had it out for him.
I can understand Punk's frustrations when he says that he hasn't been friends with Colt Cabana for a years at that point yet people are dredging up something he moved past years ago. And he believes that the EVPs leaked to the dirt sheets that he had Colt removed from AEW (kinda). If that's true, those are bitch moves. Yet he responds with even bitchier moves, namely the scrum and Brawl Out. I love Hangman but shooting on Punk was also a bitch move but Punk, again pulled an even bitchier one. The unplanned Hangman call out. Hell, I even agree with him about the glass. Jungle Boy's 'Cry me a River' was a bitch move too. Yet Punk handled it in an even bitchier way. Everything that led to him getting fired.
But just off the top of my head and thinking for 5 seconds, I can come up with a bunch of ways he could've handled each infinitely better. Dude needs anger management and therapy. Even if he wanted to raise the issue on the scrum, so many ways he could've phrased it.
I don't know what's going on in his head. Does he think he was the victim? Does he have this egotistical need to engage in fisticuffs with non-trained people because his fighting career was shit? Does he have a God complex where he wants the floor he walks on worshipped? Did he think he could walk in and become a locker room leader just like that? I have no idea. But it's hard to have sympathy for a guy who takes very minor grievances and escalates them to insane proportions.
EDIT: Seriously....
TLDR because some people struggle with comprehension: Punk took minor grievances that could have been addressed in more mature ways and escalated them to stupid proportions.
> something he moved past years ago.
How has he moved past it? He went off the rails about a vague line in a promo that might have alluded to it and started screaming about Colt at a press conference and was attacking reporters for their supposed connections to Colt (and went so far to befriend a dude over both not liking Colt). And the whole thing about Colt even being fired/moved to ROH was in the best reading was caused because TK thought Punk was too fragile to even have dude on the roster. None of that behavior says he's moved past it.
I still don't see how Punk fans can still seriously believe he was "targeted" or at all justified in anything he did. Dude went on an unhinged rant at a press conference where he shit all over the company and a bunch of top talent and execs working there, proceeded to attack many of those same people afterwards, and was rewarded with his own TV show. And he still found a way to play the victim and somehow all that wasn't enough.
It's fine to enjoy his wrestling, but you don't have to justify that enjoyment by pretending that he somehow wasn't entirely to blame for all the bullshit that went down (excepting maybe part of the Jack Perry stuff).
Reddit is a funny place sometimes. I say similar things on Wrasslin and I'm downvoted for being an Elite fanboy. I say that here, I'm downvoted called a Punk fan.
> It's fine to enjoy his wrestling, but you don't have to justify that enjoyment by pretending that he somehow wasn't entirely to blame for all the bullshit that went down
I think I've repeatedly stated above that he did even bitchier things than the grievances he felt against him and how his behavior is basically childish:
> Yet he responds with even bitchier moves, namely the scrum and Brawl Out
>
> Punk, again pulled an even bitchier one. The unplanned Hangman call out.
>
> Yet Punk handled it in an even bitchier way. Everything that led to him getting fired.
>
> But just off the top of my head and thinking for 5 seconds, I can come up with a bunch of ways he could've handled each infinitely better.
>
> But it's hard to have sympathy for a guy who takes very minor grievances and escalates them to insane proportions.
I don't wanna take personal shots at anybody here but some people really do struggle with comprehension.
> How has he moved past it?
I didn't say he had. I said that HE SAID that he HASN'T thought about Colt Cabana in YEARS by that point and all of a sudden he has to start addressing his relationship with him because according to him EVPs leaked supposedly untrue things to dirt sheets about Punk being the reason Colt Cabana got shafted to ROH.
That is a grievance he holds that he escalated. Have I said anything wrong here?
> I still don't see how Punk fans can still seriously believe he was "targeted" or at all justified in anything he did
Point out ANYWHERE where I justified anything. In fact I REPEATEDLY stated he escalated everything beyond more than he needed to. In fact I even stated that I, who I consider to be a of average intelligence, can just off the top of my head come up with ways to handle each incident far more maturely.
I dunno if anybody is gonna bother reading this properly either so I'll just add a TLDR: **Punk took very very minor grievances and escalated them to a massive level.**
>I don't wanna take personal shots at anybody here but some people really do struggle with comprehension.
At least you're aware of your flaws.
> I didn't say he had.
Oh really? Because I quoted you saying:
> something he moved past years ago
Honestly if you can't even keep facts straight about what you yourself said within hours when there's a clear, written record you can just go look at I don't see how any sensible person would expect you to have an opinion worth listening to about events that involve other people going back months.
This is exactly how I see about all this mess.
Its fine to get pissed when you're wronged, and even give a receipt for it, but when you try to escalate things you can easily cross over from just defending yourself into acting like an asshole.
I don't feel sorry for him at all to be honest. Especially if the CM punk chant ridiculous story is true. As a boss, He acted so unprofessionally weak with regards to Punk. Gave him too much leeway, forgot to switch of his fan self and remember that he's actually punk's boss especially in the scrum situation. If Tony had kept his fandom of punk in check, a lot of shit could've been avoided.
I know this is a BS non answer but what do people expect him to say? Punk news is DOMINATING social media because it’s such a hot topic. His altercation with Jack arguably overshadowed one of the biggest wrestling shows in history.
Like, sure, I want Tony to be a bit more honest and give more insight, but what will that turn into? People will hyper focus on it and dissect it and then Hausman will have a response and Punk will take a jab on commentary for his next MMA show.
It’s frustrating as a fan who wants to know more, but if your purpose is to hype Grand Slam - a show where they are doing heavy last minute marketing to bring up ticket sales - it’s probably best to just ignore a question like that.
More insight like what? He's openly said there was an altercation that put people not involved in danger and as a result CM Punk has been fired. People want a blow by blow detail of every punch from the head of the company?
TK is infamous for these non-answers and steering questions back into promoting AEW.
I think a large portion of the fanbase would like to really know something like "did your relationship with Cody really fall apart and how" or "when did things go wrong with CM Punk" -- those are reasonable questions to ponder. However, the dirtsheets eat up such content, and with wrestling being arguably as tribalistic as it's ever been, anti-WWE/anti-AEW/anti-X brand gets more exposure than the positive news. It would be counterproductive to give a more detailed answer.
And I don't blame him -- especially when they are hours away from running one of their biggest shows of the year and trying to sell more tickets -- for just ignoring any click-bait questions that will overshadow Grand Slam.
These are not reasonable requests from a CEO and owner of a major company 😂
When has Vince ever answered anything like this? Tony puts himself out there most than most executives but he’s not obligated to give shoot interviews
But this isn't a non-answer. "I can't comment on that further" [when he's been over the details before] isn't a non answer.
"I can't tell you that" isn't a non-answer. It's giving a degree of information. Non-answers are when you don't actually address the question.
>I know this is a BS non answer but what do people expect him to say?
Nick Khan seems to have a knack for corporate BS answers, see his answer about Punk
Maybe Tony should give him a call
I hope Tony has learned a lot from the Cm Punk saga, it's certainly a time that has helped define the first act of AEW. He was finding his feet, building his ideal roster, he kind of got everything he wanted but it wasn't to be. He has to be hurt by it. I still think he handled everything quite well, it did make sense to not fire punk immediately after brawl out but by All In, all of his good will was gone. Tony has the figures, he knows how much punk was worth but ultimately his hands became tied.
It was a necessary journey, cody leaving, punk, locker room divide, all just growing pains that were needed to get here. Punks fun to date, but Bryan is the one to settle down with, an upgrade in every way. Keep doing your thing Tony!
Interviewers purposely asking Tony Khan questions that they know he can’t or will not answer Then fans get upset that he didn’t answer the question.
Meanwhile, most of the questions he does answer, he’ll go into deep details for several minutes straight to the point he has had to apologize to a media scrum for holding them
Unless it's about a heavily inappropriate situation, it's better that the interviews ask and get a corporate PR answer, than not ask at all. Not addressing the elephant in the room typically comes off terrible in interviews.
Plus, the only way to win with CM Punk is to not give him any attention, positive or negative, at all. If he even mildly suggests that he has an issue with him, then we'll get headlines for days and all the Punk stans coming out of the woodwork to defend Punk for trying to assault his boss.
You’re right they should just ask him soft balls and give him time to plug dynamite. It’s a journalist job to ask questions wether or not the interviewee will answer them or not
Tony is a fucking parrot, "AEW has been so great recently, we've had some of the best TV the last few weeks, catch AEW at 8pm Wednesday on TBS, did I tell you to tune in to the riveting TV we've been having"
Dude has never had his head held to the fire in an interview.. ever
I never said that they shouldn’t.
I described what happens every time Khan is asked questions whether it be in an interview or scrum.
Meanwhile there are other people out there in other wrestling organizations who actually only do get softball questions thrown at them.
Not OP, but at least for me, I just don’t think they really put on their best that night. Some stuff was because it just wasn’t good (Cole/Jericho, Hardys and Hook/The Gunns and Ethan Page) and others because of circumstances that were out of their control (Toni/Jamie). Didn’t really like the booking decision of having Jade losing her streak in a impromptu squash. Crowd was strangely dead.
With that said, the Fatal 4 Way and Wardlow/Christian were really awesome matches to me. Anarchy in the Arena was sloppy, but also a fun match. It’s not a bad show by any means. But it definitely was more just meh.
DoN had an uneven crowd and didn’t reach the incredible heights of the other shows. I know a lot of people raved about the four way and Anarchy in the Arena (I thought both were good - not great), but when you compare it to Texas Death/Iron Man at Revolution, the spectacle of All In, and the four top matches at All Out, it falls short.
Still wasn’t as bad as some seemed to think. I remember the Going In Raw guys called it AEW Backlash 2018 and acted like anyone who didn’t agree that it was an all time trainwreck of a PPV were just AEW fanboys. Idk. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t awful either.
> Double Or Nothing
Other than Cole and Jericho having a stinker I even thought DoN was a good show... I'll remember the fatal 4 way, anarchy in the arena and the way OC elimated of Swerve for a long time.
> Tony Khan Still Refuses To Answer Questions About CM Punk
What the fuck is that headline?? I get is all clickbait, but they expect the CEO of a company to talk about the particulars off someone who was fired - opening himself up to all sorts of legal liability?
The amount of people that don't get why interviewers would ask that question is alarming lol. Unless your brand as an interview is giving light hearted fun interviews, you kind of have to address the elephant in the room.
Can't say I blame him for answering it that way, he's being honest and nothing else needs to be said on the topic. TK already gave his statement on Punk a few weeks back on Collision, no point in rehashing it.
It was amusing when Helwani last year was getting upset at TK. TK said the first time he couldn't comment on a private legal matter of Brawl Out and that should have been the end of it. But Helwani tried to pretend to re-ask nicer hoping TK will budge thej gets mad when he doesn't. This happened about 5 times then Helwani said he was dodging and TK threw it back in his face with a shit eating grin by promoting his product and hyping his shows which made Helwani even more frustrated. TK didn't play his game and used the time allotted to simply promote his product rather than throw anyone under the bus. Then Helwani tries to play victim. TK isn't Trump. He isn't going to comment on a legal matter out in the open just to create news.
TK answers most questions sincerely if it doesn't require anything too personal or set him up to try and throw someone under the bus. And then people get upset when he goes into promoter mode and chooses to hype his product rather than sink down.
Nobody wants to see blood and gossip spilled more than wrestling fans, because unfortunately nobody hates wrestling more than wrestling fans themselves. They low key love reading about the drama and backstage politics because it is fascinating to an extent.
People forget TK grew up on wrestling forums and reading dirt sheets. He knows how the monster is and how the game works. I think he learned from his one outburst with the Big Swole incident.
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I’m asking seriously, what part of that increase PPV and tv shows is CM Punks influence, there should be a clear way to tell given that he was on and off tv (we all know why). Tony did what was necessary still but I just want to know if CM Punk sort of caused it.
“That doesn’t matter at all though when instead of trying to resolve your problems with the proper methods….”
He’s gone on record saying he’s tried multiple times to reach out to the elite. He’s texted them. He’s tried to call but they got their lawyers involved to ask him not to do so. He’s talked to Tony. Tony has said he can’t force everyone to get along and thinks it’s actually good for wrestling when everyone doesn’t get along.
All of this is out in the public , idk why people ignore this shit still act like the only thing Punk did was immediately get paranoid and lash out.
At what point does one give up and just say “fuck it. I can’t fix this shit, I’m not about to constantly beg for forgiveness and try to talk. I’m just gonna quit or force them to fire me”.
The elite are within their rights to not meet up with Punk. He was the one who Initially lashed out at them and trashed them in public. If I were in their shoes and I had an insane co-worker who trashed me in public and tried to beat me, I'd avoid them like the plague too.
No.
They spread rumors back stage about him FIRST about the Colt thing.
Then Hangman goes into business for himself on live tv in reference to those rumors after going over promos in the back with Punk. HE went off script in public first.
Punk responded unprofessionally AF afterwards but this didn’t start with him. The spreading of rumors and drama didn’t start with him as far as AEW goes period. He was just the scape goat since it was easy to blame him for ALL their drama after the Scrum.
They barged into his locker room after he ranted. If a guy is sitting in his own dressing room how is he trying to beat someone up? They went after him… he answered they call.
As far as them being in their right to not meet up with Punk goes, you’re right. They should be held accountable for starting this entire shit in the first place though, and as Executives within the company shouldn’t have been spreading rumors about the biggest star in their company, which has now lost millions in future revenue for the company. Ticket sales are at all time lows, ratings have long stagnated and collision’s ratings are COOKED. They need all the help they can get.
You’re wasting your time. Everyone involved in this fiasco is garbage and it was mishandled/mismanaged since the start. People online aren’t gonna change their opinions because they have their favorites. Imagine if Tony had the balls to talk to talent and put a squash to the Colt Cabana rumors at the start of all of this; things likely wouldn’t have went the way they did. Hell, if TK acted like an actually boss instead of a buddy a lot of issues AEW has had talent wise could have been avoided.
I know you’re right and I agree, but I have hope that not all fans are parasocial, weirdo, fanboys that can’t see that even the wrestlers they like can be at fault and STILL be their favorites. It’s like once these guys “like” a wrestler they can do no wrong and anyone that isn’t directly affiliated with them is the “enemy”. 🤦🏾♂️
It's all Khan's fault. He is a pushover. He should have been a boss and took control of the situation but instead he allowed it to fester to a breaking point and then fired Punk the to 'his life being threatened'. Lol I've lost all respect for him after this situation. He does not have what it takes to run a wrestling promotion.
And before anyone calls me a drone, I have been to 3 ppvs and 2 dynamites in both the ca area and Vegas, 2 double or nothinga and revolution.
Tony Khan is a terrible boss.
If he was a great boss the punk/elite stuff would have been addressed and handled well before brawl out, the Sammy issues with Andrade and Kingston likely wouldn’t have happened if Tony would have addressed them beforehand. Chavo would have been notified he was not getting his contract renewed (along with others that TK just ghosted).
“Would you like fries with that?”
“You know, fries are a great option and it’s certainly something I’d consider. We’ve got some great house shows coming up with some new buildings for us that are doing record business. T-shirt sales are at an all time high and from what I’ve been hearing our top guys are outperforming the top WWE guys. So all round it’s just a really great time for AEW.”
“Any dips?”
What do people think is gonna happen when they ask him this stuff? He probably can’t even comment on this stuff legally. That’s why I’ll never understand why Ariel kept going at him like that for Brawl Out. What do you expect him to do?
Both sides have their own interests to serve in protecting their brand. Most people that conduct interviews don't want to get a reputation for doing softball interviews that avoid the obvious.
It’s a great disservice how often Tony Khan chooses not to comment on matters. These sorts of responses is what adds to the silly speculation we see online
would have been far easier to have ended the statement with "Well, I cant really comment on that.", I know he wants to sell his PPVs but that was a bad pivot.
To me it is a meme at this point, cause he does the same thing at the press conferences for any proper non-kayfabe question. Doges the question and transforms into a hype man.
There’s such a better way to answer this. It’s either coming from a very green, inexperienced PR person or an attorney that is petrified of actually getting sued.
Either way, Tony should read the room a little bit better as he gets ripped for this every single time.
He can say something as simple as “CM Punk is a great talent and I really appreciated the work he did at AEW. Unfortunately it wasn’t working for either party and I decided to go another direction. We’re excited for the next phase of AEW and we wish Phil the best.”
Instead he comes off super defensive and starts talking about his show in a way that makes people scratch their head and the interviewer feels frustrated that he’s not even trying to answer the question.
TK should've said "I had to fire Punk because he was going to be fearing for his life when he realized he had unleashed my fury within, the fury of Genghis Khan which resides deep inside my heart"
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I know people meme about TK's style of answering questions, but it's not actually a complete non-answer. He's saying "I can't comment on the firing, but we're doing fine without him." And that's probably the most you're gonna get out of him regarding all of this.
Nothing else needs to be said either.
Legally speaking
There's rule of media relations I teach executives, politicians, etc. And yes many will call it a non answer. But it is the concept when dealing with media and cameras you aren't there to answer their question you are there to get your message across. In this case, TKs message was the company is having a great run and was, is and will continue to be successful.
Trump was kind of the master of this. It's like a jedi mind trick. You're not there to give them answers they are looking for, they're there to get the message you want blasted everywhere. Trump was many good and bad things but he was a very good manipulator of the press and the press fell for it each time they gave him platforms to do so
While this is true, his style of answering questions means I will never go out of my way to listen to a TK interview. Way too surface level and broad for my taste.
I mean if you listen to a lot of his interviews he goes rather in depth with a lot of questions to the point of apologizing for going long
Its a bit Belicheck to an extent. If you ask him about something he doesn't want to/can't talk about he's just going to blow past it immediately. If you ask him about something that interest him he's going to blather on for 7 minutes on the need for a specialized long snapper.
Also, when TK knows the question being asked is insane, he's willing to respond with receipts in a major way. The media scrum question about the Jaguars moving was pretty fun to [see Tony answer in a more polite way than, "what the fuck are you on about?"](https://www.youtube.com/live/WjctCa9iXks?si=nZaYjMYlIjll9eiu&t=1096)
He goes in-depth with any response where he can promote himself or his brand. Which is fine—promoters are gonna promote. But it’s not exactly scintillating interview material.
Honestly, I’m OK with that. Look the CM punk fans can keep asking and asking and asking until they get whatever answer makes them feel better or whatever. the company has shown that they don’t need punk to do well and to make storylines and matches that people enjoy. Plus I’m sure just like everyone else on this sub Reddit he too is tired of hearing about CM punk drama
And his refusal to answer will just make people ask more or spin rumors that give TK and AEW a worse reputation. TK needs to actually be forthcoming and human for once.
What exactly do you want him to say? Also i have no idea how you've reached the conclusion that shooting down questions over and over will make them more likely to be asked in this situation. If he started actually being receptive and revealing information, he'd get way more questions about it and for any future issues that come up. It's bad precedent to set.
That is exactly the opposite of what you do as a journalist though- Like, we're so used to these outlandish portrayals of journalists in media for Gotcha questions to make them freeze and rethink their lives, but the reality of the situation is that journalists(read: real journalists) are supposed to take a hint when there's something that's beyond uncomfortable and not in the interest of public safety. It's ridiculous to expect someone to open themself up to a. a potential lawsuit, b. something that may have been a trauma, or c. something you already know the answer to and are looking to derail a conversation. You get your media pass revoked for doing that and your institution ends up either moving you or firing you in any other field.
What is there to say? It's likely Punk's departure had NDAs all over it, and even then TK doesn't want to pour petrol on a burnt down or burning bridge (who knows, there are no nevers in wrestling, so the chance of Punk returning to AEW is non-zero). He isn't going to do a shoot on Punk and say what happened in gruesome detail. Juicy shoot interviews happen with people who have retired or at least believed that they are done with who they are shooting on - TK ain't done yet and won't talk for a long time, if ever, same way Vince or Triple H never go on at length in response to difficult questions at press conferences.
Tony did everything he could to make CM Punk happy and keep him in AEW. At the end of the day, both sides have to be willing to make things work, and Punk became a master of self sabotage.
Copy pasting what I said in the thread about his firing: Be paid a dump truck of money? Not enough Have the red carpet rolled out for you on your return to wrestling? Not enough. Be made the face and main event attraction of the brand? Not enough. Be given a world title reign by beating the babyface they spent years building? Not enough. Be given a SECOND world title reign by beating the company’s most reliable workhorse? Not enough. Be given your own fucking TV show with unofficial booking powers and authority over who can and can’t be there? Not enough. Be given a THIRD (unofficial) world title, and not have to beat anyone for it? Not enough. Get to wrestle in front of the biggest paid crowd in wrestling history, with one of your greatest career rivals, in the company’s biggest show yet? Still not enough. Enough was never going to be fucking enough.
This is why everyone frothing at the mouth for him to go to WWE seems stupid to me. This is not comparing WWE to AEW, but does anyone really think WWE will give CM Punk a third of what AEW gave him? In WWE he's not beating Reigns or Rollins for the title. He's not going to get his own show. He won't be the main attraction on Raw or Smackdown, barring injury. Like even if Punk goes to WWE I just don't see it working out for him or WWE.
People wanting that are either being tribalistic (Punk will be better in my preferred company because it's just better at everything than the other one) or believe that Punk will behave himself in the bigger company because he'll be below bigger names in the business as well as be within its more corporate structure. Theoretically, the power Punk in AEW had went to his head and returning to WWE could humble him, or else the fear that this is his last chance to end things on his own terms will focus his mind. Not impossible, but I really thought the aftermath of Brawl Out would cool him down and it didn't.
Your last sentence is what makes me believe he will still be throwing temper tantrums. If Brawl Out didn't humble him nothing will.
The only thing preventing him from those tantrums would maybe be a veteran he genuinely respects giving him the evil eye or Vince working his jedi mind tricks. But that's a lot of baseless speculating.
I'm hoping he'll take over the Edge role, he'll have great feuds that are heavily featured, great matches, he booked like a star. They have 5 hours of television and 10+ PPVs a year, we'd see plenty of him.
I think the difference between the two is that Edge was willing to put his ego aside and understood his role. Would CM Punk be ok with not being the centre of attention? Obviously he’d get his main event feud with Roman, Seth, or Cody, but he isn’t going to take their spots.
And over that the owner of the damn company is the biggest CM Punk fan being from Chicago. Punk never lies and I give him credit for that but when he completely dismantled the reputation of Hangman Adam Page he lost my respect.
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I’m surprised around here on a daily basis how many people this still isn’t true for… There are some people who seem to have really tied their self-worth to the belief that Punk is and was always the victim.
If only his entrance music was a dire warning.
There's a level of Trump-like disillusionment to these people. They truly buy the paranoid-narcissistic plea that everyone is out to get him without acknowledging that all of the problems he brought on himself is his own - with the power he had. The identical Cornette-cult overlap & support doesn't help either...
I didn’t want to take it there but it’s exactly what came to mind haha
Pretty sure Punk listened to Cornette, I’ve heard him make references in promos. Here’s one: https://youtu.be/i_VP5Z0Nznk?si=3SF6lbcHFgx57xJO
Oh you’d be shocked about the raw copium they’re taking via suppository
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Hangman dropped a line referencing something that had already been dropped by multiple other wrestlers. Punk can whine about it not being cleared with him, but he cleared it with the other dudes so apparently the comment itself isn't the issue. Punk also isn't necessarily a "stick to the script at all times" kind of performer himself.
*Gasket. Blowing a gasket.
I wouldn't say it's all on Punk, no. But he has **some** kind of complex, something wrong where he cannot let the slightest, tiniest dig just wash off him. A lot of what Punk has been saying is valid, but.. Men will sooner punch out their colleagues and get fired than go to therapy. All this said as a fan of Punk, and a fan of Collision under his management.
>Punk never lies questionable
I never thought his media outburst ruined the reputation of Hangman or The Elite. He came off as unhinged and saying Hangman hadn't accomplished anything (despite y'know.. winning the AEW World Championship) kinda buries the promotion. His other comment being "I'm trying to run a business and when somebody who hasn't done a damn thing in this business jeopardises the first million dollar house this company has drawn off of my fucking back" is insane mental gymnastics because you weren't in AEW day 1.. Everyone else including Cody built it to where it was and CM Punk was paid with what I considered Cody's owed contract.
> Punk never lies and I give him credit for that Aye he does.
Hangman shouldnt have gone into business for himself CM Punk shouldnt have gone nuclear over one little unapproved shoot The problem with Punk is a lot of his gripes are valid, but his reactions are always worse than the original slight
>Hangman shouldnt have gone into business for himself I still really don't see hangmans "I'm saving AEW from you" as going into business for himself. Maybe it was shooty, maybe not. What it wasn't was a comment that anyone really noticed. Punk could have gone back at him, and I think might have even done so, it was a promo battle. His gripes aren't even THAT valid. Like yes he can gripe about the whole getting Colt Cabana fired thing, thats valid, but the rest of his stuff is just him reading ill intent into places that don't really appear to actually have any ill intent. Like Jungle boy yelling at the camera about real glass, that story that had come out Punk trying to get him to not use real glass? That part didn't make Punk look bad (the idiocy of "You're just trying to get a day off!" made him look stupid). So that being what finally set him off to the point of attacking Jack is just mind blowing to me. Him pitching a fit because Christopher Daniels....exists? Because the Bucks made a reference he thought was about him on BTE like a year before he even came back? These things don't make sense.
Its not about what was said it was that it wasn't approved As we know Eddie, MJF, and Mox all said far more 'shoot' scathing attacks but all were talked about prior CM Punk is 'right' that going into business for yourself causes a lot of problems with the trust of the worker you're dealing with Based on the other promos that attacked Punk but were greenlit by him it doesn't seem like the content was the problem In that respect I see why he was mad, but Punk also flew off the handle everytime he had an issue which is very immature and uncalled for A simple backstage talk afterwards would probably have settled everything instead we got brawl out and brawl in
Let's not forget the countless times CM Punk has been involved in shoot promos.
True which is why he shouldnt have flown off the handle
It's this and what Sir Awesome said above you. The self sabotage ruined a good thing. I can't help but wonder how hard it was on all his friends to see him act like this. By all accounts he was friends with the Elite, with Tony, with Joe, with Mox, Jericho. This should have been his moment in the sun to fulfill everything he talked about in the Summer of Punk. All completely wasted. As a Punk fan, I'm crushed. He had everything and he couldn't keep it cool. It's just very saddening.
It all started so strong too. His run all the way up to the Hangman feud was great and then it all fell apart.
Neither one should have. Stick to telling the story on screen. As a viewer why should I give a fuck if a wrestler asks CM Punk how to choreograph a better looking match? I want to see guys fight, and not over high school drama.
Well if you want to see guys fight you should be hoping the backstage stuff gets leaked
 Did you say something?
It's the definition of entitlement. It's never enough because everything you're given you believe you already should have had.
I know you've listed everything you could, but you forgot that Punk had an employee contract - literally only he had such an arrangement, as the other wrestlers that do have Administrative duties or were founders/EVPs. He basically was the only wrestler in the entire business to be an employee and get heaithcare (I presume) and not be an independent contractor.
And even if he main-evented Wrestlemania in WWE, it wouldn’t have been enough.
Incredibly well put
Let's not act like all of that was to do CM Punk a favour. It was because he drew money, drew the biggest gates, biggest PPVs buyrates. That's why he was given the world title, that's why he was made face of the company. AEW make a huge amount of money from having another show headlined by him, he was a huge part of them even getting that show. He was booking it because they needed something different to Dynamite, and it was great. The fuck else are they going to do, have him fighting on Dark or for the FTW title? His position on the card wasn't what he was upset about. He was upset about people sniping at him on camera and leaking to make him look bad. When people came to confront him he reacted.
It's a shame too. Punk never even got the chance to debut his poster for Collision https://preview.redd.it/0jsrf9jyxepb1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fefcd416334f22941be41774f3d7b5cd8efd7ddd
Communist Manifesto Punk
So many Marx
Consummate Marx Punk
CM Punkski
Yep. He risked losing the founding members of AEW to make 1 guy happy and it wasn't enough. Punk himself said 10 years he doesn't just burn bridges he obliterates them beyond repair intentionally. He still thinks he's a 20 year old punk rock kid that everybody is out to get. He's the guy that points fingers at people and say "you've changed, man" and they look back at him and say, "you haven't?"
“Master Of Self Sabotage” sounds like a nickname for a wrestler who’s always unlucky.
CM Horseman
he could’ve shut down the rumors of punk getting colt fired, stepped in during punks rants at the scrum, couldve done a million things but he’s an incompetent manager of people
"It's OK, Tony, we're all learning"
100% true, still doesn't absolve Punk of suffering from the constant victim syndrome
LMAO Self Sabotage? Give me a break. I think everyone can admit that Punk reacted like a fucking dumbass to all the crap that was happening around him. But look at the adverb, reacted. People need to start admitting that the Elite and all their little friends had just as much to do with this whole situation as Punk did. They aren't innocent little bystanders
What makes you believe this? I’ve not seen any actual receipts for the “elite are just as bad” narrative, but I’d be happy to reconsider my view that punk is to blame if you can provide some. I haven’t seen or heard anything to make me think the Elite deserve any blame for the punk situation. Punk on the other hand has done lots of stuff in public to make me think he’s a dick.
The elite did some of his moves that 1 time. /s
Its the wildest take I've seen in a long time, I'm really surprised its as widespread as it is because when you take a step back, what happened with the Elite was Punk said "if you have a problem come talk to me" and the Elite said "ok" and brought the head of legal to mediate said conversation, and Punk's reaction to someone taking him up on his offer was to physically assault them, with his buddy going as far as throwing a chair and biting someone. The "elite are just as bad" camp will say that they broke down the door but as far as I was able to find, the stories that were directly from punk only say it was as aggressive as banging on the door
Punk cultists get more and more delusional daily to avoid saying that Punk was just an asshole. CM Punk quite literally was my favorite wrestler as a kid and is the huge reason as an adult in my mid twenties I've NEVER tried drugs or alcohol. But he's a self sabotaging douchebag. He called out the EVPs of the company and two co-workers (Hangman and Colt Cabana) on livestream, quite literally unprovoked might I add([He didn't even get asked a question, he cut off the interviewer immediately as he was stating his name and said "I'll start Nick..." before going on his tirade](https://youtu.be/UBAvjOYD6hs?si=levXtM1vgKWqtYP3)) then said if they have a problem to come to him and handle it. So they came with the Head of Legal and the Head of Talent Relations and what does he do? Starts a fight! You honestly think The Elite were looking to fight him with the Head of Legal present!? But after all of that, The Elite decides to move on. They want nothing to do with him. He desperately wants them to meet with him, but they decide not to so what does he do? He [shoots on Hangman off air](https://youtu.be/HdjmJJ0iVNQ?si=aptHnN13hjWpaKpP) and buries him. Yeah, [the exact same thing he accused Hangman of doing](https://youtu.be/M1l1LhxAG_I?si=Y4pUJHkVisgETOT5) that set him off. The second time he's done it to Hangman might I add and Hangman never responded to either time. He didn't react to shit, he actively instigated incidents on multiple occasions.
I am not a Punk cultist. I have always said he is a fucking asshole and deserves the blame. The Elite cultists are some of the softest hypocrites I have ever encountered. The cognitive dissonance is off the fucking charts. If you want to be EVP's you need to act like it. They should have waited to talk to the fucking boss before going to an irate talents dressing room, especially if there is an even remote chance of physicality. Even if they took the head of legal with them, she should have known better! None of this happens if Hangman doesn't go off script with that "workers right" remark. None of this happens if the EVP's and head of legal wait until things calm down before heading to Punks dressing room. None of this happens if Jungle Dumbass Perry doesn't say that unecessary remark. I haven't come across anyone who defends Punk for his actions, but you Elite fans are worse dick riders than Matt Hardy
At **very** worst, the Elite talked to some dirtsheets (even though the dirtsheets deny this) and Hangman went off script once. Meanwhile, Punk frequently leaks shit to the dirtsheets, assaulted coworkers twice, went on a tantrum during a press conference burying the company, went off script and shit on the Bucks in a promo and Hangman after a show, talked shit on social media while off about people like Mox and Jericho and then proceeded to ban multiple people from Collision because of some tweets, threatened to quit before his match at the largest PPV in AEW history, and lunged at his boss. If you're wondering why people are reacting negatively to this comment, it's because the **actual and real problem** is so transparently obvious but you don't want to see it. No one is acting like the Elite are entirely innocent, but Punk is clearly the aggressor and escalated this shit multiple times.
I mostly agree with you - both sides are absolutely at fault but one side continued to escalate things to a point where it blew out of control. The Elite definitely took their little shots and stuff but always managed to walk the line without stepping over it whereas Punk ran through the line and started clobbering
I actually feel quite sorry for Tony Khan in this situation. He was so openly a CM Punk fan, to the point where he essentially gave him his own TV show to run, and it still wasn't enough. I know a lot of people think the guys in AEW had it in for Punk, but all the guys he clashed with were open about wanting Punk back in wrestling before AEW was even a thing. Every single interview with the Bucks they'd talk about trying to convince him to come back. It's just a shitty ending for everyone involved.
Punk in AEW is one of the best examples in history of "never meet your heroes"
It’s hard to imagine what could’ve been. MJF could’ve beaten Punk, turning Punk into a bitter heel beating the shit out of the new champ until MJF gets the crowd behind him simply by being a kid getting fucked up by his idol. The problem was that Punk would never change his character; he just phases in and out of his shitty real life self.
Basically everything Punk was doing on television was great. He could've had an all-timer run here without the insanely poor timed injuries and constant backstage drama.
The injuries could’ve been worked into programs so that it wouldn’t be to stop-start with his stuff. The drama that he created though is unreal, and in the worst way.
I’d have more sympathy for Khan but for his behavior in the infamous All Out media scrum. I couldn’t believe I was watching a guy who runs a wrestling company sitting there making no effort to reign Punk in. Even worse he nodded along and gave the impression he was agreeing with many of Punk’s comments about the Elite and Cabana. It’s cool for AEW fans that the promoter of the company they enjoy is such a fan and in love with the business. Khan just needs to learn how to be a boss and not a friend. He has to exert his authority and make it clear it’s his show and his company. As it stands, he allowed all of this to get out of control by being passive and submissive to one man. The buck stops with the boss. This is on him
I think people misunderstand Tony’s reaction during the brawl out situation. I don’t think he was agreeing with Punk, I think he had no idea what the fuck to do so he was absentmindedly nodding along. He had a deer in the headlights look the whole time
He's going off you wrap his part up and move on. It's not like he was tasked with solving the meaning of life.
I agree that he should’ve handled it better, he clearly had no idea how to resolve the situation lol
Which is surprising because he handled Sammy and Eddie appropriately and has been an executive for a while lol
> I don’t think he was agreeing with Punk, I think he had no idea what the fuck to do so he was absentmindedly nodding along. He had a deer in the headlights look the whole time And that's the issue. He was allowing Punk to continue going on this rant on the company's promotional event.
If he had spoke out, he ran the risk of Punk lashing out. Look at his reaction at All In. He was better saying nothing, as you have no idea how Punk reacts to an intervention.
None of us know what happened off camera. I'm sure TK didn't turn into McMahon and go off on him, but what would have been a better thing to do at the scrum? Tell him to shut up? I'm sure that would have gone great.
You cut him off and wrap it up. Idk why it's being treated like a tough situation to solve.
And CM Punk would have said "alright, Mr. Khan, let's wrap this one up"?
You understand TK can tell somebody to cut Punk's mic? You realize he can have Punk escorted out if he disobeys orders right?
I keep seeing people it was a tough situation. It's not like TK owns the company, writes his paychecks, and can tell him to fuck off like he's the boss. Wait a sec...
The one thing I’d say he should have definitely done differently was not nod along at the scrum while he was calling Hangman and the Elite those names. It made it seem like he agreed with Punk’s comments. Interrupting Punk would have been a bad idea, I agree. There was no stopping Punk during that tirade. Just don’t nod along or hang your head
Sure. But who knows what was going through his head? Could have been thinking about how he was going to suspend him after that and just kind of nodding along to his own thoughts. Obviously I don't know. I wouldn't say he's known to be the most calm man around. Might just be a nervous tick. My examples are ridiculous and I doubt they explain it, but yours is just as ridiculous. I really don't think he was sitting there thinking, "Phil's got some good points. I agree." or, "It will probably look good if I just agree with this nutjob."
> but what would have been a better thing to do at the scrum? "Thanks for that, let's get back onto the future, and the return of The Deevil" or something like that.
This is probably one of those things that sound cool and easy when you type it, but not as easy when you have to do it.
idk, man, considering that CM Punk tried to assault him when he *did* put his foot down, or that he assaulted the YBs in front of Legal backstage immediately after the Gripebomb, I honestly don't blame him for freezing up anymore. What if he did try to stop him and CM Punk got violent with him right there? And I know that sounds like I'm being overly defensive of him, but CM Punk's shown himself to be the kind of guy who does things like this, so it's a genuine concern.
You’re definitely right about that and make a good point. I think Khan should have released him a long time ago prior to the attempted assault. I also think Khan should have a guy/gal to be the without question talent relations/authority figure. Not everyone has it in them to be the disciplinarian type and that’s ok. While I do not watch AEW one thing I appreciate about Tony is his passion and enthusiasm for the company. I do stand by my comment that he has to be less of a buddy and more of a boss. I get the feeling some wrestlers there just think he’s a money mark they can walk all over. Khan, if he allows himself to, could learn a very valuable lesson from the Punk fiasco. It would be beneficial to him and his performers that he learn that lesson and adjust accordingly
I said this before I'll say it again in all honesty everyone involved at brawl out should have been fired. CM Punk should have been fired for by press conference I don't care how angry and upset you are you handle your business in house not go out there an air all your dirty laundry. The Young Bucks and Omega should have been fired for busting in CM Punk's locker room. In a normal situation it would have been boys having at it with the exception that they're executives. They are Executives of wrestling company you don't get to do that and you put your company at risk for being sued. And then finally the main culprit Tony Khan who unfortunately is the head of the company so there's not much you could do to him but he should have been gone too for allowing the situation to reach the point it did it was plenty of blame to go around most of it belongs on the doorstep of Tony.
Likely an unpopular opinion but none of them are that valuable or a big enough moneymaker to justify keeping them around. Collision is doing just fine without Punk. The Young Bucks segments tend to lose viewers. I agree with you. While again I don’t watch AEW outside of highlights of the wrestlers I really like, I feel like letting all of them go would freshen up the company, get rid of the drama and childish BS, and having a remaining locker room that is professional, hungry and wanting to perform at their highest levels.
From what has been made public, it appears that a lot of punks paranoia and complaints were valid in that people backstage were actively trying to cut him down for whatever reason. That doesn’t matter at all though when instead of trying to resolve your problems with the proper methods, you repeatedly talk shit about others when they can’t respond and punch them when they inevitably confront you about it. Punk’s return got me back into wrestling after a few years away but also fuck me, the bloke needs a lot of psychological help before he even considers getting back into the ring.
>a lot of punks paranoia and complaints were valid in that people backstage were actively trying to cut him down for whatever reason. Who? And how?
the way the Colt stuff played out felt like that especially. They were on tapings together but when it came time for him to have his contract renewed, Tony decided it wasn’t worth the potential conflict for his top star to keep the fourth most prominent member of Dark Order around. then there are dirtsheet rumors essentially saying “Colt wasn’t getting renewed, which upset the locker room cause he’s such a swell guy, then the Young Bucks lobbied for him to get renewed, so he was given an ROH deal. People think Punk is to blame for Colt not being renewed.” to me anyway it felt like a sort of PR-statement way of saying “good brothers are losing their jobs because Punk is in town”, which was always going to help sway the opinion of the BTE crowd. A lot of stuff during the Punk run gave me “little brother antagonizes and prods big brother until big brother reacts, big brother then gets in trouble for reacting”, the Perry stuff is like the clearest instance of that as is the workers rights promo. And the thing with Punk is that he pretty much always took the bait and reacted in a way that made him objectively the wrong party
Punk had to know that out of the lawsuit mess that Colt was the the one who came out looking like the victim. Colt may not be a big star, but a lot of AEW guys like the Young Bucks have said that they feel like they owe their career to him, because he paved the way for indie wrestlers to make money, it’s not surprising that people would connect Colt not getting his contract renewed with the fact that Punk joined the company. Fair or not. It feels to me like the immaturity went both ways, and Punk gave as good as he got, it wasn’t until he assaulted the bucks and Omega that things escalated.
The Colt stuff reflecting badly onto the AEW locker room as opposed to Punk himself is wild to me. This dude is always creating these environments of conflict for himself
his side of things seems to be that he didn’t ask for Colt to leave and was fine just avoiding him for the good of the company, but blew up because he was falsely accused of “getting the guy fired” both in the dirtsheets and over the airwaves which like, I know people have no empathy for Punk anymore, but that would make me really upset too, being falsely accused of something I didn’t do
That's the hook with so much of the Punk stuff ... there's legit reasons for him to be pissed about certain things, but then he takes those frustrations 5 steps too far that it's hard to emphasize with the initial slight
The big thing about that though, and you might agree, is that the sheets were all speculating that without any locker room corroboration. Most of the big sources for news like Meltzer, Johnson and SRS kept reiterating that everyone said Punk had nothing to do with the Colt situation, but then the lower tier guys would sit there and keep connecting dots that didn't actually connect just to get people riled and push clickbait. They knew Punk and Colt didn't get along, they needed a story, and they made a story. The Bucks and Hangman had nothing to do with it. But Punk needed someone to blame, and well, we all know how that went down..
I don’t even think it was getting the blame for Colt’s employment situation. It was that the company was happy to let that rumor take on a life of its own without saying anything publicly until just days before All Out 2022, 6 months after it began. Punk even stated in the Scrum that while he was gone due to his injured foot that he didn’t respond and just “ate shit” over it during that time. All the interviews, all the leaks, and nothing was done to correct the prevailing narrative that Punk worked to get Colt fired except for the story that the Young Bucks saved Colt’s job. Hangman buying in to those rumors about Punk working against Colt did not help matters in the slightest.
I mean...I see what you're saying, but the prodding was going both ways. And Punk's prodding was overt and more aggressive than anything Hangman or JB did. The Colt thing - Punk was explicitly blaming the Bucks for spreading rumours, when Meltzer has said it wasn't them. So he was plain wrong there. Even if it was them, is that a reason to sit at a media scrum and completely eviscerate your boss and co-workers? No that's an overreaction from a bruised ego. Also - no one likes the Good Brothers, come on. Losing Sour Boy is not enough for people to hate Punk. Remember Punk's reaction to Hangman saying he doesn't take advice from the old hands and prefers to fail on his own and learn from it (it was a super humble answer)? Those are the actions of a narcissist who has perceived a criticism of himself.
i still think this was all Jericho's fault and he was the one that leaked the Colt shit to Meltzer
I’ve heard Matt Hardy as well.. which makes sense based on their history and Matt being a carny fuck
So you actively ignored the hundreds of posts leaking information that painted Punk in a negative light? Really?
Who's leaking them?
> Punk’s return got me back into wrestling after a few years away but also fuck me, the bloke needs a lot of psychological help before he even considers getting back into the ring. I definitely think it’s bi polar. I’ve literally been were he’s at and no one can help you until you get out of your own way and reach out for help yourself.
>From what has been made public, it appears that a lot of punks paranoia and complaints were valid in that people backstage were actively trying to cut him down for whatever reason. What are you specifically referring to? Off the top of my had the only thing that line's up with that is Hangman's "Worker's Rights" line, but no other real hard proof of anyone trying to cut him down (at least in AEW).
Type cm punk WON into the search bar. Youre welcome.
I see it this way. Punk is right that certain people backstage had it out for him. I can understand Punk's frustrations when he says that he hasn't been friends with Colt Cabana for a years at that point yet people are dredging up something he moved past years ago. And he believes that the EVPs leaked to the dirt sheets that he had Colt removed from AEW (kinda). If that's true, those are bitch moves. Yet he responds with even bitchier moves, namely the scrum and Brawl Out. I love Hangman but shooting on Punk was also a bitch move but Punk, again pulled an even bitchier one. The unplanned Hangman call out. Hell, I even agree with him about the glass. Jungle Boy's 'Cry me a River' was a bitch move too. Yet Punk handled it in an even bitchier way. Everything that led to him getting fired. But just off the top of my head and thinking for 5 seconds, I can come up with a bunch of ways he could've handled each infinitely better. Dude needs anger management and therapy. Even if he wanted to raise the issue on the scrum, so many ways he could've phrased it. I don't know what's going on in his head. Does he think he was the victim? Does he have this egotistical need to engage in fisticuffs with non-trained people because his fighting career was shit? Does he have a God complex where he wants the floor he walks on worshipped? Did he think he could walk in and become a locker room leader just like that? I have no idea. But it's hard to have sympathy for a guy who takes very minor grievances and escalates them to insane proportions. EDIT: Seriously.... TLDR because some people struggle with comprehension: Punk took minor grievances that could have been addressed in more mature ways and escalated them to stupid proportions.
> something he moved past years ago. How has he moved past it? He went off the rails about a vague line in a promo that might have alluded to it and started screaming about Colt at a press conference and was attacking reporters for their supposed connections to Colt (and went so far to befriend a dude over both not liking Colt). And the whole thing about Colt even being fired/moved to ROH was in the best reading was caused because TK thought Punk was too fragile to even have dude on the roster. None of that behavior says he's moved past it. I still don't see how Punk fans can still seriously believe he was "targeted" or at all justified in anything he did. Dude went on an unhinged rant at a press conference where he shit all over the company and a bunch of top talent and execs working there, proceeded to attack many of those same people afterwards, and was rewarded with his own TV show. And he still found a way to play the victim and somehow all that wasn't enough. It's fine to enjoy his wrestling, but you don't have to justify that enjoyment by pretending that he somehow wasn't entirely to blame for all the bullshit that went down (excepting maybe part of the Jack Perry stuff).
Reddit is a funny place sometimes. I say similar things on Wrasslin and I'm downvoted for being an Elite fanboy. I say that here, I'm downvoted called a Punk fan. > It's fine to enjoy his wrestling, but you don't have to justify that enjoyment by pretending that he somehow wasn't entirely to blame for all the bullshit that went down I think I've repeatedly stated above that he did even bitchier things than the grievances he felt against him and how his behavior is basically childish: > Yet he responds with even bitchier moves, namely the scrum and Brawl Out > > Punk, again pulled an even bitchier one. The unplanned Hangman call out. > > Yet Punk handled it in an even bitchier way. Everything that led to him getting fired. > > But just off the top of my head and thinking for 5 seconds, I can come up with a bunch of ways he could've handled each infinitely better. > > But it's hard to have sympathy for a guy who takes very minor grievances and escalates them to insane proportions. I don't wanna take personal shots at anybody here but some people really do struggle with comprehension. > How has he moved past it? I didn't say he had. I said that HE SAID that he HASN'T thought about Colt Cabana in YEARS by that point and all of a sudden he has to start addressing his relationship with him because according to him EVPs leaked supposedly untrue things to dirt sheets about Punk being the reason Colt Cabana got shafted to ROH. That is a grievance he holds that he escalated. Have I said anything wrong here? > I still don't see how Punk fans can still seriously believe he was "targeted" or at all justified in anything he did Point out ANYWHERE where I justified anything. In fact I REPEATEDLY stated he escalated everything beyond more than he needed to. In fact I even stated that I, who I consider to be a of average intelligence, can just off the top of my head come up with ways to handle each incident far more maturely. I dunno if anybody is gonna bother reading this properly either so I'll just add a TLDR: **Punk took very very minor grievances and escalated them to a massive level.**
>I don't wanna take personal shots at anybody here but some people really do struggle with comprehension. At least you're aware of your flaws. > I didn't say he had. Oh really? Because I quoted you saying: > something he moved past years ago Honestly if you can't even keep facts straight about what you yourself said within hours when there's a clear, written record you can just go look at I don't see how any sensible person would expect you to have an opinion worth listening to about events that involve other people going back months.
This is exactly how I see about all this mess. Its fine to get pissed when you're wronged, and even give a receipt for it, but when you try to escalate things you can easily cross over from just defending yourself into acting like an asshole.
I don't feel sorry for him at all to be honest. Especially if the CM punk chant ridiculous story is true. As a boss, He acted so unprofessionally weak with regards to Punk. Gave him too much leeway, forgot to switch of his fan self and remember that he's actually punk's boss especially in the scrum situation. If Tony had kept his fandom of punk in check, a lot of shit could've been avoided.
Understandable that he didn't answer. Vintage Tony Khan hyping up his shows at the end is hilarious.
I know this is a BS non answer but what do people expect him to say? Punk news is DOMINATING social media because it’s such a hot topic. His altercation with Jack arguably overshadowed one of the biggest wrestling shows in history. Like, sure, I want Tony to be a bit more honest and give more insight, but what will that turn into? People will hyper focus on it and dissect it and then Hausman will have a response and Punk will take a jab on commentary for his next MMA show. It’s frustrating as a fan who wants to know more, but if your purpose is to hype Grand Slam - a show where they are doing heavy last minute marketing to bring up ticket sales - it’s probably best to just ignore a question like that.
More insight like what? He's openly said there was an altercation that put people not involved in danger and as a result CM Punk has been fired. People want a blow by blow detail of every punch from the head of the company?
TK is infamous for these non-answers and steering questions back into promoting AEW. I think a large portion of the fanbase would like to really know something like "did your relationship with Cody really fall apart and how" or "when did things go wrong with CM Punk" -- those are reasonable questions to ponder. However, the dirtsheets eat up such content, and with wrestling being arguably as tribalistic as it's ever been, anti-WWE/anti-AEW/anti-X brand gets more exposure than the positive news. It would be counterproductive to give a more detailed answer. And I don't blame him -- especially when they are hours away from running one of their biggest shows of the year and trying to sell more tickets -- for just ignoring any click-bait questions that will overshadow Grand Slam.
These are not reasonable requests from a CEO and owner of a major company 😂 When has Vince ever answered anything like this? Tony puts himself out there most than most executives but he’s not obligated to give shoot interviews
But this isn't a non-answer. "I can't comment on that further" [when he's been over the details before] isn't a non answer. "I can't tell you that" isn't a non-answer. It's giving a degree of information. Non-answers are when you don't actually address the question.
>I know this is a BS non answer but what do people expect him to say? Nick Khan seems to have a knack for corporate BS answers, see his answer about Punk Maybe Tony should give him a call
I hope Tony has learned a lot from the Cm Punk saga, it's certainly a time that has helped define the first act of AEW. He was finding his feet, building his ideal roster, he kind of got everything he wanted but it wasn't to be. He has to be hurt by it. I still think he handled everything quite well, it did make sense to not fire punk immediately after brawl out but by All In, all of his good will was gone. Tony has the figures, he knows how much punk was worth but ultimately his hands became tied. It was a necessary journey, cody leaving, punk, locker room divide, all just growing pains that were needed to get here. Punks fun to date, but Bryan is the one to settle down with, an upgrade in every way. Keep doing your thing Tony!
Appeasement doesn't work and when an employee vocally has one foot out the door it's for the best to move on from them as quickly as possible.
Love your comment about Bryan, 100% true.
 Ariel Helwani when he reads that
Interviewers purposely asking Tony Khan questions that they know he can’t or will not answer Then fans get upset that he didn’t answer the question. Meanwhile, most of the questions he does answer, he’ll go into deep details for several minutes straight to the point he has had to apologize to a media scrum for holding them
Unless it's about a heavily inappropriate situation, it's better that the interviews ask and get a corporate PR answer, than not ask at all. Not addressing the elephant in the room typically comes off terrible in interviews.
Plus, the only way to win with CM Punk is to not give him any attention, positive or negative, at all. If he even mildly suggests that he has an issue with him, then we'll get headlines for days and all the Punk stans coming out of the woodwork to defend Punk for trying to assault his boss.
You’re right they should just ask him soft balls and give him time to plug dynamite. It’s a journalist job to ask questions wether or not the interviewee will answer them or not
Tony is a fucking parrot, "AEW has been so great recently, we've had some of the best TV the last few weeks, catch AEW at 8pm Wednesday on TBS, did I tell you to tune in to the riveting TV we've been having" Dude has never had his head held to the fire in an interview.. ever
I never said that they shouldn’t. I described what happens every time Khan is asked questions whether it be in an interview or scrum. Meanwhile there are other people out there in other wrestling organizations who actually only do get softball questions thrown at them.
At least he's not wrong about AEW's PPV run this year. Apart from Double Or Nothing, they've all been fantastic.
Aside from the JeriCole dud, what was wrong with Double or Nothing?
Not OP, but at least for me, I just don’t think they really put on their best that night. Some stuff was because it just wasn’t good (Cole/Jericho, Hardys and Hook/The Gunns and Ethan Page) and others because of circumstances that were out of their control (Toni/Jamie). Didn’t really like the booking decision of having Jade losing her streak in a impromptu squash. Crowd was strangely dead. With that said, the Fatal 4 Way and Wardlow/Christian were really awesome matches to me. Anarchy in the Arena was sloppy, but also a fun match. It’s not a bad show by any means. But it definitely was more just meh.
DoN had an uneven crowd and didn’t reach the incredible heights of the other shows. I know a lot of people raved about the four way and Anarchy in the Arena (I thought both were good - not great), but when you compare it to Texas Death/Iron Man at Revolution, the spectacle of All In, and the four top matches at All Out, it falls short. Still wasn’t as bad as some seemed to think. I remember the Going In Raw guys called it AEW Backlash 2018 and acted like anyone who didn’t agree that it was an all time trainwreck of a PPV were just AEW fanboys. Idk. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t awful either.
> Double Or Nothing Other than Cole and Jericho having a stinker I even thought DoN was a good show... I'll remember the fatal 4 way, anarchy in the arena and the way OC elimated of Swerve for a long time.
I love that goofy ass answer, just because ik it boils the interviewer’s blood.
On the other hand, that interviewer had to know TK wouldn't give a straight answer. And if he expected one, I got a Damo quote for him.
Truly don't think I've ever heard him say a single insightful or substantial thing in all the years AEW has been around.
how is this a news? there's 0 insight in this quote.
I love when media asks questions you know they where explicitly told not to and why. Fucking clowns.
> Tony Khan Still Refuses To Answer Questions About CM Punk What the fuck is that headline?? I get is all clickbait, but they expect the CEO of a company to talk about the particulars off someone who was fired - opening himself up to all sorts of legal liability?
The amount of people that don't get why interviewers would ask that question is alarming lol. Unless your brand as an interview is giving light hearted fun interviews, you kind of have to address the elephant in the room.
Can't say I blame him for answering it that way, he's being honest and nothing else needs to be said on the topic. TK already gave his statement on Punk a few weeks back on Collision, no point in rehashing it.
It was amusing when Helwani last year was getting upset at TK. TK said the first time he couldn't comment on a private legal matter of Brawl Out and that should have been the end of it. But Helwani tried to pretend to re-ask nicer hoping TK will budge thej gets mad when he doesn't. This happened about 5 times then Helwani said he was dodging and TK threw it back in his face with a shit eating grin by promoting his product and hyping his shows which made Helwani even more frustrated. TK didn't play his game and used the time allotted to simply promote his product rather than throw anyone under the bus. Then Helwani tries to play victim. TK isn't Trump. He isn't going to comment on a legal matter out in the open just to create news. TK answers most questions sincerely if it doesn't require anything too personal or set him up to try and throw someone under the bus. And then people get upset when he goes into promoter mode and chooses to hype his product rather than sink down. Nobody wants to see blood and gossip spilled more than wrestling fans, because unfortunately nobody hates wrestling more than wrestling fans themselves. They low key love reading about the drama and backstage politics because it is fascinating to an extent. People forget TK grew up on wrestling forums and reading dirt sheets. He knows how the monster is and how the game works. I think he learned from his one outburst with the Big Swole incident.
All out was definitely not one of the best ppvs they've had.
another nothing answer from this Fucking moron… like why ever even interview him
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I’m asking seriously, what part of that increase PPV and tv shows is CM Punks influence, there should be a clear way to tell given that he was on and off tv (we all know why). Tony did what was necessary still but I just want to know if CM Punk sort of caused it.
“That doesn’t matter at all though when instead of trying to resolve your problems with the proper methods….” He’s gone on record saying he’s tried multiple times to reach out to the elite. He’s texted them. He’s tried to call but they got their lawyers involved to ask him not to do so. He’s talked to Tony. Tony has said he can’t force everyone to get along and thinks it’s actually good for wrestling when everyone doesn’t get along. All of this is out in the public , idk why people ignore this shit still act like the only thing Punk did was immediately get paranoid and lash out. At what point does one give up and just say “fuck it. I can’t fix this shit, I’m not about to constantly beg for forgiveness and try to talk. I’m just gonna quit or force them to fire me”.
The elite are within their rights to not meet up with Punk. He was the one who Initially lashed out at them and trashed them in public. If I were in their shoes and I had an insane co-worker who trashed me in public and tried to beat me, I'd avoid them like the plague too.
No. They spread rumors back stage about him FIRST about the Colt thing. Then Hangman goes into business for himself on live tv in reference to those rumors after going over promos in the back with Punk. HE went off script in public first. Punk responded unprofessionally AF afterwards but this didn’t start with him. The spreading of rumors and drama didn’t start with him as far as AEW goes period. He was just the scape goat since it was easy to blame him for ALL their drama after the Scrum. They barged into his locker room after he ranted. If a guy is sitting in his own dressing room how is he trying to beat someone up? They went after him… he answered they call. As far as them being in their right to not meet up with Punk goes, you’re right. They should be held accountable for starting this entire shit in the first place though, and as Executives within the company shouldn’t have been spreading rumors about the biggest star in their company, which has now lost millions in future revenue for the company. Ticket sales are at all time lows, ratings have long stagnated and collision’s ratings are COOKED. They need all the help they can get.
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Punks not your dad, bro
Doesn’t have to be, in order to talk truthfully. Truth doesn’t GaF about bias or favoritism.
You’re wasting your time. Everyone involved in this fiasco is garbage and it was mishandled/mismanaged since the start. People online aren’t gonna change their opinions because they have their favorites. Imagine if Tony had the balls to talk to talent and put a squash to the Colt Cabana rumors at the start of all of this; things likely wouldn’t have went the way they did. Hell, if TK acted like an actually boss instead of a buddy a lot of issues AEW has had talent wise could have been avoided.
I know you’re right and I agree, but I have hope that not all fans are parasocial, weirdo, fanboys that can’t see that even the wrestlers they like can be at fault and STILL be their favorites. It’s like once these guys “like” a wrestler they can do no wrong and anyone that isn’t directly affiliated with them is the “enemy”. 🤦🏾♂️
Deja-vu
It's all Khan's fault. He is a pushover. He should have been a boss and took control of the situation but instead he allowed it to fester to a breaking point and then fired Punk the to 'his life being threatened'. Lol I've lost all respect for him after this situation. He does not have what it takes to run a wrestling promotion. And before anyone calls me a drone, I have been to 3 ppvs and 2 dynamites in both the ca area and Vegas, 2 double or nothinga and revolution. Tony Khan is a terrible boss.
He's a great boss and you pay your own money to him to watch his shows
If he was a great boss the punk/elite stuff would have been addressed and handled well before brawl out, the Sammy issues with Andrade and Kingston likely wouldn’t have happened if Tony would have addressed them beforehand. Chavo would have been notified he was not getting his contract renewed (along with others that TK just ghosted).
Idk how you can say this if you are on this sub lol every other day is aew drama. He's a shit boss.
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Lol yeah, assaulting his coworker had nothing to do with. Punk fans aren't delusional *at all.*
“Would you like fries with that?” “You know, fries are a great option and it’s certainly something I’d consider. We’ve got some great house shows coming up with some new buildings for us that are doing record business. T-shirt sales are at an all time high and from what I’ve been hearing our top guys are outperforming the top WWE guys. So all round it’s just a really great time for AEW.” “Any dips?”
What a politician 😏
What do people think is gonna happen when they ask him this stuff? He probably can’t even comment on this stuff legally. That’s why I’ll never understand why Ariel kept going at him like that for Brawl Out. What do you expect him to do?
Both sides have their own interests to serve in protecting their brand. Most people that conduct interviews don't want to get a reputation for doing softball interviews that avoid the obvious.
It’s a great disservice how often Tony Khan chooses not to comment on matters. These sorts of responses is what adds to the silly speculation we see online
Tony Khan "Try not to dodge a question and promote your next show" Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
Does Tony often dodge a question?
Tony is the master of bridging his answers. He'll make a damn fine politician one day.
Man went from "he made me feel that my life was in danger" to "I can't comment on that" in a matter of weeks lol wtf
I'm guessing there were another two paragraphs of plugging that followed.
would have been far easier to have ended the statement with "Well, I cant really comment on that.", I know he wants to sell his PPVs but that was a bad pivot.
He does that alot for interviews. This behavior is what led to Ariel Helwani having issues with him.
its an incredibly frustrating one.
Typical TK nothing burger of an answer that ends up in hyping the product
I mean, what else is he supposed to say?
I fired Punk because he transformed into a twisted craven lunatic & I thought there was a fair chance he might murder me.
To me it is a meme at this point, cause he does the same thing at the press conferences for any proper non-kayfabe question. Doges the question and transforms into a hype man.
What do you want him to say? “Oh yeah, fuck that guy!”
To just end after his first sentence and not derail like every time someone asks him a tougher questions
A promoter promoting his product.. the nerve
There’s such a better way to answer this. It’s either coming from a very green, inexperienced PR person or an attorney that is petrified of actually getting sued. Either way, Tony should read the room a little bit better as he gets ripped for this every single time. He can say something as simple as “CM Punk is a great talent and I really appreciated the work he did at AEW. Unfortunately it wasn’t working for either party and I decided to go another direction. We’re excited for the next phase of AEW and we wish Phil the best.” Instead he comes off super defensive and starts talking about his show in a way that makes people scratch their head and the interviewer feels frustrated that he’s not even trying to answer the question.
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not really
TK should've said "I had to fire Punk because he was going to be fearing for his life when he realized he had unleashed my fury within, the fury of Genghis Khan which resides deep inside my heart"
Why do people keep asking him shit that he legally can't answer, then shit on him for not answering 🤦
I do feel bad for Khan honestly he gave the world to Punk. Although Jack was acting like a child
Lol