CM Punk chat

[Chili]

This is great news because I don't watch or really keep up with WWE anymore so I hope this relationship is fruitful and someone eventually mistakes him for Sammy Guevera.

[RedRooster]

3 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Oh, this is going to be bad isn’t it?

Odds on favourite has to be a scrap with Seth Rollins in guerilla, but I think the dark horse is a pull apart brawl with Kevin Owens in the locker room. Owens is #YoungBuxTillHeDies.

Outside of his gripes with management, were there ever any reports of Punk getting into fights backstage during his time in WWE? 

I can’t remember any. I may be forgetting something obvious, but I don’t remember it. 

He may be a grumpy fucker, he may even be a difficult person to work with, but AEW clearly has its own problems, so perhaps the issue was that he was simply a bad fit; and at an older age, Punk has come to realise there’s something to be said for the structured environment that exists in WWE? 

[d-d-d-dAz]

3 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Outside of his gripes with management, were there ever any reports of Punk getting into fights backstage during his time in WWE? 

I can’t remember any. I may be forgetting something obvious, but I don’t remember it. 

He may be a grumpy fucker, he may even be a difficult person to work with, but AEW clearly has its own problems, so perhaps the issue was that he was simply a bad fit; and at an older age, Punk has come to realise there’s something to be said for the structured environment that exists in WWE? 

To be fair, I don’t disagree with any of this. But it is very funny that someone (cough, Rollins, cough) is leaking quotes to the press about “handing” CM Punk his “ass”.

That’s probably not the ideal energy to start any new run.

Loki will laugh at me, but part of me thinks out of sheer stubbornness and desire for vindication he’ll be on best behaviour. All “aw shucks, thank you kindly sir” to everyone he meets.

[Hannibal Scorch]

10 hours ago, mim731 said:

Worth saying that in WWE, not only would he presumably be on the Brock-part-time schedule, but the very structured WWE-style is probably less strenuous on some level than AEW due to the level of production. Not saying he couldn't get injured, but I could certainly see them protecting him/presenting his in-ring as a special attraction rather than week-to-week. 

Would be cool if this also paves the way for more recognition for AJ Lee, who probably had a bigger role in their "women's revolution" than credited for in recent years. 

 

 

I know what you’re saying. But didn’t punk have less than 40 marches his entire run?

[Cousin Jim Bob]

41 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Outside of his gripes with management, were there ever any reports of Punk getting into fights backstage during his time in WWE? 

I can’t remember any. I may be forgetting something obvious, but I don’t remember it. 

He may be a grumpy fucker, he may even be a difficult person to work with, but AEW clearly has its own problems, so perhaps the issue was that he was simply a bad fit; and at an older age, Punk has come to realise there’s something to be said for the structured environment that exists in WWE? 

 

It could well be the more corporate structure that kept Punk in check in the WWE but it was also before Punk had two and a half years of full time MMA training. He may have been a bust in the UFC but that was a very good team he was training with. I'm not suggesting that alone made him violent but it certainly would give him the confidence that he could beat up the average wrestler if they had a disagreement. If someone like Rollins, who he probably already has a chip on his shoulder about, said a few things to him in passing. I could well imagine the 2023 Punk just twatting him backstage in a corridor or catering.

You would think the WWE would iron out any disagreements like that well before they got to it turning physical but I'm not 100% sure they can tbh with him. Punk seemed completely unhinged at the Brawl Out media scrum and in all the reports of the Jungle Boy fight. I think he will be fine for a few months then someone will say something that seems innocuous but really winds him up and he goes nuts again. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Cousin Jim Bob

[mim731]

2 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I know what you’re saying. But didn’t punk have less than 40 marches his entire run?

True, but how many of those were agented in a way that would protect Punk from injury, presenting him as an attraction rather than someone who was on the show every week. My point was that the presentation would likely be different in WWE, he's far less likely to be wrestling on TV with any regularity. 10-15 matches in 2 years is a lot less than 40. 

[Supremo]

Best to not waste Punk and save him for the matches that matter.

Losing to Austin Theory at Wrestlemania.

[d-d-d-dAz]

11 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Best to not waste Punk and save him for the matches that matter.

Losing to Austin Theory at Wrestlemania.

Given the way this year has gone, I reckon he gets booked against Orton in a 45 minute match dubbed “The Actual Greatest Wrestling Match Ever!”

Edited October 7, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[Hannibal Scorch]

6 hours ago, Cousin Jim Bob said:

 

It could well be the more corporate structure that kept Punk in check in the WWE but it was also before Punk had two and a half years of full time MMA training. He may have been a bust in the UFC but that was a very good team he was training with. I'm not suggesting that alone made him violent but it certainly would give him the confidence that he could beat up the average wrestler if they had a disagreement. If someone like Rollins, who he probably already has a chip on his shoulder about, said a few things to him in passing. I could well imagine the 2023 Punk just twatting him backstage in a corridor or catering.

