Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted April 2 Paid Members Share Posted April 2 (edited) 25 minutes ago, The Gaffer said: It may not be, but it sounds like one. I think down here on the ground floor most of us would attribute the talk of how great WWE are on a weekly basis to the fact that the product itself has improved. I'm not sure what bringing up their past ticket sales have to do with anything either.  I thought that was pretty obvious. Because you were using the point about not wanting a big house. And every promotion wants to get a venue filled. And WWE weren’t doing that. But no one cared because they just used the hard cam side of the arena to close off, making all the audience fill in the wide shots. It’s smart. But AEW do it and it’s hilarious, but it was what WWE did for years and no-one cared. Because why should WE care? Because it’s not us being financially affected. And what I do think is hilarious about Punk bringing it up is that his ego wants him to think he’s a  needle. He sold tons of tickets for his return. He sold decent tickets in Chicago. But he didn’t pop the ratings outside of returns. HHH was right about him. He’ll shift lots of merch, he’ll pack a hometown arena. But in terms of a draw he’s no Roman, Cody or, especially, The Rock.  Also I don’t think booking is an issue. I mean the Continental classic was great, the last few months of TV have also been mostly great. If that’s because you don’t think there’s been enough stories, well that’s what WWE are for. And outside of Cody/Bloodline, Bayley/Damage Control and Rhea/Becky, what storylines have they got? A look at Night 2 gives you an indication of the dullness. But if you have one over the top exciting angle, it’s all you need. And I’ll once again give props, the way they have managed to save WrestleMania this year after they botched The Rock’s return should be studied in future years. Truly remarkable. @DavidB6937 also you make a great point. Kids want to see WWE. All the talk of the PG era but there’s a reason the arenas are full and every toy shop has WWE toys and not AEW ones. So when your choosing where to spend your money are doing it on the product the kids want or the one you’ll drag them to? And tickets are expensive so you have to make a choice. Edited April 2 by Hannibal Scorch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhy Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 One thing I find hilarious is that Punk had a scrap with Jack Perry but got the lawyers involved because Hangman said something about him. He should have tried to fight Hangman, would have been great to see how that went down, I imagine starting a fight with someone his own size isn't really in his nature. Also, it's coming up to 2 years since Hangmans line that peeved him so much and he's still going on about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: I thought that was pretty obvious. Because you were using the point about not wanting a big house. I was referencing people (some of them in this thread) suggesting it was strange of Punk to bring up houses when it's not really AEW's modus operandi. I still have no idea why you replied with a "Yeah but you know WWE didn't have great ticket sales before either, right?" counterpoint to that but whatever. Edited April 2 by The Gaffer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapnut Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 25 minutes ago, sukhy said: One thing I find hilarious is that Punk had a scrap with Jack Perry but got the lawyers involved because Hangman said something about him. Sorry if I’m missing something but what lawyers are involved in the Punk/Hangman beef? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 2 Paid Members Share Posted April 2 31 minutes ago, sukhy said: Also, it's coming up to 2 years since Hangmans line that peeved him so much and he's still going on about it Being asked one question about it in 2 years and answering that question doesn't really qualify as "going on about it", does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted April 2 Paid Members Share Posted April 2 55 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Being asked one question about it in 2 years and answering that question doesn't really qualify as "going on about it", does it. That sounds like a loaded question to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 1 hour ago, sukhy said:  Also, it's coming up to 2 years since Hangmans line that peeved him so much and he's still going on about it He was asked about it, in fairness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhy Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 1 hour ago, Slapnut said: Sorry if I’m missing something but what lawyers are involved in the Punk/Hangman beef? Punk mentioned on his interview that after Hangmans promo when he went off script, he went to Tony Khan and his own lawyers to get it fixed. Not sure what lawyers were supposed to do for it tbh! Also said he was fighting the urge to double leg Hangman and "murder" him on live TV. 1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said: Being asked one question about it in 2 years and answering that question doesn't really qualify as "going on about it", does it. I can't really give Punk the benefit of the doubt here, when he was going on live TV and calling out Hangman when he knew he wasn't in the building. Then he started throwing shots again about Hangmans action figures sales after he came back in August 2023. He's just doing the same thing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted April 3 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 3 9 hours ago, sukhy said: I can't really give Punk the benefit of the doubt here, when he was going on live TV and calling out Hangman when he knew he wasn't in the building. During the Gripe Bomb at All Out, while the Bucks and Kenny were in the building Hangman wasn't. FTR had actually taken him out drinking, which leads to two possibilities: 1) It was sheer coincidence that Hangman was taken out drinking with CM Punk's best buddies when Punk started publicly slagging him off. 2) the much funnier possibility that Punk asked FTR to take Hangman out drinking to ensure that he wouldn't be in the building when he was slagging him off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted April 3 Paid Members Share Posted April 3 I’ll always adore the way they took the piss on BTE, explaining why Hangman didn’t go out when Punk started slagging him off. I swear this was Punk’s real problem with AEW. He met people who could be even bigger sarcastic pricks. Lads who live for this nonsense.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted April 3 Paid Members Share Posted April 3 I think a big thing with CM Punk in AEW was that his ego couldn't handle not being the locker room leader and the respected veteran that everybody looked up to, forgetting that an awful lot of people in that locker room were loyal to the friend he'd fucked over, or were people that he'd bullied, belittled and fucked around on his way up through the indies. That, and he had a private dressing room - it's hard to be the leader of a locker room you're not in. The interview obviously isn't going to change anyone's minds. The people who think Punk was in the right will continue to do so, and the people who think he's a miserable hypocritical prick will continue to do so too, and I count myself in the latter camp. Half the interview may as well have been the old Simpsons line, "but when I do it it's cute", the amount he tied himself up in knots trying to justify why "the CM Punk magic" makes it okay for him to do all the things he criticises other people for doing, or trying to argue that choking Jack Perry was somehow more acceptable than punching him, and that not "murdering" Hangman Page somehow made him more professional. I give it five years max before he's just another grumpy old wrestler with a podcast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 I completely forgot how BTE touched that with so much irrelevant sarcasm. Didn't Punk go mental about Kenny Omega drinking a Pepsi in a skit as an obvious dig at him? I just want that to be true through sheer silliness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 13 minutes ago, BomberPat said: The interview obviously isn't going to change anyone's minds. The people who think Punk was in the right will continue to do so, and the people who think he's a miserable hypocritical prick will continue to do so too, and I count myself in the latter camp. I think there's room for a middle ground here - people who think Punk has valid points, but kills his own argument by acting out in an insane way. Preventing Jack Perry from smashing the window of a rental car is easy to agree with; for example, but attempting to choke him out is clearly an insane thing to do. I think he's capable of identifying problems, but is completely incapable of handling them in anything close to a rational way. I also think he's oblivious to the impact of his own actions, or to why he's in the wrong. If you take a version of CM Punk capable of articulating his views in a rational, constructive way and place him in AEW, I think you get a better product for it. Unfortunately, that's seemingly not how Punk operates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted April 3 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 3 Just now, RedRooster said: I think he's capable of identifying problems, but is completely incapable of handling them in anything close to a rational way. I think this is best encapsulated in his own words when he complains in the interview about going to Tony Khan and saying "you need to do something about this because if you don't I will, and you're not going to like it". If he genuinely was a real locker room leader he'd be able to have these conversations with other younger talent where he sets them straight but in a professional and proper manner and they understand and appreciate what they did wrong and what effect it has on themselves and others. Punk on the other hand sees something wrong and his way of "fixing" something is to basically yell, scream and/or fight said person or to basically do what they did but ten times worse and more publicly. Then he blames others for the fact that he "had" to respond like that, because in his mind he had no choice and it's not his fault - it's theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 9 minutes ago, RedRooster said: I think there's room for a middle ground here 100% this. I like Punk, I pretty much always have, and I really enjoy listening to him speak as I find him funny (and I fancy him) But I still think he's a bit of a nob who acts like a nob, and definitely don't think he's justified in choking someone, even if it was just a little bit. He's a mentalist most of the time. And for me there is one other crucial piece of information and that's that when it comes down to it, I really don't care what any of these massive man-childs say or do, as I don't know them and it doesn't affect my life, so they can all say or do what they want. Does anyone actually get genuinely annoyed or offended when Punk has a pop at the Bucks or vice versa? If so, why? Even when they were beefing in the same company, it didn't particularly affect me as I don't really watch that company much, but I understand that for some, Punk did sully their viewing of AEW as it bought a lot of drama and meant some of their favourites weren't on TV for a bit (is that right?) All of that's not me being "too good for wrestling" by the way, at all as I'm not, but this is all just a bit of fun for me. I'd like them to throw stupid jabs at each other forever if it entertains me. They're a bunch of fannies. All of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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