CM Punk chat

[d-d-d-dAz]

10 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

That Punk video was interesting. Strange vibes throughout and you can feel some of the tension with some people so clearly.

He's spoken about this before to be fair, and said the vibe when he first arrived was strange. He'd been incommunicado with most of them for years, and all they'd heard from him was him taking shots and saying awful things about them. He's lucky some of them didn't clump him, to be honest.

That said, a few in here predicted (me included) that this time would be different and I think so far that's proven to be true. It's not because I think he's changed on some deep level, it's just that I think nothing focuses the mind quite like a last chance saloon. For all else that went on, AEW clearly revitalised his love of wrestling and once that bridge was blown up he only had one option.

Reading a lot of stuff from him recently, whilst there's an element of delusion he should deal with personally, I can see why he's carried a level of frustration through his career that's caused him problems. He clearly thinks of himself as a talent alongside The Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin, Roman Reigns et al. He considers himself to be amongst the very top level, and I'd say for the majority his career he's had to deal with not being booked at that level.

So, I sort of get it from his perspective. That said, as much as I love him (at times) I don't think he's at that same level so can also understand why at times he's rubbed people up the wrong way. Part of why he's probably enjoying this run in WWE so much is the way Nick and Paul seem so happy to make all the old boys feel like King's and treat them like royalty 

[LaGoosh]

I'd agree with that. I think it's pretty clear as well from comments he's made previously that he's wanted a Brock Lesnar type contract for years. Work part time, get treated like a huge deal and paid lots for it. He also gets to hang around NXT where the rookies there can all look up to him, ask his advice and he can be a lockerroom leader type which weirdly seems to be something he desperately needs.

People saying "he's changed" are a bit delusional, I think. It's more a combination of "last chance saloon" as you say - this is probably his last chance in his entire life to get a big payday - and also that yeah, if you give someone everything they want and treat them as special then they're probably going to be a pretty easy going person. 

[BomberPat]

13 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Regal is always great when talking about the old British scene but it seems like his brain is scrambled eggs for any other time period and he's got nothing of note to say for the most part.

Yeah, I got the impression from the podcast that his time wrestling in Britain was the only period of his career that he had any genuine love for, and the rest was just a bonus. But his co-host knew absolutely nothing about British wrestling, so was never able to follow up on any of his stories or ask any follow-up questions.

[Hannibal Scorch]

Fightful Select got hold of a dispute between them, Nick Nemeth and CM Punk

“The fallout from CM Punk’s controversial time in AEW continues to reverberate, with a new issue arising involving Ryan Nemeth. In September 2023, Nemeth filed a formal complaint to AEW executives, alleging abuse, harassment, and threats from CM Punk, which he claims went unaddressed by the company. The document outlines a timeline of events where Nemeth details his interactions with Punk and AEW’s internal response—or lack thereof.

According to Nemeth, he first reached out to AEW’s legal department in April 2023, fearing that Punk would target him. He also alleges that Punk threatened him during a locker room encounter in June 2023. Despite receiving empathy from some AEW talent, including Tony Schiavone and the Young Bucks, and assurances that his career wouldn’t be impacted, Nemeth felt ostracized, especially after not being booked for two months. He also believed that his contract would be allowed to expire without renewal, which he feared was punishment for speaking out.

The situation escalated in August when Nemeth was removed from an AEW show at Punk’s request. He was also allegedly ordered to cut a promo antagonizing Punk, who was AEW’s World Champion at the time. Despite reaching out to AEW Legal and HR for support, Nemeth claims that no action was taken, and that legal rep Megha Parekh’s departure left him dealing with new contacts who didn’t adequately address his concerns. After Punk’s well-documented altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All Out, Nemeth’s concerns were further exacerbated, leading to a conversation with AEW’s outside counsel. This did not result in any resolution for Nemeth, who continued to feel sidelined.

By November 2023, Nemeth had worked his final match for AEW. His contract was set to expire in March 2024, and he alleges that AEW felt he was responsible for Punk’s departure. Additionally, AEW reportedly offered a settlement of approximately three years’ worth of Nemeth’s salary, contingent on him signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Nemeth ultimately rejected the offer, with his legal team asserting that it was no longer on the table.

Nemeth claims that Chris Peck, AEW’s current legal rep, threatened him with a lawsuit after he submitted his timeline of events. He also mentioned that AEW’s response to his situation was inadequate and that other talent had raised similar concerns to Peck, but their voices went unheard. Despite the turmoil, Nemeth expressed appreciation for his colleagues in AEW, noting that they deserve a safer work environment.“

[Devon Malcolm]

19 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Despite receiving empathy from some AEW talent, including Tony Schiavone and the Young Bucks

[RedTwoster]

That really sucks. Power imbalances just seem to be accepted in wrestling in a way they just aren’t in regular jobs. Fair play to him for not signing an NDA, but I hope he gets some form of compensation for his troubles, it all sounds very unpleasant.

[LaGoosh]

Grim reading and also a healthy reminder that 1) despite everyone being so happy that CM Punk is so happy now that he's actually a nasty piece of work and 2) how shitty the wrestling business is even today and how many people will bend, protect and support bad people as long as they draw money.

Surprised Nemeth was under contract though to be honest. It's not like he got booked in matches often even before this.

Edited December 5, 2024 by LaGoosh

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

Awful business all around, but does it tell us anything we didn't already know? Punk can be a prick if he's not getting his own way on everything and the empathy that the Executive Vice Presidents showed to Nick Nemeth was to get HR and Legal to try and get him to sign an NDA. They must have changed the definition of empathy. 

So it doesn't really tell us anything we didn't know about Punk, still a prick, but it does tell us that Matt and Nick Jackson are really starting to grow into their roles as EVP's. 

I just hope that everyone in AEW who is under contract but doesn't get used regularly hasn't fallen out with someone backstage, because that would be a lot of fallings out. 

[SuperBacon]

24 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

despite everyone being so happy that CM Punk is so happy now that he's actually a nasty piece of work and

But things aren't that black and white and I don't think we should be sweeping "everyone" together.

I like Punk, I like having him in wrestling but I'm not following him as a morality guide and am under no illusion that he's a bit of a shit.

I'll watch him wrestle, I wouldn't go for a coffee with him (as I don't particularly like Starbucks)

[Supremo]

Well I for one am completely shocked to hear Tony Khan was once again a cowardly shithouse when it came to actually managing wrestlers beyond chatting about old ECW pay per views.

I didn’t play a lot of EWR. When you encountered problems with talent, were the only two options, “send talent home for six months,” or “NDA”?

[Hannibal Scorch]

32 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

I like Punk, I like having him in wrestling

That’s kind of the problem though. Because why do you want someone we know to have bullied people to not only be in the business but to have that much influence/power? It’s like people who still like Hogan and Flair appearing for nostalgia. Once you know they are a POS, why do you want them associated?

I guess he’s at least playing up to the Punk part of his name. Tony Khan getting him back in the business is the worst thing he’s probably done, and I’ve heard what he’s alleged to have done to dogs.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I mean, you can frame this as Punk being a shithead. Absolutely you can. We all know he kept people off Collision.

But the action Nemeth is taking is against AEW, the real key paragraph from the report (which I don't think is in Scorch's copy and paste one) is really:

"With his complaint, Nemeth is looking for financial considerations and an overhaul of AEW's policy, while also noting he had discussed the situation with "mental health professionals." Despite his issues with Punk, Nemeth also believes that Punk wasn't necessarily the catalyst for AEW lacking a safe environment, which he felt the AEW roster deserved. Nemeth laid more blame on Peck, who he says stonewalled him, didn't take Nemeth's claims seriously, and didn't review Nemeth's timeline."

And this is quite interesting...

"Oddly enough, Nemeth's final AEW match would occur in November, the same week Punk would return to WWE, though his contract wouldn't expire until 2024. Nemeth believed AEW and owner Tony Khan held him responsible for having to fire Punk and that agent Sonjay Dutt pitched ideas for him to no avail."

So in short. A toxic situation enabled by an out of his depth rich kid spiralled out of control, and the out of his depth rich kid had a tantrum at the end.

It's all who knows though, as I'm sure Punk would say 'I kept trying to avoid these fucking guys, and they kept taking shots at me in promos and AEW kept booking them on the same shows as me unnecessarily.' And then Nemeth would say 'I didn't want to work Collision, and they made me take shots at you in promos'.

All a load of old bollocks. All a load of children. The only real takeaway seems to be that working in AEW in the last couple of years seems much worst than working in WWE, and that's such a shame considering how they started.

https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1729722/ryan-nemeth-alleges-harrassment-cm-punk-lack-response-aew/

[DavidB6937]

Yeah I wasn't surprised about the Punk stuff - and that's in no way justifying it, we all know the man can have issues and we're hoping he's learnt from them now - but the general business behaviour surrounding the situation sounds appalling. There's a lot more going on there than just Punk.

[Chris B]

I've generally liked Nick Nemeth, after his BTE days, and this is a shame to read. It really comes across like the company had no idea how to handle their biggest star throwing their weight around, and just kept hoping it would all blow over. A bit like with the Colt Cabana thing, it also smacks of them seeing lower-card guys as expendable, and figuring 'well, they'll be gone anyway and we're paying them, so who cares?'. 

The detail that Christopher Daniels was kicked out as a balance to Ace Steel biting people is utterly ridiculous though.

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

But things aren't that black and white and I don't think we should be sweeping "everyone" together.

I was being flippant but fair point.

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

I'll watch him wrestle, I wouldn't go for a coffee with him

Well he only gets the coffees in for the young female wrestlers anyway...