You would think the WWE would iron out any disagreements like that well before they got to it turning physical but I'm not 100% sure they can tbh with him. Punk seemed completely unhinged at the Brawl Out media scrum and in all the reports of the Jungle Boy fight. I think he will be fine for a few months then someone will say something that seems innocuous but really winds him up and he goes nuts again. 

You’re completely ignoring the backstage fights that have happened in WWE, Jericho/Batista, JBL/Joey Styles, Booker T/Batista, JBL/Blue Meanie, Sin Cara/Many wrestlers. That’s just off the top of my head. Wrestling companies are prone to muscled idiots thinking they are hard and getting in to it. 
 

@mim731 he had 23 matches between August 21 and September 22. A mixture of tags and singles, and did most of the PPVs. That’s less than a match every 2 weeks. And yes, he was injured for a few months, but that’s not far off. When he came back he was working a similar schedule for collision. There were no houses shows with him on either and you would expect he’d do the odd one with WWE. I think you’d definitely see him more.

[mim731]

56 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

 

@mim731 he had 23 matches between August 21 and September 22. A mixture of tags and singles, and did most of the PPVs. That’s less than a match every 2 weeks. And yes, he was injured for a few months, but that’s not far off. When he came back he was working a similar schedule for collision. There were no houses shows with him on either and you would expect he’d do the odd one with WWE. I think you’d definitely see him more.

I think you've missed the point I'm making, or perhaps I didn't make it clearly enough (very possible). What I was getting at, is if he's on the Lesnar part timer deal, it'll be a different presentation. He's not going to week to week wrestling the mid card guys, like he did with QT Marshall, Lee Moriarty etc.

It'll be a different set up, because WWE is unlikely to risk their big investment unnecessarily because he won't be the single biggest star in the company arguably. AEW had him wrestling on TV more often because that's the story they were telling. That story is not the one WWE will tell, nor should it be. 

Punk's role would clearly be very different, as such the way he's presented and the regularity of his in-ring time, coupled with the more rigid WWE style of matches (arguably a negative overall) would be different. 

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

You’re completely ignoring the backstage fights that have happened in WWE, Jericho/Batista, JBL/Joey Styles, Booker T/Batista, JBL/Blue Meanie, Sin Cara/Many wrestlers. That’s just off the top of my head.

Jericho/Goldberg, Jericho/Sin Cara, Jericho/fans - he nearly got into a fight with Brock Lesnar too. As far as I’m aware, Jericho has far more physical altercations to his name than Punk. I hadn’t actually realised that until I started writing it down. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by RedRooster

[Keith Houchen]

6 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Jericho/Goldberg, Jericho/Sin Cara, Jericho/fans - he nearly got into a fight with Brock Lesnar too. As far as I’m aware, Jericho has far more physical altercations to his name than Punk. I hadn’t actually realised that until I started writing it down. 

Would it be fair to say that WWE is different to how it was back then too? It’s changed a lot since Vince and his boys will be boys bullshit, that wouldn’t fly today. Still a rancid place, mind. 

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Would it be fair to say that WWE is different to how it was back then too? It’s changed a lot since Vince and his boys will be boys bullshit, that wouldn’t fly today. Still a rancid place, mind. 

I think that’s probably fair, and it’s likely equally fair to suggest that AEW hasn’t quite been around long enough to develop the structured environment needed to deal with situations like that; which likely/hopefully aren’t commonplace at any other business the Khan’s have been involved with. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

2 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Would it be fair to say that WWE is different to how it was back then too? It’s changed a lot since Vince and his boys will be boys bullshit, that wouldn’t fly today. Still a rancid place, mind. 

I wouldn’t say it’s different (these are all probables rather than certainties because we don’t know), but I would say the younger wrestlers (the up to 35 crowd or those that came through the indies in the mid 00’s up) don’t have the backstage bullying/ribbing lived experience that was common through the 80’s to the late 00’s. Which means in the eyes of some, they are soft. In the eyes of others,  not arseholes. 
 

I don’t think Vince would have changed things, nor Hunter. And I don’t think under new ownership the structure will change, but the personalities certainly have.

In AEW you have a lot of people getting their first big opportunity for a wide audience and I imagine due to limited TV time and a big roster, that breeds its own issues. Throw in some people who have a chip on their shoulder, and an inexperienced owner in that world and it’s a bad mix.

 Just to add to @RedRooster’s point, with AEW, Tony runs the show. With the Jags and Fulham he doesn’t have the same responsibility.

Edited October 7, 2023 by Hannibal Scorch

[deathrey]

I actually hope he does go to WWE and act his batshit, joyless, self. I missed this thread and all the nonsense Punk was getting up to, it's like its own little self contained soap opera.