AEW All Out 2022

[Snitsky's back acne]

13 hours ago, IANdrewDiceClay said:

Apparently the Young Bucks went up to Punk shouting the odds after the media scrum, Punk twatted the balding one, a chair got thrown and Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega.

 

I heard it was Omega who bit Steel and pulled his hair.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Just now, Devon Malcolm said:

I don't know about merch and ratings (and frankly who cares) so I can't answer that. I would assume Punk has been a huge merch shifter like he was in WWE, wasn't he?

But just from the outside there seems to be far more external talk about AEW since Punk joined than there was before he did. Barely registered a ripple when all the other ex-WWE stars have signed.

I presume the million dollar gate talk isn’t fake, so that’s a very real impact.

I think there’s a lot of odd revisionism going on because he’s outed himself as a bit of an outspoken nobhead (for the billionth time).

His return was AEW’s biggest moment in their history, he delivered cracking feuds, big gates, decent ratings and merch sales. Of course he’s had a big impact.

[BomberPat]

23 hours ago, garynysmon said:

Am I being a total cynic in thinking it may all be a deliberate ploy to get people talking about AEW again as a result of the relative goodwill towards WWE since VKM's departure? 

Mental. Yes, people are talking about AEW, but they're talking about it being an unprofessional shitshow in complete free-fall, comparing it to TNA and late-stage WCW, after what should have been a very well received PPV. That's not the sort of talk any promotion is going to encourage about themselves.

19 hours ago, TheDude said:

Khan isn't gonna upset Pepsiman. He'll upset Omega, Bucks etc. But he can't lose Punk. 

6 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

How big is the Punk effect in general though? I don't really keep up with merch sales or ratings to that degree, but are they a lot better off with him than without him?

And there's the key question. Other than his debut, he's not had a major impact on ratings, but I think they can be over-stated as a business metric, as a bit of a holdover from the Monday Night Wars. He had the best selling T-shirt ever on AEW's shop and ProWrestlingTees - there was a national shortage of ringer tees because of how many they needed to buy up to fulfill orders. That momentum might not have carried, but they were certainly raking the money in for a few weeks there. 

More broadly, I assume that having CM Punk on the books is useful when negotiating with sponsors, networks, and so on. In terms of the quality of shows, outside of the last couple of weeks, I'd say he's been a net positive, and even the nonsense in the build could be forgiven for how good Punk/Moxley turned out to be. He's absolutely of value, but if it comes down to them vs. The Elite, I'd say if Punk wants to keep wrestling, he needs AEW more than they need him, as The Elite could easily walk into a WWE contract if they leave. They're more integral to day-to-day operations of AEW than Punk, and likely have more years left on the clock too. 

 

It's going to be interesting to see how audiences react to Punk come Wednesday night. If I were Tony, I'd bullshit a reason to keep him off TV and hope people get this out of their system. I can see people chanting "Colt Cabana" at him, and let's be honest, people choosing to chant a wrestler's name disruptively and directing it at CM Punk has a nice irony to it.

[Jonny Vegas]

Punk's main appeal was that he was so different to what else was in WWE at the time. Do I think he would have the same success, popularity and impact that he had if he'd have been doing it 10 years later? Absolutely not.

His success was more about timing and opportunity than unreal ability.

People saying he's the biggest star in AEW is way off the mark for me, Jericho is a much bigger star than Punk for starters.

I really wish it was a storyline because one time renegade upstart rebel CM Punk becoming everything he hated and stood against and wanting to shit on the new wave would be a fantastic story arc built back from day 1 in the company saying hes back for the fans etc. 

If the story was Punk has turned into an egotistical, self obsessed twat it would be very entertaining rather than the reality of its just becoming increasingly apparent thats the reality.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Jonny Vegas

[LaGoosh]

To me (and I would assume a lot of fans) Omega and the Young Bucks are AEW. Without them I think the company would feel completely different and not in a good way. Especially if they are binned off for a single guy who'll probably get pissed off about something else in a few months anyway.

All this mess over that prat Colt Cabana. Jesus wept.

But yet, I'm on team Fire CM Punk all the way. No excuse for that shit. The top guy is supposed to represent the company and he has embarrassed it to defend his own ego. Unacceptable. 

[TheDude]

7 minutes ago, Jonny Vegas said:

Punk's main appeal was that he was so different to what else was in WWE at the time. Do I think he would have the same success, popularity and impact that he had if he'd have been doing it 10 years later? Absolutely not.

His success was more about timing and opportunity than unreal ability.

People saying he's the biggest star in AEW is way off the mark for me, Jericho is a much bigger star than Punk for starters.

I really wish it was a storyline because one time renegade upstart rebel CM Punk becoming everything he hated and stood against and wanting to shit on the new wave would be a fantastic story arc built back from day 1 in the company saying hes back for the fans etc. 

If the story was Punk has turned into an egotistical, self obsessed twat it would be very entertaining rather than the reality of its just becoming increasingly apparent thats the reality.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think AEW needs him. I think Tony Khan thinks they need him, and that'll be his downfall. A 44 year old Punk who is even slower than he was, is lame. He's not a rebel anymore. Not when he's sitting next to the boss who is laughing at his shitty banter.

[BomberPat]

2 minutes ago, Jonny Vegas said:

Punk's main appeal was that he was so different to what else was in WWE at the time. Do I think he would have the same success, popularity and impact that he had if he'd have been doing it 10 years later? Absolutely not.

This was my opinion when Punk signed with AEW; his appeal was being the sort of wrestler who's not "supposed" to make it to WWE, and succeeding in spite of that, and that he'd have a hard time replicating that in a promotion built around long-time "indie" wrestlers, and a ring style that has surpassed a lot of what he was capable of. I hadn't anticipated that he'd be a lot more motivated than he was last time we saw them, and doing a damn good job playing the elder statesman back for one last run. He's been brilliant.

I think it's chicken and egg whether he'd have been able to do what he did if he had come along ten years later - I don't think WWE would have taken as much of a hard turn towards more "indie" wrestlers and embracing that style if not for Punk and Danielson effectively forcing their hand in that direction. And I don't think you get the Daniel Bryan Wrestlemania 30 push without CM Punk effectively laying the groundwork for the fans to see things in terms of corporate vs. hard-working wrestler who came up through the indies. 

 

What I find fascinating about all this - and, to be clear, I don't think this is a work at all - is everything leading up to it. We've just come off some lower level backstage drama, and in an interview right before All Out, when asked about Kingston and Sammy, Tony Khan talked about how real-life issues can make for compelling TV, and talked at length about Shawn, Bret, and what a successful PPV Survivor Series 1997 was. Pretty much ever since CM Punk debuted, we've had wrestlers - Kingston, MJF, Hangman, Moxley - suggesting that he's not what he seems, that all the smiley happy promos are just an act. MJF, coming off his own "is it a work or a shoot?" story shows up at the end of a PPV after Punk wins, directly and explicitly references CM Punk's "because I'm a snake, old man" promo from ROH, and then leads directly into a "shoot" situation with Punk showing his true colours at the press conference? Ace Steel, who up until a couple of weeks ago would have been little more than the answer to a trivia question, ends up in the headlines about a backstage fight only after he's become an on-screen character? 

There's a lot that, if they were able to turn lemons into lemonade and make a work out of this situation, all fits together very neatly, if they're prepared to do the bare minimum to join the dots. Again, I don't think it is a work, but one of those "only in wrestling" life-imitating-art-imitating-life situations, like how Bret Hart repeatedly complained about being "screwed" before the Montreal Screwjob.

[69MeDon]

25 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

To me (and I would assume a lot of fans) Omega and the Young Bucks are AEW. Without them I think the company would feel completely different and not in a good way. Especially if they are binned off for a single guy who'll probably get pissed off about something else in a few months anyway.

This is the thing. If you lose Omega and The Bucks to keep Punk, you're fucking yourself because Punk is *also* throwing shots at Hangman and who knows what minor thing will set him off in six months and he decides to go home.

Ace Steel is surely getting sacked, it's just a HR issue at this point. You can't KNOCK OUT an EVP with a chair and bite and pull the hair of another, no matter who your buddy is.

Edited September 6, 2022 by 69MeDon

[Pinc]

I'd love one of those domino effect memes starting with CM Punk does a stage dive and ending with Kenny Omega ends Roman's 3 year title reign.

[air_raid]

9 minutes ago, Pinc said:

I'd love one of those domino effect memes starting with CM Punk does a stage dive and ending with Kenny Omega ends Roman's 3 year title reign.

You'd love the meme, or you'd love that happening? I've got a lot of time for Omega as a wrestler, but I don't want him turning up and beating Reigns. I don't really want Reigns making it to 3 years for that matter.

[Factotum]

I can't see anyone leaving to be honest.

[TheDude]

[Pinc]

9 minutes ago, air_raid said:

You'd love the meme, or you'd love that happening? I've got a lot of time for Omega as a wrestler, but I don't want him turning up and beating Reigns. I don't really want Reigns making it to 3 years for that matter.

I'd love reality to bend itself so as to bring the meme into existence. Which is all reality is good for these days anyway.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I’m wary of biting too hard on any of these reports now.

I don’t doubt for a second this was a shoot, but it’s wrestling - providing they can find their inner grown ups, they absolutely should be turning this into a work.

Grudges are for idiots. 

[Guest]

If Punks throwing punches first, anyone retaliating to that is acting in self defence. If you have to throw a chair to take out a young buck you have to quit outta shame.
 

I do enjoy Punks work, but it’s a workplace and that’s not on in 2022. With no ppv coming up he has to be at least suspended for a few weeks and made to apologise. He’s fucked it.