Paid Members air_raid Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, garynysmon said: My belief has always been that if you need big arenas and the biggest names in your wrestling then Impact probably isnāt for you. Bold. Nevertheless, "It all hinges on what his motivations are these days" - rings very true. I hadn't considered Impact as an option for him, but it would beĀ just aboutĀ fitting for his ego that he might fancy himself as a needle-mover and want to make himself the hero, walk into the third biggest company and see if he can make them bigger through the eyes on the product that he inevitably brings, albeit perhaps only in the short term. But you're likely right in that now he's had to endure another locker room which (through his eyes) is full of brats, ingrates, people spoiling for a scrap to make a name at his expense, politicians abusing their friendship with the top guy to protect their spot and various other nonsense, if he decides it's worth wrestling again, he's probably only going to if Hunter can patch up their relationship and sell him on the corporate, 100% professional WWE content factory I alluded to, where he'll not have to put up with any bollocks, where everyone wants the same goal (put on the show, make dollars) and he'll get a reasonable say in his own creative, thus shining as a star on the biggest stage possible. Well, the biggest stage left now that Wembley has passed. Edited September 7, 2023 by air_raid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 If he wants to stay in wrestling, I honestly wonder if the best thing for him would be an out-of-ring creative role - he's obviously a creative guy, with a lot of love for the history of wrestling, and could have something to offer once that work is removed from his own ego and his own performance. I have no idea if he'd be interested in that, but stranger things have happened in wrestling than Phil Brooks putting on a suit to go and work in the office.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 7 minutes ago, BomberPat said: If he wants to stay in wrestling, I honestly wonder if the best thing for him would be an out-of-ring creative role - he's obviously a creative guy, with a lot of love for the history of wrestling, and could have something to offer once that work is removed from his own ego and his own performance. I have no idea if he'd be interested in that, but stranger things have happened in wrestling than Phil Brooks putting on a suit to go and work in the office.Ā I'll always go back to the 2011 Orton feud when they just threw him in with Orton because the direction for Mania was shifting to Cena vs Miz, and the writers were blissfully unaware that he had a ready-made reason to go after Orton - he'd never avenged being screwed out of the Big Gold Belt by Legacy back in 2008 - so Punk clued them in. There's a sweet spot between "hey, there's a story here" and the beat-by-beat recreation of Bret vs Kid he did with Darby which I thought was lifting the curtain back way too far.. but that's why you have aĀ teamĀ to bounce ideas around. Apologies to anyone who thinks that sounds too much like "lore." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, BomberPat said: If he wants to stay in wrestling, I honestly wonder if the best thing for him would be an out-of-ring creative role - he's obviously a creative guy, with a lot of love for the history of wrestling, and could have something to offer once that work is removed from his own ego and his own performance. I have no idea if he'd be interested in that, but stranger things have happened in wrestling than Phil Brooks putting on a suit to go and work in the office.Ā If not a creative role, he could definitely offer something as a commentator provided he was able to keep himself within the bounds of the role (big "if" naturally). He's worked in that capacity before on WWE TV and he was very good as a colour commentator. I guess it largely depends on whether he thinks he has one last run left in the ring or not.Ā Edited September 7, 2023 by mim731 Spelling (not witchcraft) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 I mean, he's clearly a damaged soul, but he's still one of the biggest names in the game. The minute you hire him as anything other than a wrestler, people will just start clamouring to see him in a match anyway. His value is as an active performer, if that's not going to work for whatever reason then he's better off staying at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 5 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said: I mean, he's clearly a damaged soul, but he's still one of the biggest names in the game. The minute you hire him as anything other than a wrestler, people will just start clamouring to see him in a match anyway. But he's also 45 with a bunch of injuries under his belt. There has to be a reasonable conversation about how much he has left in the tank anyway, and part of that conversation is in managing audience expectations about whether they can expect to see him wrestle again. A lot of it will come down to what he thinks he has left to prove, as much as what he has left to offer. Is whatever he does next going to top what currently stands as his last match being against a career rival, finishing with his ROH-era super-finisher, in front of the largest paid crowd in history? It's a pretty much perfect way to book-end a career, and do you give that up to risk your last match being, who knows, the injury that turns out to be the straw that breaks the camel's back in a house show tag with The Viking Raiders?Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69MeDon Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 It's not Impact (anymore), but EC3 has invited Punk to come work NWA shows. Now that would be gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 37 minutes ago, BomberPat said: But he's also 45 with a bunch of injuries under his belt. There has to be a reasonable conversation about how much he has left in the tank anyway, and part of that conversation is in managing audience expectations about whether they can expect to see him wrestle again. A lot of it will come down to what he thinks he has left to prove, as much as what he has left to offer. Is whatever he does next going to top what currently stands as his last match being against a career rival, finishing with his ROH-era super-finisher, in front of the largest paid crowd in history? It's a pretty much perfect way to book-end a career, and do you give that up to risk your last match being, who knows, the injury that turns out to be the straw that breaks the camel's back in a house show tag with The Viking Raiders?Ā Sure, but there's no suggestion he's anywhere near having that conversation yet. By all accounts, a year ago he was trying to get back into WWE because he 'just wanted to wrestle'. The only realistic option is a final part-timer run in WWE, and the questions are will they have him back (probably) and can he behave long enough to try and make it work for everyone involved (big unknown). But if he can't, he should go away and do the Cage Fury commenting and the acting and the comics for another 7 years, past the point where a comeback even seems likely. I think we're all jumping a lot of steps to assume it's time to hang the boots up based on physical issues. He can still go physically, it's up top that keeps letting him down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 Can't wait to see Punk at Crown Jewel in the Goldberg spot. No way if he goes back is he turning down that sweet payday, blood-soaked Saudi money or not.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 Just now, Nick James said: Can't wait to see Punk at Crown Jewel in the Goldberg spot. No way if he goes back is he turning down that sweet payday, blood-soaked Saudi money or not.Ā Didn't the Saudis stop watching WWF in 2001, at the same time as most normal people? Asking for Yokozuna and all sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 4 hours ago, BomberPat said: If he wants to stay in wrestling, I honestly wonder if the best thing for him would be an out-of-ring creative role - he's obviously a creative guy, with a lot of love for the history of wrestling, and could have something to offer once that work is removed from his own ego and his own performance. I have no idea if he'd be interested in that, but stranger things have happened in wrestling than Phil Brooks putting on a suit to go and work in the office.Ā I could honestly see him getting some sort of part-time deal with WWE for both sides to see if it's a good fit before he eventually finds himself working backstage for the company after a year or so. I'd be very surprised if he rocks up in Impact or any other smaller company. I think if WWE doesn't want him, he'll not wrestle again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 20 minutes ago, David said: I could honestly see him getting some sort of part-time deal with WWE for both sides to see if it's a good fit before he eventually finds himself working backstage for the company after a year or so. I'd be very surprised if he rocks up in Impact or any other smaller company. I think if WWE doesn't want him, he'll not wrestle again. Problem with Punk is you just don't really know what mood he'll be in. He can be a vindictive bastard but does that mean he'll deliberately go to WWE to piss off TK/AEW? Or does that mean he'll still hold a grudge with those in WWE and refuse to go there? Honestly could go either way. I'm sure he doesn't have a fucking clue what he's going to do either really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 on Jeff Jarrett's podcast he suggested that Punk could do a "Ric Flair's Last Match" and self-produce his own show if all he wants is to wrestle. That way, he doesn't have anyone to answer to, doesn't have to work with anyone he doesn't like, and can work whatever matches he can put together, maybe once, maybe a couple of times a year, but doesn't have to worry about keeping up a full schedule. I don't see it happening, but it's not a suggestion I'd seen made anywhere else yet. Again, I assume he doesn't need the money, so a lot of it comes back down to just what he wants to be doing, and what he feels he has left to prove.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 He seems quite motivated on his own projects - wonder if he'd start up his own indy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted September 7, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2023 He'll go anywhere or do anything that pays and strokes his ego. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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