WWE Night of Champions 2025 Discussion

[JLM]

To be charitable and give a more substantive response, I do understand the sentiment because I often roll my eyes when I see a pile on from centrists or right wingers rushing to point out the hypocrisy (or imagined hypocrisy) of anyone who advocates for progressive causes. It is a very common tool used to undermine anyone trying to do work or show support for many causes I agree with. 

This is some staggering hypocrisy though. “A bit of a hypocrite” is extremely generous. Agreeing to work the shows at all would be stretching “a bit of a hypocrite”, this grovelling apology is waaay beyond that. Even if you’re not surprised at him doing it, the extent of it in this instance is quite hard to stomach and, in my view, is worthy of some derision.

 

 I don’t hate Punk. I have often found him to be a brilliant performer, he can be very witty and entertaining, being a grumpy curmudgeon in the absurd wrestling business is understandable, and he has shown what I believe to be genuine support for some pretty cool stuff. There are many many far worse people in wrestling and a lot of them don’t face the level of scrutiny he does. This is a VERY poor show though, and people commenting on it is definitely not more embarrassing than what he’s done. 

Edited June 27, 2025 by JLM

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

All the people who had picked their sides from when Punk was in AEW are surprisingly on the same sides they were then. Obviously we've had the new wrinkle of "Real glass is safer than sugar glass" but other than that it's just the same people on the same sides posting the same tired opinions. There are at least 2 pages of reading time that couldn't be less interesting if it tried and its time I'm never getting back, and realistically there is only one page that is of any importance. Hangman Adam Page. 

No one is allowed to even mention Tony Sniff anymore for fear of the banhammer, and if mentioning it here gets me banned then fair enough, but how about we impose the same restriction on anything related to the Punk and Jungle Boy incident. Save Moo some server memory as the continued harping back to it is dull as fucking ditchwater. 

[SaitoRyo]

Fourteen years to the day since Punk dropped his Pipe Bomb promo on Raw, Company Man Punk out there professing his love for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

I love a lot of Punk's work and have often tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but that is just excruciating. 

[RedTwoster]

3 hours ago, Chico Torres said:

Wonderful to see, working for the MAGA company and pandering to MBS. He will be singing happy birthday at a NOT A MAGA rally soon enough. Put on the red baseball cap and smile Philip.

Oh, just leave it be. It’s been pointed out to you multiple times that this was not a MAGA rally. There’s no ambiguity to it, it just wasn’t. By continuing to push fake news, you’re guilty of the exact behaviour we see from MAGA politicians and acolytes every day. So be better than that. Get angry at some of the awful things we know to be true instead. 

Edited June 27, 2025 by RedTwoster

[d-d-d-dAz]

1 hour ago, Doog said:

No one is surprised in this thread. They're all rushing here to tell everyone they told us so about him and pat themselves on the back.

This thread is far more embarrasing than anything Punks done, just everyone buzzing that he's "fucked up" and now can all pile in on him and taking great delight that he's shown himself to be a bit of a hypocrite.

With the greatest of respect, this is nonsense.

Speaking for myself, I've been defending Punk throughout and was thrilled that he'd found some form of happiness in the WWE. I've not been a blind fan, and accepted that he's probably a nightmare to deal with and far too precious BUT ive always been a huge fan and have, to some degree, bought into this idea that he and his principles can't be separated.

Punk is probably the reason I'm still a wrestling fan now, there have been fallow periods in the past where wrestling was shit and he was either the reason I kept watching, or he was gone and I'd watch his highlights on YouTube or whatever.

I thought more than anyone in wrestling he had real, deeply held principles... I thought that those principles were probably why he was such a prick to others as once you crossed one of his red lines he'd go supernova.

So, for me, this is a bit deflating (maybe not surprising, as since returning to WWE I think we've slowly seen an ebbing away of what I/we assumed was his personality and a few very un-punk traits have appeared) and a bit frustrating.

Edited June 27, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[SuperBacon]

4 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

With the greatest of respect, this is nonsense

I mean he's not completely wrong. There are absolutely people that were delighted to be "right" about Punk and couldn't wait to say so. 

That is pathetic behaviour whichever way you slice it.

[Devon Malcolm]

Not one journalist had the nerve to ask him "Hey Punk. Do you know what they do to trans people round here?"

But real glass, eh. Fuckinell.

[gmoney]

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

I don't know how there can be anyone left taking him seriously after this. It's excruciating. I can't watch that last video, it's too cringe.

Yeah, who's going to vote for him now?

[Chili]

14 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Not one journalist had the nerve to ask him "Hey Punk. Do you know what they do to trans people round here?"

But real glass, eh. Fuckinell.

Unfortunately that was never going to be ever asked especially by people who still want the access to the press conferences.

[Supremo]

I think back to All In 2023. CM Punk is an angry man, under loads of pressure. His eye bags need to be declared as he boards the flight, they’re so massive. His head is a mess. No limo! He can’t figure out which station to catch the Jubilee Line! These fans stink! The way things are going, he’s going to have to make people fear for their lives and give Jack Perry a cheeky little choke literally seconds before going out there. But deep down inside he wants to shove it up everyone’s arse, so he has an absolute ripper with Samoa Joe, arguably stealing the show.

You assume he’s in a similar mind frame now. You’d expect him to go out there with a point to prove. Somehow deliver. Change the narrative. Shove it up their arse. But fucking hell. He’s in there with 2025 John Cena!

I rate CM Punk as an artist and performer. He’s one of the best ever. But surely he’s got no chance.

I honestly wonder whether that’s why Jade and Kross are on this card. Lower expectations before the main event.

[wordsfromlee]

[Devon Malcolm]

44 minutes ago, Chili said:

Unfortunately that was never going to be ever asked especially by people who still want the access to the press conferences.

I don't disagree. But it's more of a talking point, and a more important one, than a pretend cowboy's wrestling promos from a few years ago.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

I mean he's not completely wrong. There are absolutely people that were delighted to be "right" about Punk and couldn't wait to say so. 

That is pathetic behaviour whichever way you slice it.

what about those people who are devastated to be wrong?

[tiger_rick]

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

I mean he's not completely wrong. There are absolutely people that were delighted to be "right" about Punk and couldn't wait to say so. 

That is pathetic behaviour whichever way you slice it.

It's very rare that people aren't delighted to be right. It's not pathetic. You're only jumping on it because you're one of the people who still loves WWE for whatever reason.

We're a bit more polite to each other on here than elsewhere but we've got the same tribal nonsense. 

FWIW, I'm gutted Punk turned out to be a massive hypocrite. I thought he was many things, but I believed he was a real supporter of the people he's let down. I'm really sorry for them.

[d-d-d-dAz]

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

I mean he's not completely wrong. There are absolutely people that were delighted to be "right" about Punk and couldn't wait to say so. 

That is pathetic behaviour whichever way you slice it.

Oh, I'm sure there are. There are also people like me who are responding from the position of someone whose a fan, and the original post suggested there was no one like that.

Because discussions about Big Phil are never objective. They always descend into people throwing bricks from the position they've always held.

Whereas, objectively, Punk has been made to look an absolute cunt the last couple of weeks and like someone who doesn't stand for anything but his own desire to get paid and headline Wrestlemania's.

Which is fine, it's maybe just not the CM Punk some people signed up for.

New York Yankees.

Edited June 27, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz