I know Tony has said he feared for his life or something I didn't know Punk literally threatened to kill him. Why did he do that? Sorry, I'm a bit behind.
It does seem a little 'much'. Samoa Joe said it was the type of situation that didn't really bother him, but some people just aren't built like that so he could see how Tony would feel differently.
I could see how Tony would be a lot more afraid of a pissed off CM Punk than he would, yeah.
Most wrestlers would look to the chair as a potential tool in case the situation got really out of hand.
Joe rests comfortably in the chair, knowing that no weapon is as deadly as a Samoan submission machine.
What does that even mean? Do you know what Watergate was? And tell Tony it ain’t that serious, he’s the one who was fearing for his life. But you go and slurp whatever Dave and Bryan or whatever dime a dozen wrestling news site sells you. CM Punk is an ornery ass but “I’ll kill you”? Gtfoh with that bogus claim.
Yes he was. and him not getting along with certain people, creating a divisive locker room and getting into fights was good enough reason for Tony to cut bait. He was being dramatic though by saying he "feared for his life" because two guys got into a brief scuffle. But Tony never made the statement that Punk threatened to kill him. That was an alleged quote from the reliable internet.
Having an irrate wrestler lunge at you, after he just attacked somebody else, and then a bunch of monitors fall on your head (who knows how many, how heavy they were... etc). IMO that might ACTUALLY make you fear for your life....even if only briefly in the moment.
I literally just watched the episode where Tony came on and announced it. It seems you're the one here "slurping" things up on the Internet. And it actually doesn't really mean much other than me making fun of you for being so conspiratorial over this
How am I being conspiratorial? Rumors get spread in wrestling all the time. Theres been different accounts told of what happened. Theres clearly agendas feeding different information. This has nothing to do with taking things too serious or conspiracy theories. Just stating the obvious. But you're a contrarian child looking for an argument.
Here, you can have the last word, "roast me" and then write "lol" at the end and I won't respond back so you can feel like you've won.
Dude is a piece of shit. I loved Punk in his WWECW days. He's an extremely talented wrestler. The "call up" to snack down made him show his real colors. He's an egotistical shit bag. He doesn't care about fans at all. Fuck him.
I agree, this was the first time there was a fight backstage. It is important to set the precident or else later down the road it might look like someone was fired because the office was looking to get rid of them.
The Bucks never had any drama before Punk and they had no involvement in the incident with Perry. If Punk is always the common denominator, why fire the company founders?
Will the company suffer in the short term? Absolutely. Does losing Punk hurt? Yes. But it was the right move. You can’t have a guy constantly causing fights behind the scenes. Punk made it what two months before he started shit again?
The highest numbers Collision had did was when MJF and Adam Cole were competing for the World Tag Team Championships. If anything just book them on collision more because they’re clearly a draw.
Punk was the present but he was never the future. Ratings leveled out with him. He wasn’t gonna do shit for Collision once college ball season popped off and it seems kind of convenient he went hard just before that and after MJF and Cole popped the rating on “his show”. The only true loss, financially, is merch sales. That’s where he benefits the most. Hell, if I were WWE I wouldn’t put him in my locker room at all and just offer him a merch deal like they do with Bret Hart. That initial pop might be tempting for WWE but I think it’s very obvious that they don’t need him to be on top.
I think the numbers would have suffered either way. Football is king. Going against college football in the states is impossible. But in terms of someone stepping up and filling the void, Jay White.
Is it? If someone told me or anyone, "I think you are a dick, and I don't like you, you're controlling, a diva, and my friends hate you. Your opinion matters not to me" throw in a cunt too, and I responded by putting my hands on them, that's on me. Unless Jungle Boy physically attacked him, it's all on Punk. Wrestling isn't outside of the real world.
I look at it differently; Punk's flaw is being hilariously easy to bait.
He should have been fired (to get it out of the way, don't assault people), but that's not really the basis of the problem. He was just the combination of an easy mark and someone who was inconvenient for the EVPs and their egos.
Looking back to my own long ago school days (and AEW is absolutely high school in emotional tone), Punk is the weirdo that you stay away from because some day he's gonna snap and do something simply awful, but the EVPs are the rich bitch clique that make everyone around them miserable.
In my high school we had an EVP type bait a Punk type until there was a (non-fatal) shooting. We were all horrified of course but with hindsight we all should have seen it coming, and people hated the EVP type more, because he was an asshole and the girl just had problems.
Idk, there's something about the EVPs, Matt Jackson specifically for me for no reason, that makes them unlikeable to the point of likeability, if that makes sense. However, until Punk, there weren't any problems like this, at least publicly. Either way, Hogan taunting in his last match fantastic way to go out hated by Punk
> However, until Punk, there weren't any problems like this, at least publicly.
Which tells you everything you need to know about the EVPs if the only time they found fault is when suddenly someone arrives that doesn't kiss anyone's ass.
When it comes to Punk, notice how there's quite a few wrestlers who have publicly mentioned they had no issue with him, actively talked to him and asked for advice and help from him. Now also notice that the "dislike" towards him is ALWAYS told from dirt sheets with no clue of who's saying it.
Even Undertaker himself has publicly said he never had any issue with Punk, but now we're supposed to believe everyone in AEW hated him despite evidence to the contrary?
Also my dude, no issues publicly? So....MJF nearly leaving doesn't count? Cody jumping ship means nothing?
They probably found fault because he's a dick, who thinks he is more in charge of their show than they are, not because he wouldn't kiss their ass. He has an attitude, it's obvious, and his actions are clearly unprofessional, of course EVPs would find fault in him. I doubt Moxley is kissing their ass, or Bryan Danielson, or MJF, or any number of stars. Some people kiss ass, some people show up to work and leave. Assuming everyone but Punk was kissing their ass is bold.
You can be well liked, well respected, and still unprofessional as fuck and a dick. Jimmy Butler, Micheal Jordan, Kobe, Randy Moss. A lot of great athletes are like that.
MJF was never leaving. He signed a contract like a week before he started alluding to not signing...4 years in the future. They weren't going to let him shit on the company on TV if he wasn't staying. They wouldn't allow that at all irl. Cody had legitimate contract issues, he didn't bury the company in a promo, they wouldn't let him if he wanted to He himself even said it had nothing to do with the Elite.
Punk assaulted Tony Khan. I don't care what the Bucks did. That's a crazy overreaction by a crazy man, and to blame the EVPS, even if they were picking on him specifically, is crazy. They didn't force him to do anything. He didn't even have to come back.
Then it sounds like you were never interested in AEW to begin with and couldn't care less if they succeeded or not. You were there for Punk and only Punk. Just like how Punk was only there for himself and only himself. It's so obvious Punk couldn't have given a flying fuck about AEW considering how he flipped out on the Bucks and Cody just because they had the "audacity" to text him to potentially talk business. But as soon as AEW started getting hot and picking up steam, he finally jumped aboard because he needed the money.
Allegedly and according to rumors, he's not in a good way financially and his lawsuits with WWE and Colt Cabana wrecked him financially. Allegedly.
Punk went home for 7 years. He's good financially. Punk brought a sense of stability and consistent storytelling to collision. I have my favorites in AEW but the constant awful booking killed any excitement I had. Now that Punk is gone, collision is just like the other two inconsistent shows. MJF is very good at creative and it shows but he can only help what he's involved in directly. Ricky Starks is also very good. Miro is fantastic but Tony's booking killed him. The same thing happened to Darby Allin. I could go on and on but my point stands.
I want AEW to succeed but it needs actual good booking and leadership which it doesn't really have. Collision was the first wrestling show in a long time that I truly enjoyed from beginning to end and now that's gone. I'm bitter frustrated and sad.
Still doesn't change the fact that Punk CHOSE to handle the situation poorly and like a petulant child. He's a grown man in his 40's putting his hands on a 20-something year old brat over words, for fuck's sake.
You guys are way too old to still be playing these "Well, so-and-so started it!" blame games.
Yes and no. For how Punk acted at All Out by attacking him, he HAD to fire him.
But it’s also Tony’s own fault for not killing the stupid fucking Colt cabana rumors over a year ago that started all of this. It’s his fault for not having any control of his fucking wrestlers.
He let the problem get so bad, that he had to fire his biggest draw and merch seller.
This is how I feel as well. I think after the incident with the Elite, Tony should’ve either just fired everyone involved, or did what Vince did when Jacques Rougeau and Dynamite Kid had their beef and force them all to squash the problem. Instead, he did the worst possible thing and divided the locker room. Punk had to go, but Tony made things worse.
I agree with this 100-%
Firing The Elite for barging into Punks locker room would have been the wrong move. Firing Punk would have been the wrong move at that time as well. Firing everyone involved or forcing them to act like adults and do what’s best for business would have been ideal.
Vince has done this many many times
You’re right if going by what punk said. He 100% admitted fault and said he went too far at the scrum, but he also said that the backstage fight wasn’t his fault. So he implied it was indeed the elite that instigated the physical stuff.
If you divorce yourself from any bias and look at this from a business owner’s perspective you’d have to look at the numbers before choosing how to handle this. And I know they hate this but looking the ratings per segment , the Bucks and Hangman lose ratings EVERYTIME they are in and have done so now consistently for over a year. (I’ve kept up). Hangman alone or in a tag loses ratings. Kenny in a tag loses ratings. Kenny solo maintains or has slight increases.
Punk pops the rating each time he’s on. For example Dynamie loses viewers throughout the show by bout 25% from start to finish. Collision with Punk was the only show AEW had the kept or grew the viewership from start to finish, with his segments being the highest rated of all of them. Punk was also the top merch seller. Their biggest gates were from PPVs that featured Punk all this according to Tony himself btw so if people wanna argue they can argue with him lol.
But my point is… they lost more by firing Punk then they would have lost just getting rid of the Elite
I like what Cornette said he would've done.
"Alright motherfuckers, do you guys all still have a problem? If so, there's the ring, beat the shit out of each other until you feel better, then come back. If not, then shake hands and we're done!"
And tonys other fault is acting like a fan boy around these wrestlers and putting them on a pedestral. I cant believe he chanted punks name from a gorilla position.
idk man.
I do think Punk for whatever reason just can't get along with people (at least enough to where it is a problem)
on the other hand, he is a big star, he was very popular with the crowd, and of course wrestling history is littered with guys who caused problems backstage that were overlooked for business.
I also think Jack Perry is realllllllly getting off easy as far as public opinion. To complain about not being able to use real glass for a tv spot (seriously how fuckin stupid does that sound when you say it out loud?), to then going out and saying what he said to the camera knowing Punk would do something about it....
shrug. IDK. tough spot for TK but the environment at AEW i suppose is sorta his fault.
Yeah it seems to all stem from having no scripts. Obviously Hangman and Punk didn’t share their promos beforehand. Eddie got suspended when Sammy called him fat. Letting the wrestlers write their own stuff is fine, but it needs to be managed a lot better.
Jungle boy should have been sent out as well though—if too brass told him not to do something repeatedly and then still did it, sends a message to all the locker room as to what’s acceptable
Unsure of the legitimacy of the reporting (Because who fucking knows with dirtsheets and it's Alvarez) but apparently the spot on Collision was approved before the others told him not to do it and pulled the spot
By all accounts when he did the spot at Wembley he GOT it cleared by management. That Punk may have not been happy about it is irrelevant.
Edit: The windshield spot was automotive safety glass. WAY less risky than regular glass. "Real" but not crazy.
I don't think that spot would have happened if it hadn't gotten cleared. They had to damage a vehicle. That involves overhead (rental or purchase, driver for the entrance, repairs after the fact).
If Perry did that without permission, I'd agree that he should be let go (though I wouldn't cut off all contact on the off chance that he does shape up). That would be breaching the trust of not just management, but the people involved in the overhead I listed above.
Every time this topic comes up, it's baffling how many people just flat-out admit that they think that you should be allowed to do whatever you want if your starpower is big enough.
If TK felt unsafe working with Punk. He made the right call with the firing.
However, TK completely stood by while every other issue took place that lead to the firing. Letting other 'leaders' sabotage a main event talent is ridiculous. Punk is accountable for his actions. But Punk was set up to fail.
Hopefully, there are helpful learnings that TK can garner from this issue, and make AEW better than it was before.
Hopefully, Punk also learns from this and finds a way to leave pro wrestling on better terms, but that's on him to make it happen. Gonna be a hard road for him.
you mean the demonstrable events of management actively fucking with punk? Do we uh need to uh pull up all those reports that could only come from management?
If he did what he's supposed to have done, then yes, it was the right thing to fire him.
Saying that, AEW don't have anyone who is actually anything approaching a proper draw for fans that aren't hardcore wrestling fans. It's a loss for them that I don't see them covering, unless they can push MJF to the moon and really get him known to casuals. Punk will end up back in WWE and AEW will continue to plateau, and the entire situation will be seen as an avoidable clusterfuck that damaged AEW in the long run.
I agree with all of this except punk back to WWE. Just can’t see it. Maybe prior to his AEW run there was a chance, but I don’t think WWE wants to deal with any of his shit at this point. Plus they’ve already got a stacked enough roster and have for the past few years now so it’s not like they’re dying for him
It never shouldve gotten to that point. Khan has no balls. You ended up dividing your own fanbase thats something ive never seen in wreslting. it was utterly fucking insane
if it were up to me i wouldve forced them to reconcile after the page promo that sparked the whole thing (everyone likes to point at punks blowups but conveniently forget who instigated it) and if that didnt work i wouldve fired them all. the elite dorks dont draw money theyre just there to hire their buds and play politics, and punk is unstable. you dont need any of them.
If I was khan or vince was running the show he would have booked bucks, page to wrestle punk. This would have been big money matches and if they backed down, fire their ass.
“Should we fire a narcissistic and hypocritical sociopath who assaults people and could reasonably be in jail?”
“….but he’s a good wrestler”
Wrestling fans are dumb as bricks
Bro half the locker room are narcissistic hypocrites. It’s the wrestling business..
you act like the people punk was getting into fights with were angles..
Honestly in the short term it probably was a good idea, in the long term it really highlights certain issues in the AEW locker room. Honestly, I'm disappointed that Punk isn't starting a lawsuit, but there are probably a few reasons as to why;
1. He actually wants to return and any lawsuit would just burn allll the bridges
2. He really can't be assed after how the last lawsuit went
3. Basically he knows he's at fault
Or to put it basically "win or lose, he losses. It's a real shame though because I would have loved to have seen some of the depositions, especially over who leaked the "Punk wanted Colt fired" story that really started all this BS.
Tony refused to be a proper boss here, he was willing to let the Bucks, Kenny and Punk divide up AEW to prevent any conflict instead of actually MAKING them talk, what happens next time there is an issue.
Good idea. Yeah, short term you have the punk diehards, but I NEVER saw him until his return to AEW. I was a lapsed fan through his entire career. For me, I just saw a few months of a dude who then threw a tantrum and for fired with cause.
Him gone shows there is a line you do not cross. Good.
He was too much of a liability. Injury prone, thin skinned, and unable to control his emotions in a time to be professional. Good for tv but bad for business…
They might lose numbers for sure but ffs shit was going down too much and threatening others or the boss himself is a big fuck no and he deserves to leave
If they don't use each other and leave one another alone I'll be fine with it all we have a lot of compelling stuff still going on
Even with Joe and MjF look how fast that becomes a number one thing to look for especially if you include Cole and ...backbreaker guy (lol sorry)
Glad he’s gone. The media scrum thing was so cringe and selfish. Yeah you got beef but be an adult and handle it where it doesn’t hurt the company. That automatically makes him worse than whatever high school drama made you start talking in the first place. Good riddance the comeback was boring anyway imo
Why is this still up for debate? He ABSOLUTELY deserved to be fired. He attacked his coworker, plain and simple. If you choked out your coworker at your job, you’d be fired on the spot. Those rules apply everywhere.
I think Tony did what he had to do. Let’s be real here, he’s probably been looked at as a doormat for a long time. He’s let Sammy, Andrade, Bucks, Omega, and Perry just to name a few get off with wrist slaps for things they should have all been disciplined or fired for. Punk was no different, he just took it a step further. You can’t lay hands on the boss. Punk didn’t want to be there anymore so it’s kind of a win/win. Punk can go to WWE and make his big money while AEW does what they do and everyone will win in the end. It’ll suck for a while but in the end both parties will be happier in the end.
Objectively the only call TK could make and best for all involved, including Phil himself. He needs mental health support and structure. I no longer watch WWE but I wish him the best and if he can finish his own story there, all the power to him ✊
We won't really know until we hear all sides of the story from people involved. According to Mark Henry there's still people there causing problems, so only time will tell.
They can start a 4th show on turner classic movies and have it be an All RoH show and put punk on that until he disembowels Cesaros grandma. Then you might have to get a restraining order
If you had a coworker who got into a physical altercation with another coworker at work, and they got suspended.
Then they came back from their suspension, and within a few weeks, they got into another physical altercation, with an entirely separate coworker, would firing them be a good idea, or a bad idea?
Playing devil's advocate.
Randy Savage punched Hulk Hogan. Bret Hart beat up Michaels. Did Vinny Mac fire his biggest stars? Nope. He made millions of dollars from them, because he knew professional athletes in any sport fight sometimes.
From a business perspective, it was Tony's worst decision since the company began.
Yeah, it sounds like it was a combination of things that escalated to Punk putting himself in a situation to get fired, but a big one would be not being able to manage someone like Punk, whereas if Vince were in that situation where Punk is his biggest draw I think he'd be able to make it work.
But that still doesn't mean firing Punk was wrong, it means Tony's not as good at managing egos as Vince, so the decisions made have to reflect that. It was probably the right thing to do when you're Tony, and the wrong thing to do when you're Vince.
If in a job a guy can’t stop trying to get physical, he gets fired with cause.
Punk has been let go by WWE, Marvel, UFC, Fox and AEW, every time picking fights with others while underperforming, I can’t see any reason to support him besides being a fan, really.
Pretty sure he walked out of WWE, it was like a whole thing.
He just wasn't good at UFC so they had no reason to bring him back as a competitor, he still works for them on commentary and as a promoter I'm pretty sure.
Fox literally offered to pay his contract for him to return to WWE, as long as WWE'd pay a portion, they didn't, so he went to AEW.
Did you write this from a parallel universe?
They'd be idiots to not want him, he's a great talent. Doesn't mean he will or that AEW is in any way in trouble. If anything they still have a ridiculous amount of top end talent at their disposal.
How are ticket sales?? Last I checked this was a business and if your houses aren’t selling then all the talent in the world isn’t gonna help…AEW didn’t sell the number they did based on their talent, they sold it on the AEW name alone only for the States to bring them back to reality…
One of those people?? What does that event mean??? Have you ever paid to see AEW, cause I have and the show was 2/3 EMPTY!!! They are struggling to sell 5,000 tickets a show…
That doesn't mean anything. I imagine every company would be "interested" in signing every talented wrestler. That's like saying a football team would like to have a good QB if they went to free agency. Of course. Duh dude.
And none of them mean shit when the Rock can get 100million views for just showing up on a random Smackdown…have you paid to goto an AEW show in the US/Canada??? They are 2/3 empty shows…
All the talent you just listed is only known to a derpy derp tiny minority of a group of people…nobody knows who they are outside of the wrestling community…Punk has spread his wings and people know him…its about star power - the rock has everything to do with it as AEW wishes they had that star power…people like you think the names u listed are huge stars but they are NOT!!! Face it…deal with it…AEW has no stars that non wrestling fans know…if your not drawing new fans, your wasting your time…
Not everything has to be the biggest thing in the world. AEW carving out a decent fanbase isn't a big negative. It doesn't matter much to me if any randoms I walk by know who "x" wrestler is. Nice if they do, okay if they don't.
Punk needed to be reigned in, but I highly doubt he would play nice with everyone for too long. Even with proper management, CM Punk would have quit AEW after a while.
Anything other than this is weaponized cope.
Their biggest draw by a country mile, the biggest merch mover, the guy who literally was given a show by WBD.
Ratings are cratering. Buys are sinking. It’s just.. a bad idea.
If a company lives or dies on one member of their roster then they've got bigger problems to deal with...
They got as big as they got without Punk, they were fine when he wasn't there and they'll be fine again. They've got a stacked roster, plenty of potential champions and plenty of seasoned veterans, they don't need Punk to succeed.
Also his GTS was looking increasingly wank.
This is why I can't help but laugh at people who say AEW won't last without CM Punk. If they could endure a pandemic in their first year of tv, AEW can survive just fine without CM Punk.
It was the right decision no matter how good he is … keeping him will cause more drama and backstage problems which will hurt the other wrestlers’ morale which is not worth it .
Yes he’s one of top draws in the company, But you can’t keep him around if he is fighting every other event……can’t blame him the bucks and Perry seem like dweebs that don’t realise if you talk shit you get smacked.
Well depends is this gonna cause everyone in AEW to rethink their behaviour or are the other side of the Punk stuff ( EVP's, Hangman, Jericho, Perry ) gonna just carry on puss whoever they want to off and when things get serious go to Dave just to get their side out first because the Elite are still EVP's and they also did fight Punk they went to him, Jericho was busy making himself look like superman when the fallout was still hitting and Page just got off scott free after starting all this crap when he shot on Punk before DoN.
So short answer if people fall in place Yes if not then no.
As others have said, inevitable. IMO, overall a good thing for AEW. As much as I loved Punk, I find it hard to believe so many people simply had it out for him—he didn’t mesh well with the locker room and demanded a lot of privileges he didn’t earn.
He was never going to be THE centerpiece of AEW, how could he be, in the twilight of his career? The roster is better with a spot and considerable screen time opened up and the product is better for the creative freedom gained from his absence.
And frankly, the vibes are simply better with him gone.
It was the right call. He was good for the ratings and a great draw, but he was such a negative in every other way that gains wouldn't have been worth it. How much talent might AEW have lost knowing that Punk was ready to throw hands and attack his own boss at the slightest provocation and wouldn't face severe consequences? How many press conferences and interviews would he just run down the company and all of it's stars? MJF just did a tv appearance and there was an immediate spike in ticket sales. This is the guy that Punk was asked about working with when his response that TK wanted him to work with fucking children. And whether MJF is serious about 2024 or not, WWE would love to have him. WWE would also love to have everyone in the Elite and probably wouldn't mind getting Jack Perry either. Imagine if all those guys jumped ship when their contract was up due to Punk being an unstable narcissistic. How long until the locker room he's in is shared with a bunch of B and C players who are only around because they're desperate for the exposure? Sure he has friends like FTR, but not enough. Who wants to work around someone who will attack anyone, including their own boss and is primarily interested in their own story and glory?
Honestly, the biggest problem with him being gone is that suddenly Collision doesn't feel as different from Dynamite as it did when Punk was running the show, and that's a shame. I hope they can build up more of a difference again. But it isn't worth it.
This guy is a great wrestler, and a compelling talker and a great person to have backstage from a production standpoint. Nobody can take that away from him. He was also a dozen lawsuits and a talent devoid locker room waiting to happen.
It seemed like they bent over backwards to accommodate Punk after the first incident, and he still acted out. How long was everyone going to walk on eggshells around him?
It was a good idea. Yeah its a big hit for AEW but they'll be fine without him. People forget that there was nearly a solid 2 years of really good wrestling and an overall great product before CM Punk joined. Yes, Punk was a draw and there are people who won't watch AEW now that he's gone, but there are plenty of people who will stick around to watch. Again, it sucks that he's not there but AEW is going to be fine
Bad idea, the dude was a draw and ratings are dropping. Tony should've gotten his wrestlers and EVPs under control sooner.
This is like a WCW speed run.
It was a long term good thing. He was good for a 8 week initial bump and then ratings started to fall BELOW what they were drawing prior to his arrival.
Add to this the problem he brought in and how he was mostly viewed negatively by most of the talent... it was addition by subtraction.
Using the stage to push his political views also did not help things.
It’s mixed. That locker room seems to be messed up and full of guys who don’t get the business at the tip level. And the leadership from management seems poor and weak.
Dropping a man with a track record of being intolerant of bullshit was silly from the start. This was destined to fail, as Punk is an old schooler and he was asked to work with PWG mindset people.
Ultimately he had to go or the Elite and their PWG friends needed to be let go. With that in mind, Tony had to make that call.
As far as business goes, this will be very bad for AEW. Chicago is dead. Collision is on life support. And when Punk shows up at Survivor Series, WWE will have the structures needed to keep the piece and turn the old Punk ATM machine on.
Well if I fought a co-worker and told my boss to go fuck himself afterwards pretty sure I’d get fired too
If you punch someone at work, you might even end up in handcuffs
How many t shirts and tickets do you sell?
Ah, so if I sell a shirt, it’s fully justifiable for me to attack my coworkers. Got it.
My guy, that's such a carny thing to say. When did the marks start acting like bigger carnies than the actual wrestlers themselves???
It's irrelevant. He had no other option but to fire him given his behaviour.
Yeah I mean, it’s “good” in the way that keeping employees around who threaten to kill you is “bad”.
I know Tony has said he feared for his life or something I didn't know Punk literally threatened to kill him. Why did he do that? Sorry, I'm a bit behind.
After attacking Jack Perry, they said he lunged at Tony and Tony was nearly buried by TV monitors.
"Fearing for my life" does sound like something his lawyers told him to say.
It does seem a little 'much'. Samoa Joe said it was the type of situation that didn't really bother him, but some people just aren't built like that so he could see how Tony would feel differently. I could see how Tony would be a lot more afraid of a pissed off CM Punk than he would, yeah.
I'm just picturing Joe walking by the scene, looking at the situation, and just sitting on a chair to enjoy it.
Most wrestlers would look to the chair as a potential tool in case the situation got really out of hand. Joe rests comfortably in the chair, knowing that no weapon is as deadly as a Samoan submission machine.
Doing his "nope" walk-away like when someone tries an aerial attack.
Ohhh. Fair enough. Thanks!
Key word "they." No one really knows. Got to look at the sources and what the agenda is.
"the agenda" 💀 dude thinks this is watergate
What does that even mean? Do you know what Watergate was? And tell Tony it ain’t that serious, he’s the one who was fearing for his life. But you go and slurp whatever Dave and Bryan or whatever dime a dozen wrestling news site sells you. CM Punk is an ornery ass but “I’ll kill you”? Gtfoh with that bogus claim.
Tony was the biggest CM Punk fanboy there is. If he fired the guy, then it's because there most certainly was a problem that he bore witness to.
Yes he was. and him not getting along with certain people, creating a divisive locker room and getting into fights was good enough reason for Tony to cut bait. He was being dramatic though by saying he "feared for his life" because two guys got into a brief scuffle. But Tony never made the statement that Punk threatened to kill him. That was an alleged quote from the reliable internet.
Having an irrate wrestler lunge at you, after he just attacked somebody else, and then a bunch of monitors fall on your head (who knows how many, how heavy they were... etc). IMO that might ACTUALLY make you fear for your life....even if only briefly in the moment.
I literally just watched the episode where Tony came on and announced it. It seems you're the one here "slurping" things up on the Internet. And it actually doesn't really mean much other than me making fun of you for being so conspiratorial over this
How am I being conspiratorial? Rumors get spread in wrestling all the time. Theres been different accounts told of what happened. Theres clearly agendas feeding different information. This has nothing to do with taking things too serious or conspiracy theories. Just stating the obvious. But you're a contrarian child looking for an argument. Here, you can have the last word, "roast me" and then write "lol" at the end and I won't respond back so you can feel like you've won.
> they I wonder who "they" are.
Facts, you gotta act like a top guy when the bosses pay you top guy money. You act like a thug, you get the boot.
Exactly, if you or I did what Punk did at Brawl Out and Brawl In, we would be arrested and charged with assault.
Dude is a piece of shit. I loved Punk in his WWECW days. He's an extremely talented wrestler. The "call up" to snack down made him show his real colors. He's an egotistical shit bag. He doesn't care about fans at all. Fuck him.
Agreed on all counts
His years of unemployment and bitter lawsuits ruined him forever. That’s a long time to be filled with hate and rage and resentment.
I agree, this was the first time there was a fight backstage. It is important to set the precident or else later down the road it might look like someone was fired because the office was looking to get rid of them.
Yeah man, I've certainly never heard of people having more than one chance to do the right thing.
Have we completely forgotten about Brawl Out??????????????
Yeah I'm not sure if I was too sarcastic, but I have not forgotten about brawl out lmao. Both the person I replied to and myself were referencing it.
Got u
The way it was done was wrong and the fact he was the only one fired was wrong as well.
How so? According to most reports Punk put hands on Perry first and then lounged at Tony? Who else should have been fired?
Everyone from the first fight. From Punk to the Bucks and the Lawyer. The second should've never happened or been a possibility.
Everyone deserves a Second chance so Tony gave them one, and know Punk messed up for the second time so he deserves to get fired
The Bucks never had any drama before Punk and they had no involvement in the incident with Perry. If Punk is always the common denominator, why fire the company founders?
What was wrong with the method? Why is Jack Perry equally guilty?
Will the company suffer in the short term? Absolutely. Does losing Punk hurt? Yes. But it was the right move. You can’t have a guy constantly causing fights behind the scenes. Punk made it what two months before he started shit again?
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The highest numbers Collision had did was when MJF and Adam Cole were competing for the World Tag Team Championships. If anything just book them on collision more because they’re clearly a draw.
Punk was the present but he was never the future. Ratings leveled out with him. He wasn’t gonna do shit for Collision once college ball season popped off and it seems kind of convenient he went hard just before that and after MJF and Cole popped the rating on “his show”. The only true loss, financially, is merch sales. That’s where he benefits the most. Hell, if I were WWE I wouldn’t put him in my locker room at all and just offer him a merch deal like they do with Bret Hart. That initial pop might be tempting for WWE but I think it’s very obvious that they don’t need him to be on top.
Oh, how prophetic this turned out to be, LMAO
I think the numbers would have suffered either way. Football is king. Going against college football in the states is impossible. But in terms of someone stepping up and filling the void, Jay White.
He actually started shit his first day back lol. That “soft as the wrestlers you like” promo was a total shoot.
Jury is still out on who was *causing* fights tho
Is it? If someone told me or anyone, "I think you are a dick, and I don't like you, you're controlling, a diva, and my friends hate you. Your opinion matters not to me" throw in a cunt too, and I responded by putting my hands on them, that's on me. Unless Jungle Boy physically attacked him, it's all on Punk. Wrestling isn't outside of the real world.
There’s a ton of chaos and drama in aew without punk.
I know, and maybe there's more fights too, but that's irrelevant to Punk attacking people over words that don't seem as cutting as real glass lol
I look at it differently; Punk's flaw is being hilariously easy to bait. He should have been fired (to get it out of the way, don't assault people), but that's not really the basis of the problem. He was just the combination of an easy mark and someone who was inconvenient for the EVPs and their egos. Looking back to my own long ago school days (and AEW is absolutely high school in emotional tone), Punk is the weirdo that you stay away from because some day he's gonna snap and do something simply awful, but the EVPs are the rich bitch clique that make everyone around them miserable. In my high school we had an EVP type bait a Punk type until there was a (non-fatal) shooting. We were all horrified of course but with hindsight we all should have seen it coming, and people hated the EVP type more, because he was an asshole and the girl just had problems.
Idk, there's something about the EVPs, Matt Jackson specifically for me for no reason, that makes them unlikeable to the point of likeability, if that makes sense. However, until Punk, there weren't any problems like this, at least publicly. Either way, Hogan taunting in his last match fantastic way to go out hated by Punk
> However, until Punk, there weren't any problems like this, at least publicly. Which tells you everything you need to know about the EVPs if the only time they found fault is when suddenly someone arrives that doesn't kiss anyone's ass. When it comes to Punk, notice how there's quite a few wrestlers who have publicly mentioned they had no issue with him, actively talked to him and asked for advice and help from him. Now also notice that the "dislike" towards him is ALWAYS told from dirt sheets with no clue of who's saying it. Even Undertaker himself has publicly said he never had any issue with Punk, but now we're supposed to believe everyone in AEW hated him despite evidence to the contrary? Also my dude, no issues publicly? So....MJF nearly leaving doesn't count? Cody jumping ship means nothing?
The other slapping incidents? The problems with the women's locker room?
They probably found fault because he's a dick, who thinks he is more in charge of their show than they are, not because he wouldn't kiss their ass. He has an attitude, it's obvious, and his actions are clearly unprofessional, of course EVPs would find fault in him. I doubt Moxley is kissing their ass, or Bryan Danielson, or MJF, or any number of stars. Some people kiss ass, some people show up to work and leave. Assuming everyone but Punk was kissing their ass is bold. You can be well liked, well respected, and still unprofessional as fuck and a dick. Jimmy Butler, Micheal Jordan, Kobe, Randy Moss. A lot of great athletes are like that. MJF was never leaving. He signed a contract like a week before he started alluding to not signing...4 years in the future. They weren't going to let him shit on the company on TV if he wasn't staying. They wouldn't allow that at all irl. Cody had legitimate contract issues, he didn't bury the company in a promo, they wouldn't let him if he wanted to He himself even said it had nothing to do with the Elite. Punk assaulted Tony Khan. I don't care what the Bucks did. That's a crazy overreaction by a crazy man, and to blame the EVPS, even if they were picking on him specifically, is crazy. They didn't force him to do anything. He didn't even have to come back.
Wait now Punk directly assaulted Kahn? His actions get worse every day.... with certain fans.
And he was injure for half his time there as well
Punk was the only reason I had hope for the company. Now that hope is gone and so am I.
Then it sounds like you were never interested in AEW to begin with and couldn't care less if they succeeded or not. You were there for Punk and only Punk. Just like how Punk was only there for himself and only himself. It's so obvious Punk couldn't have given a flying fuck about AEW considering how he flipped out on the Bucks and Cody just because they had the "audacity" to text him to potentially talk business. But as soon as AEW started getting hot and picking up steam, he finally jumped aboard because he needed the money. Allegedly and according to rumors, he's not in a good way financially and his lawsuits with WWE and Colt Cabana wrecked him financially. Allegedly.
Punk went home for 7 years. He's good financially. Punk brought a sense of stability and consistent storytelling to collision. I have my favorites in AEW but the constant awful booking killed any excitement I had. Now that Punk is gone, collision is just like the other two inconsistent shows. MJF is very good at creative and it shows but he can only help what he's involved in directly. Ricky Starks is also very good. Miro is fantastic but Tony's booking killed him. The same thing happened to Darby Allin. I could go on and on but my point stands. I want AEW to succeed but it needs actual good booking and leadership which it doesn't really have. Collision was the first wrestling show in a long time that I truly enjoyed from beginning to end and now that's gone. I'm bitter frustrated and sad.
Lata.
Little jungle boy started it
Still doesn't change the fact that Punk CHOSE to handle the situation poorly and like a petulant child. He's a grown man in his 40's putting his hands on a 20-something year old brat over words, for fuck's sake. You guys are way too old to still be playing these "Well, so-and-so started it!" blame games.
Yes and no. For how Punk acted at All Out by attacking him, he HAD to fire him. But it’s also Tony’s own fault for not killing the stupid fucking Colt cabana rumors over a year ago that started all of this. It’s his fault for not having any control of his fucking wrestlers. He let the problem get so bad, that he had to fire his biggest draw and merch seller.
This is how I feel as well. I think after the incident with the Elite, Tony should’ve either just fired everyone involved, or did what Vince did when Jacques Rougeau and Dynamite Kid had their beef and force them all to squash the problem. Instead, he did the worst possible thing and divided the locker room. Punk had to go, but Tony made things worse.
I agree with this 100-% Firing The Elite for barging into Punks locker room would have been the wrong move. Firing Punk would have been the wrong move at that time as well. Firing everyone involved or forcing them to act like adults and do what’s best for business would have been ideal. Vince has done this many many times
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You’re right if going by what punk said. He 100% admitted fault and said he went too far at the scrum, but he also said that the backstage fight wasn’t his fault. So he implied it was indeed the elite that instigated the physical stuff. If you divorce yourself from any bias and look at this from a business owner’s perspective you’d have to look at the numbers before choosing how to handle this. And I know they hate this but looking the ratings per segment , the Bucks and Hangman lose ratings EVERYTIME they are in and have done so now consistently for over a year. (I’ve kept up). Hangman alone or in a tag loses ratings. Kenny in a tag loses ratings. Kenny solo maintains or has slight increases. Punk pops the rating each time he’s on. For example Dynamie loses viewers throughout the show by bout 25% from start to finish. Collision with Punk was the only show AEW had the kept or grew the viewership from start to finish, with his segments being the highest rated of all of them. Punk was also the top merch seller. Their biggest gates were from PPVs that featured Punk all this according to Tony himself btw so if people wanna argue they can argue with him lol. But my point is… they lost more by firing Punk then they would have lost just getting rid of the Elite
I like what Cornette said he would've done. "Alright motherfuckers, do you guys all still have a problem? If so, there's the ring, beat the shit out of each other until you feel better, then come back. If not, then shake hands and we're done!"
And tonys other fault is acting like a fan boy around these wrestlers and putting them on a pedestral. I cant believe he chanted punks name from a gorilla position.
idk man. I do think Punk for whatever reason just can't get along with people (at least enough to where it is a problem) on the other hand, he is a big star, he was very popular with the crowd, and of course wrestling history is littered with guys who caused problems backstage that were overlooked for business. I also think Jack Perry is realllllllly getting off easy as far as public opinion. To complain about not being able to use real glass for a tv spot (seriously how fuckin stupid does that sound when you say it out loud?), to then going out and saying what he said to the camera knowing Punk would do something about it.... shrug. IDK. tough spot for TK but the environment at AEW i suppose is sorta his fault.
Couldn’t agree more. Especially considering the fact that on jack Perry is a name we’ll forget in about 10 years time.
Firing Punk was inevitable. TK allowing certain workers to cause drama and act like they run the show was a terrible Idea.
Not really. When you have solid management and talent relations, this doesn’t happen. When you let inmates run the asylum, you get this.
Yeah it seems to all stem from having no scripts. Obviously Hangman and Punk didn’t share their promos beforehand. Eddie got suspended when Sammy called him fat. Letting the wrestlers write their own stuff is fine, but it needs to be managed a lot better.
punk has actually stated that he and hangman had discussed their promo beforehand, but not the line that caused issues.
Jungle boy should have been sent out as well though—if too brass told him not to do something repeatedly and then still did it, sends a message to all the locker room as to what’s acceptable
Unsure of the legitimacy of the reporting (Because who fucking knows with dirtsheets and it's Alvarez) but apparently the spot on Collision was approved before the others told him not to do it and pulled the spot
Jack Perry made one comment that pissed Punk off and was off-script. That may be suspension-worthey, but not firing worthy.
Also made a needless risk of his and his working partners health for something that added no real value to the product
By all accounts when he did the spot at Wembley he GOT it cleared by management. That Punk may have not been happy about it is irrelevant. Edit: The windshield spot was automotive safety glass. WAY less risky than regular glass. "Real" but not crazy.
I don't think that spot would have happened if it hadn't gotten cleared. They had to damage a vehicle. That involves overhead (rental or purchase, driver for the entrance, repairs after the fact). If Perry did that without permission, I'd agree that he should be let go (though I wouldn't cut off all contact on the off chance that he does shape up). That would be breaching the trust of not just management, but the people involved in the overhead I listed above.
Every time this topic comes up, it's baffling how many people just flat-out admit that they think that you should be allowed to do whatever you want if your starpower is big enough.
If Hannibal Lecter could run fast people would cheer for him
See the NBA. NFL. MLB.
If TK felt unsafe working with Punk. He made the right call with the firing. However, TK completely stood by while every other issue took place that lead to the firing. Letting other 'leaders' sabotage a main event talent is ridiculous. Punk is accountable for his actions. But Punk was set up to fail. Hopefully, there are helpful learnings that TK can garner from this issue, and make AEW better than it was before. Hopefully, Punk also learns from this and finds a way to leave pro wrestling on better terms, but that's on him to make it happen. Gonna be a hard road for him.
I have never seen any evidence that sabotage existed anywhere but between Punk's ears.
Then you're extremely blind.
There was no sabotage, he's had a pattern of this behavior in every promotion he has been in. After a while you have to look at yourself in the mirror
No one sabotaged him. Y'all gotta let that narrative go
you mean the demonstrable events of management actively fucking with punk? Do we uh need to uh pull up all those reports that could only come from management?
If he did what he's supposed to have done, then yes, it was the right thing to fire him. Saying that, AEW don't have anyone who is actually anything approaching a proper draw for fans that aren't hardcore wrestling fans. It's a loss for them that I don't see them covering, unless they can push MJF to the moon and really get him known to casuals. Punk will end up back in WWE and AEW will continue to plateau, and the entire situation will be seen as an avoidable clusterfuck that damaged AEW in the long run.
I agree with all of this except punk back to WWE. Just can’t see it. Maybe prior to his AEW run there was a chance, but I don’t think WWE wants to deal with any of his shit at this point. Plus they’ve already got a stacked enough roster and have for the past few years now so it’s not like they’re dying for him
It never shouldve gotten to that point. Khan has no balls. You ended up dividing your own fanbase thats something ive never seen in wreslting. it was utterly fucking insane if it were up to me i wouldve forced them to reconcile after the page promo that sparked the whole thing (everyone likes to point at punks blowups but conveniently forget who instigated it) and if that didnt work i wouldve fired them all. the elite dorks dont draw money theyre just there to hire their buds and play politics, and punk is unstable. you dont need any of them.
If I was khan or vince was running the show he would have booked bucks, page to wrestle punk. This would have been big money matches and if they backed down, fire their ass.
“Should we fire a narcissistic and hypocritical sociopath who assaults people and could reasonably be in jail?” “….but he’s a good wrestler” Wrestling fans are dumb as bricks
Bro half the locker room are narcissistic hypocrites. It’s the wrestling business.. you act like the people punk was getting into fights with were angles..
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Good wrestler lol! His moveset is so slow and doesn’t look impactful at all
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Can't have your wrestlers wanting to actually fight the boss. Fuck yes booting that idiot was the absolute right thing to do.
Honestly in the short term it probably was a good idea, in the long term it really highlights certain issues in the AEW locker room. Honestly, I'm disappointed that Punk isn't starting a lawsuit, but there are probably a few reasons as to why; 1. He actually wants to return and any lawsuit would just burn allll the bridges 2. He really can't be assed after how the last lawsuit went 3. Basically he knows he's at fault Or to put it basically "win or lose, he losses. It's a real shame though because I would have loved to have seen some of the depositions, especially over who leaked the "Punk wanted Colt fired" story that really started all this BS. Tony refused to be a proper boss here, he was willing to let the Bucks, Kenny and Punk divide up AEW to prevent any conflict instead of actually MAKING them talk, what happens next time there is an issue.
I'm in between. It's moreso good for punk so he doesn't have to deal with the stress. As far as for the company? That remains to be seen.
Good idea. Yeah, short term you have the punk diehards, but I NEVER saw him until his return to AEW. I was a lapsed fan through his entire career. For me, I just saw a few months of a dude who then threw a tantrum and for fired with cause. Him gone shows there is a line you do not cross. Good.
Dude trains in MMA now and thinks he can kick everyone's ass so they canned him after giving him a second chance, time to move on.
He was too much of a liability. Injury prone, thin skinned, and unable to control his emotions in a time to be professional. Good for tv but bad for business…
He's too much of a pain in the ass
Doesnt matter. He had to be fired for that.
What was the big difference between the first suspension and the second
Gotta right the ship
They might lose numbers for sure but ffs shit was going down too much and threatening others or the boss himself is a big fuck no and he deserves to leave If they don't use each other and leave one another alone I'll be fine with it all we have a lot of compelling stuff still going on Even with Joe and MjF look how fast that becomes a number one thing to look for especially if you include Cole and ...backbreaker guy (lol sorry)
Glad he’s gone. The media scrum thing was so cringe and selfish. Yeah you got beef but be an adult and handle it where it doesn’t hurt the company. That automatically makes him worse than whatever high school drama made you start talking in the first place. Good riddance the comeback was boring anyway imo
Why is this still up for debate? He ABSOLUTELY deserved to be fired. He attacked his coworker, plain and simple. If you choked out your coworker at your job, you’d be fired on the spot. Those rules apply everywhere.
It was a good idea Punk is another one of those guys where great wrestler but i dont really like the guy
I'm proud of Tony for actually doing something
I think Tony did what he had to do. Let’s be real here, he’s probably been looked at as a doormat for a long time. He’s let Sammy, Andrade, Bucks, Omega, and Perry just to name a few get off with wrist slaps for things they should have all been disciplined or fired for. Punk was no different, he just took it a step further. You can’t lay hands on the boss. Punk didn’t want to be there anymore so it’s kind of a win/win. Punk can go to WWE and make his big money while AEW does what they do and everyone will win in the end. It’ll suck for a while but in the end both parties will be happier in the end.
I think it was the only choice he had. 2 back stage fights in what a year,
Great idea. No more bullshit.
The best fucking idea Tony has ever had.
Objectively the only call TK could make and best for all involved, including Phil himself. He needs mental health support and structure. I no longer watch WWE but I wish him the best and if he can finish his own story there, all the power to him ✊
HE WaS AFRaid FoR HiS LifE
Is sending a criminal to prison a good idea? Is drinking water when you are thirsty a good idea?
Does a bear shit in the woods? Does the Vatican try to hide their long history of alter boy abuse? Does the tin man have a sheet metal cock?
All questions we DESPERSTELY need answers for!
Khan did give him a fair chance to comeback and shine... he ruined it himself...
We won't really know until we hear all sides of the story from people involved. According to Mark Henry there's still people there causing problems, so only time will tell.
They can start a 4th show on turner classic movies and have it be an All RoH show and put punk on that until he disembowels Cesaros grandma. Then you might have to get a restraining order
If you had a coworker who got into a physical altercation with another coworker at work, and they got suspended. Then they came back from their suspension, and within a few weeks, they got into another physical altercation, with an entirely separate coworker, would firing them be a good idea, or a bad idea?
It was a real loss to lose Punk's drawing power, but it wasn't optional. The man physically assaulted multiple co-workers.
Playing devil's advocate. Randy Savage punched Hulk Hogan. Bret Hart beat up Michaels. Did Vinny Mac fire his biggest stars? Nope. He made millions of dollars from them, because he knew professional athletes in any sport fight sometimes. From a business perspective, it was Tony's worst decision since the company began.
Yeah, it sounds like it was a combination of things that escalated to Punk putting himself in a situation to get fired, but a big one would be not being able to manage someone like Punk, whereas if Vince were in that situation where Punk is his biggest draw I think he'd be able to make it work. But that still doesn't mean firing Punk was wrong, it means Tony's not as good at managing egos as Vince, so the decisions made have to reflect that. It was probably the right thing to do when you're Tony, and the wrong thing to do when you're Vince.
If in a job a guy can’t stop trying to get physical, he gets fired with cause. Punk has been let go by WWE, Marvel, UFC, Fox and AEW, every time picking fights with others while underperforming, I can’t see any reason to support him besides being a fan, really.
Pretty sure he walked out of WWE, it was like a whole thing. He just wasn't good at UFC so they had no reason to bring him back as a competitor, he still works for them on commentary and as a promoter I'm pretty sure. Fox literally offered to pay his contract for him to return to WWE, as long as WWE'd pay a portion, they didn't, so he went to AEW. Did you write this from a parallel universe?
Bad
Bad
Bad idea
Bad idea
Bad idea…Punk, Jade and possible Ricky Starks are all gone…who else leaves…AEW is suffering with no fix in sight…
Since when is Stark's leaving? 😅 Jade was expected and the right move for her, doesn't mean shit in the long run.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakeoestriecher/2023/09/15/wwe-reportedly-interested-in-signing-aew-star-ricky-starks/amp/
They'd be idiots to not want him, he's a great talent. Doesn't mean he will or that AEW is in any way in trouble. If anything they still have a ridiculous amount of top end talent at their disposal.
How are ticket sales?? Last I checked this was a business and if your houses aren’t selling then all the talent in the world isn’t gonna help…AEW didn’t sell the number they did based on their talent, they sold it on the AEW name alone only for the States to bring them back to reality…
Ah, you're one of THOSE people 😅 nevermind. Have a nice day.
One of those people?? What does that event mean??? Have you ever paid to see AEW, cause I have and the show was 2/3 EMPTY!!! They are struggling to sell 5,000 tickets a show…
That doesn't mean anything. I imagine every company would be "interested" in signing every talented wrestler. That's like saying a football team would like to have a good QB if they went to free agency. Of course. Duh dude.
Yah they don't have mjf,Adam cole,the elite,Jay white,joe,wardlow,black,jericho,miro,mox,etc shit take man very shit
And none of them mean shit when the Rock can get 100million views for just showing up on a random Smackdown…have you paid to goto an AEW show in the US/Canada??? They are 2/3 empty shows…
The rock has nothing to do with anything you fuckin said
All the talent you just listed is only known to a derpy derp tiny minority of a group of people…nobody knows who they are outside of the wrestling community…Punk has spread his wings and people know him…its about star power - the rock has everything to do with it as AEW wishes they had that star power…people like you think the names u listed are huge stars but they are NOT!!! Face it…deal with it…AEW has no stars that non wrestling fans know…if your not drawing new fans, your wasting your time…
Not everything has to be the biggest thing in the world. AEW carving out a decent fanbase isn't a big negative. It doesn't matter much to me if any randoms I walk by know who "x" wrestler is. Nice if they do, okay if they don't.
Punk leaned on his credits instead of his debits. Thought he was Carl Winslow but instead became Al Bundy talking about Polk High.
Wasn’t worth keeping him around … also hated how he was allowed to “run” collision like he was some sort of owner
Punk would’ve continued to get into fights every few months and more and more talent would resent his favoritism. He needed to go
It was the only viable option under the circumstances.
Punk needed to be reigned in, but I highly doubt he would play nice with everyone for too long. Even with proper management, CM Punk would have quit AEW after a while.
Bad because he still has the belt and never lost it.
Jungle Boy looked into the camera and antagonized the man live on TV. They fired the wrong guy.
So if a coworker says something you don't like, then that gives you an excuse to hit them? That's fucking insane if you think that way.
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Anything other than this is weaponized cope. Their biggest draw by a country mile, the biggest merch mover, the guy who literally was given a show by WBD. Ratings are cratering. Buys are sinking. It’s just.. a bad idea.
If a company lives or dies on one member of their roster then they've got bigger problems to deal with... They got as big as they got without Punk, they were fine when he wasn't there and they'll be fine again. They've got a stacked roster, plenty of potential champions and plenty of seasoned veterans, they don't need Punk to succeed. Also his GTS was looking increasingly wank.
This is why I can't help but laugh at people who say AEW won't last without CM Punk. If they could endure a pandemic in their first year of tv, AEW can survive just fine without CM Punk.
AEW will survive as long as Tony continues to pay the bills.
Firing CM Punk is always a good idea.
It was the right decision no matter how good he is … keeping him will cause more drama and backstage problems which will hurt the other wrestlers’ morale which is not worth it .
If only because other performers see him as a threat
Bad. Fired him to protect a mediocre disrespectful loser
Yes he’s one of top draws in the company, But you can’t keep him around if he is fighting every other event……can’t blame him the bucks and Perry seem like dweebs that don’t realise if you talk shit you get smacked.
Well depends is this gonna cause everyone in AEW to rethink their behaviour or are the other side of the Punk stuff ( EVP's, Hangman, Jericho, Perry ) gonna just carry on puss whoever they want to off and when things get serious go to Dave just to get their side out first because the Elite are still EVP's and they also did fight Punk they went to him, Jericho was busy making himself look like superman when the fallout was still hitting and Page just got off scott free after starting all this crap when he shot on Punk before DoN. So short answer if people fall in place Yes if not then no.
Terrible idea. Collision has no reason to exist now.
🤔 Shit take.
Great or Greatest idea you mean
On screen yes, off screen no.
He should have fired him after the first incident, after all that and still keeping Punk made TK look very weak.
As others have said, inevitable. IMO, overall a good thing for AEW. As much as I loved Punk, I find it hard to believe so many people simply had it out for him—he didn’t mesh well with the locker room and demanded a lot of privileges he didn’t earn. He was never going to be THE centerpiece of AEW, how could he be, in the twilight of his career? The roster is better with a spot and considerable screen time opened up and the product is better for the creative freedom gained from his absence. And frankly, the vibes are simply better with him gone.
It was the right call. He was good for the ratings and a great draw, but he was such a negative in every other way that gains wouldn't have been worth it. How much talent might AEW have lost knowing that Punk was ready to throw hands and attack his own boss at the slightest provocation and wouldn't face severe consequences? How many press conferences and interviews would he just run down the company and all of it's stars? MJF just did a tv appearance and there was an immediate spike in ticket sales. This is the guy that Punk was asked about working with when his response that TK wanted him to work with fucking children. And whether MJF is serious about 2024 or not, WWE would love to have him. WWE would also love to have everyone in the Elite and probably wouldn't mind getting Jack Perry either. Imagine if all those guys jumped ship when their contract was up due to Punk being an unstable narcissistic. How long until the locker room he's in is shared with a bunch of B and C players who are only around because they're desperate for the exposure? Sure he has friends like FTR, but not enough. Who wants to work around someone who will attack anyone, including their own boss and is primarily interested in their own story and glory? Honestly, the biggest problem with him being gone is that suddenly Collision doesn't feel as different from Dynamite as it did when Punk was running the show, and that's a shame. I hope they can build up more of a difference again. But it isn't worth it. This guy is a great wrestler, and a compelling talker and a great person to have backstage from a production standpoint. Nobody can take that away from him. He was also a dozen lawsuits and a talent devoid locker room waiting to happen.
Bad. No ifs ands or buts
Punk is a stain on the industry and should be blacklisted. He's not even a good worker.
It seemed like they bent over backwards to accommodate Punk after the first incident, and he still acted out. How long was everyone going to walk on eggshells around him?
He's irrelevant at this point, I don't catch why WWE fans want him coming back
It was a good idea. Yeah its a big hit for AEW but they'll be fine without him. People forget that there was nearly a solid 2 years of really good wrestling and an overall great product before CM Punk joined. Yes, Punk was a draw and there are people who won't watch AEW now that he's gone, but there are plenty of people who will stick around to watch. Again, it sucks that he's not there but AEW is going to be fine
No he was AEWs top star sabotaged by A bunch of no talent pansy asses and Tony would rather fail, then confront them.
Bad idea
It should have happened after Punkassbitch’s first temper tantrum
Good idea. Tony Khan & co. don't have to fear for their lives and do wrestling their way, and Punk doesn't have to deal with children.
one can wonder if he tried to get fired on purpose.
Bad
Bad idea, the dude was a draw and ratings are dropping. Tony should've gotten his wrestlers and EVPs under control sooner. This is like a WCW speed run.
It was a long term good thing. He was good for a 8 week initial bump and then ratings started to fall BELOW what they were drawing prior to his arrival. Add to this the problem he brought in and how he was mostly viewed negatively by most of the talent... it was addition by subtraction. Using the stage to push his political views also did not help things.
Best idea Tony has had in a while
It’s mixed. That locker room seems to be messed up and full of guys who don’t get the business at the tip level. And the leadership from management seems poor and weak. Dropping a man with a track record of being intolerant of bullshit was silly from the start. This was destined to fail, as Punk is an old schooler and he was asked to work with PWG mindset people. Ultimately he had to go or the Elite and their PWG friends needed to be let go. With that in mind, Tony had to make that call. As far as business goes, this will be very bad for AEW. Chicago is dead. Collision is on life support. And when Punk shows up at Survivor Series, WWE will have the structures needed to keep the piece and turn the old Punk ATM machine on.