CM Punk Megathread

ThePott

Only getting caught up on the discussion (disagreements?) on here about the Punk interview.

Wanna preface all this by saying I'm a fan of Punk, I was when he was in AEW and am still now he's in WWE. He's a great talent and produces some of the best stuff when he's involved. Loved his programmes with Eddie and MJF. Liking what he's doing with Seth and Drew.

He also seems like an unbearable pr*ck. As the saying goes, if everywhere you go smells like sh*t, check your shoes.

That's not to say what he's saying is untrue. There's probably some elements of truth to what he's saying but obviously he's presenting himself in the best light possible and everyone else in the wrong. Which he's done even before this.

Jack Perry could be entitled and insufferable but choking him or attacking him is uncalled for and unprofessional (and he rightly got fired for it). Now you can be sympathetic, as I was before and still am that all of these situations (the Hangman/Colt Cabana situation included) was never nipped in the bud at any point and IF what Punk is saying is true, that he went to Tony and Tony didn't do anything, that's disgraceful and a farce. We've heard plenty of speculation and rumour that Tony is more friends than boss with some talent and this whole thing might have been resolved had he actually acted like a boss (not sure he's learnt that lesson yet). Now, it's probably equally true that Punk benefited from an agreeable, pushover of a "boss" than anybody else.

I heard someone describe this interview as a litmus test for whether you like Punk or not. Some people will defend him to their last breath and other people will take this as evidence that he's a lying egotistical maniac. Chances are we'll never get much info from another party involved. Although, a part of me wonders if this interview could be grounds for legal action.

I think it's also bringing out the worst in people flying their flag for either AEW or WWE. Both companies can have issues and regardless of reasoning the complaints made against AEW could be valid, if true. Punk shouldn't have had to sort his treatment and rehab (if true), he shouldn't have had to navigate his own way around London, it shouldn't have been his responsibility to handle Jack Perry, if Hangman went against what they agreed that is unprofessional and childish, Tony should have handled this drama long before it escalated the way it did.

Again though, it's hard to speak on any of this with any authority when we only get leaks from dirt sheets (some of whom are biased) and Punk, who is obviously giving his own side and spin. There can be fault on both sides and the truth like many things about all the drama probably lies in the middle.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121971157#Comment_121971157

Fair and informative I liked this TED talk!

JP Liz V1

Punk is Mr. PIPEBOMB when he talks, you listen, he knows how to work a narrative, he is ratings, money and media moments, no matter what he says it gets hits

He is back in WWE but injured for Wrestlemania but look, spotlight and attention on him

ThePott

AJ Styles was asked about his opinion on CM Punk returning. Was pretty surprised with his response tbh, definitely felt like it was going one way for a minute there haha.

https://twitter.com/ringerwrestling/status/1775949851303260467

Punk vs AJ would be a baller feud too.

brianregan09

Think AEW is suffering hard from Vince Mcmahon being gone and the book been given to Triple H , WWE is a much better place without him around , and i reckon alot of lapsed fans that had been watching AEW during the dark times of WWE have now gone back that's why there ratings have gone down

ThePott

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977361#Comment_121977361

I think it's a couple of things. A few people have said that "people didn't want an alternative to WWE, they just wanted WWE to be better" and there's probably some truth to that.

However, I also think AEW haven't done a lot to pivot. When they first started it was easy to say "we're an alternative to WWE" cause that is coded to basically say, we're better than WWE. Which was on point when WWE weren't up to much, Raw was boring, booking was terrible, etc, etc. Regardless of this WWE was succeeding so it was an easy marketing gimmick to thumb your nose at WWE and have AEW say they're 'real wrestling', which I personally think is just marketing that some people have bought into hook, line and sinker. It was an easy selling point too to say that we are David, they're Goliath. Don't we all hate Goliath, it's good to be the underdog, you're supporting the right side by siding with us. Even having ex-WWE talent say anti-WWE stuff to get cheap pops, while providing little else to show why it would be different this time. It felt like they could compete by doing what WWE do but better, more competent and coherent and for a while they absolutely were.

WWE started showing improvement though, AEW haven't done much to come off like competition for a while. Pointing to Vince leaving is part of it but it was happening before he was gone too. Once WWE started getting hot again, AEW stayed the same. I think part of it is they panicked and didn't know how to react to WWE being the hottest they've been in years, which is understandable. At the end of the day, people only have so many hours in the day to devote to wrestling and they need to show what makes them worth the investment. They often seem reluctant to pivot though, I think the early years of AEW were meticulously planned, I don't think that's true anymore. A lot of the production and presentation feels far more WWE in style than it used to as well, which only makes AEW feel less distinct than it did. I think for all the things Punk said that were probably untrue or biased, he is touching on some harsh truths. AEW can put on great matches, there will always be an audience for that but right now it's starting to look like they've at the very least reached the peak of that audience and possibly worse that audience is shrinking. There needs to be changes but it's hard to say exactly what will do it cause it's probably not one thing and they run the risk of making changes that will alienate the hardcore audience they have and rob AEW of its identity.

Everyone who wants a healthy wrestling scene should want AEW to survive, it creates competition that can breed creativity and creates alternative opportunities and a healthy market for the talent to get better pay and working conditions. It just seems like changes need to be made and they're reluctant to make them, which is worrying. It's going to be an interesting few months with the TV upfronts in May and presumably a new TV deal coming down the pipe, it's certainly not a good time though to be slipping in ratings. They've still had big successes lately and it's not as doom and gloom as some present it as but it certainly could be the start of a downward spiral if they don't pull up soon.

JP Liz V1

CM Punk has signed with Paradigm

JP Liz V1

CM Punk was asked about AEW airing the backstage footage from AEW All In 2023 that saw the altercation between Punk and Jack Perry:

“It’s kind of like…I have to wrestle Drew McIntyre right, and this is just this garbage person that I don’t want in my life you know, but this is the fight game, it’s the **** talk business, it’s just like fighting in the UFC, you see these guys ripping at each other, ugly press conferences, getting personal and it’s just like, I don’t necessarily enjoy that energy you know, but the payoff is I get to go in a ring and I get to blacken eyes and chip teeth and make Drew sob. So it just felt really ugly, but then I was just like ‘why’, like showing that footage isn’t gonna help them or hurt me so I was just like whatever. Being the top draw in 2 different companies is pretty wild like, thanks guys.”

(Interview w/Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated)