CM Punk chat

[Daddymagic]

After this dismal last run I can't say I'd even want him to return to WWE. 
He looks years past his best. 
 

If he can check his ego, and come in somewhat like he came into AEW initially then fair enough, but I highly doubt that would happen. 

[LaGoosh]

There was a small moment a little while back just before the Gripe Bomb where a fan shouted something at him and Punk's immediate response was to call him live on TV into the microphone something along the lines of fat incel. I'm guessing he expected it'd get a big pop (which if this was the early 2000s like when Punk broke in he probably would have got) but the crowd reaction was more uneasy, Punk then caught himself and said "I shouldn't have said that" and swiftly moved on. I always remembered that because it felt like he showed his true, instinctual nasty bully personality for a moment then quickly realized  what he'd done.

[gmoney]

That is very telling, in retrospect. 

[Supremo]

25 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

There was a small moment a little while back just before the Gripe Bomb where a fan shouted something at him and Punk's immediate response was to call him live on TV into the microphone something along the lines of fat incel. I'm guessing he expected it'd get a big pop (which if this was the early 2000s like when Punk broke in he probably would have got) but the crowd reaction was more uneasy, Punk then caught himself and said "I shouldn't have said that" and swiftly moved on. I always remembered that because it felt like he showed his true, instinctual nasty bully personality for a moment then quickly realized  what he'd done.

This reminded of the time he swung on a fan on Raw. Ended up hitting some poor, innocent lad, rather than the guy who actually kept pushing him.

Almost as if there’s a pattern of swinging first, thinking later.

[Version1.0]

29 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

There was a small moment a little while back just before the Gripe Bomb where a fan shouted something at him and Punk's immediate response was to call him live on TV into the microphone something along the lines of fat incel. I'm guessing he expected it'd get a big pop (which if this was the early 2000s like when Punk broke in he probably would have got) but the crowd reaction was more uneasy, Punk then caught himself and said "I shouldn't have said that" and swiftly moved on. I always remembered that because it felt like he showed his true, instinctual nasty bully personality for a moment then quickly realized  what he'd done.

I have more screws in my foot than this guy has had in his life.

Brutal. Especially as a face.

[TheScarlettChad]

1 minute ago, Version1.0 said:

I have more screws in my foot than this guy has had in his life.

Brutal. Especially as a face.

Its such a shit insult too.

LOL YOU DIDN'T HAVE SEX, YOU LOSER.

 

 

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, gmoney said:

Shaun Michaels favouritism is one of the worst examples of man management going, especially as he wasn't even a standout draw by any metric. 

Now we're talking. Shawn Michaels, who was made top guy while Bret Hart was off for most of 1996 and failed to arrest the downward trend in all business metrics (out of the mouths of people who were working there), sat through the return of his rival and saw immediate upward spikes in gate receipts and ratings (again, out of the mouths of people who were working there, as well as Meltzer/Keller etc who have the numbers), managed to get into a squabble that became physical with said rival and flounced, asking for his release - and Vince bent over backwards to persuade him to stay. Being rewarded ten weeks later by Shawn proudly telling Vince that he was done doing jobs and wouldn't be losing any more.

Although to play Devil's Advocate, per my previous post, Shawn didn't cost as much to keep as Bret would have.

Edited September 5, 2023 by air_raid

[BomberPat]

One of the saddest things about the Bret/Shawn rivalry was that they were so hung up on which of them could be the top star that they were both seemingly oblivious to how soon Steve Austin would render it a moot point, and by the time Bret was done, Shawn Michaels was out the door two months later anyway. It was all pointless.

I don't really pay attention to ratings chat or anything like that any more, and God forbid we make this one of those discussions, but it will be interesting in years to come to be able to look back and see if CM Punk's AEW run represented a high watermark or a regrettable failed experiment. 

[LaGoosh]

It always seemed like Vince in the mid-90s wasn't just an HBK fan, but that he was actually in love with him. 

[air_raid]

9 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

One of the saddest things about the Bret/Shawn rivalry was that they were so hung up on which of them could be the top star that they were both seemingly oblivious to how soon Steve Austin would render it a moot point, and by the time Bret was done, Shawn Michaels was out the door two months later anyway. It was all pointless.

I think they knew. The office certainly knew, Steve was on last for a huge majority of the house shows between Mania 13 and Mania 14 whenever he wasn't injured (it helped that Bret and/or Shawn were almost permanently injured themselves), they just wanted to make sure they were right there with him. Bret was furious with Vince (per Wrestling With Shadows) after SummerSlam when it was clear HBK was doing a full blown heel turn because "You've given my bad guy job to Shawn" and I think he knew that if he was staying on and staying heel, that the future obviously would be dropping the belt to and anointing Steve - which was what Vince spelled out to him in his infamous pitch when Bret told him "Talk me into staying" as they approached the midnight deadline for Bret's notice. Lose to Shawn at Survivors, lose a four way at In Your House, lose at the Rumble, win the belt back on Raw, drop it to Austin at Mania 14. Bret saw being pitched four high profile defeats and only one win and realized Vince was actually trying to talk him into leaving. But my point is, he (at least) knew they were running with Stone Cold.

[TheScarlettChad]

Shawn must have HATED Austin back then. Or at least, hated what Austin's push meant. The kicking the door during Austin's presser at Mania 14, is so telling. 

[Merzbow]

There were people that thought Shawn wouldn't take the fall in the WM14 match, the infamous story of 'Taker taping his fists to make it clear that he had to do business.

[air_raid]

53 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

There were people that thought Shawn wouldn't take the fall in the WM14 match, the infamous story of 'Taker taping his fists to make it clear that he had to do business.

The fun part of that is that for years people dismissed it as urban legend until Taker confirmed it out of his own mouth in the New York Post.

"I felt so bad because our relationship had changed so much that he goes, 'Were you really gonna beat me up?' I was like, 'No man that's just all rumor. Taping my hands up and everything, come on.' He goes, 'I didn't think so. I mean that really didn't sound like you,'

The whole time in my head I'm like, 'I was gonna smash you if you didn't drop that belt to Steve.' But yeah, he's a completely different person, I love him to death now. But, yeah, that's the story. I was sitting there hands taped ready to do whatever I needed to be done."

[Chest Rockwell]

Even then though you don't know if that's true or something Taker decided to 'confirm' because it makes him sound tough. 

[Tommy!]

6 hours ago, air_raid said:

Shawn Michaels, who was made top guy while Bret Hart was off for most of 1996 and failed to arrest the downward trend in all business metrics (out of the mouths of people who were working there), sat through the return of his rival and saw immediate upward spikes in gate receipts and ratings (again, out of the mouths of people who were working there, as well as Meltzer/Keller etc who have the numbers)

I always thought based on Meltz that houses were getting better under Shawn than they were under Nash but TV ratings were way down, although Nitro might be a factor there.