The internet allows wrestling stars to showcase their talents to the whole world and reach a much wider audience. However, it can also be a toxic place for wrestlers who aren’t used to the relentless criticism and trolling.
CM Punk is one of the most polarizing figures of the whole industry who often finds himself being targeted by the trolls for one reason or the other. He has good advice for anyone who is not used to it.
The AEW star recently had an interview with Abe Kanan of Rock 95.5 in Chicago. Speaking of the internet trolls, Punk shared his advice for other wrestlers. He said that you can’t win from them and you should focus on finding inner peace instead:
“You can’t win. I implore all humans to understand that you cannot win [from internet trolls]. You cannot be beholden to what nameless, faceless people on the internet say about you. It doesn’t matter.” said CM Punk, “You have to find inner peace and be happy with what you’re doing. I 100% am that guy. I’m stoked to be where I am. I got a lot of cool projects coming up aside from AEW.
He continued, “And I get to go home to a very beautiful, smart, talented woman and my dog Larry every night. So it can’t be beat. Like Johnny 256969 on Twitter, trust me you could say whatever you want about me dude. I sucked in UFC? That’s cool, I get that video game money. So I am ok.”
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Paul Heyman has shared his unique insight on CM Punk’s return to professional wrestling. According to Heyman, Punk is still riding the momentum of the excitement surrounding his return. He believes it will be at least a year until we can truly evaluate the impact of his current run.
Heyman appeared on The Ringer’s The Masked Man Show podcast this week to promote Saturday’s WWE Royal Rumble premium live event. He spoke with David Shoemaker and Kazeem Famuyide about working closely with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, what it means to be a Paul Heyman Guy and much more.
CM Punk returned to wrestling last summer. He made his debut for All Elite Wrestling at AEW Rampage: The First Dance on August 20, 2021. Since then, Punk has worked memorable programs with Darby Allin and MJF. He appears to be thoroughly enjoying himself, a stark contrast from when he left WWE in 2014.
When asked what he thinks about the work CM Punk is doing in AEW, Paul Heyman says he’s not sure if Punk should be judged on the work he is currently doing.
“I think what will be interesting is what happens when the novelty that he’s back wears off, both for the audience and for him.”
– Paul Heyman on CM Punk’s return to wrestling
According to the mastermind behind ECW, it’s going to take some time before we can truly gauge Punk’s return to wrestling. Will Punk simply ride the wave of nostalgia, or will he revolutionize the business again?
“What happens a year from now? How’s he going to feel? How will the audience look at him and accept him in a year? If he can continue to drive himself to being a progressive, compelling, riveting character on the cutting edge that presents himself in a different manner than anybody else can present himself, herself, then he’s going to be fascinating character to watch.”
Heyman continued, “If he can’t, then he’s going to be someone that came back, rode a wave of nostalgia but didn’t progress into the future when he as a rebel was always looking forward in the business and never trying to live off what the business had already accomplished or what he had already accomplished in the business.”
What fascinates Paul Heyman most is the vision CM Punk has for his character. We are still in the “honeymoon period” of Punk being back in wrestling.
CM Punk & Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns & CM Punk
Heyman says Punk’s current situation is very similar to Roman Reigns’ transition from The Big Dog to The Tribal Chief. Before they joined forces on WWE television, Heyman had a heart-to-heart conversation with Reigns. He told Reigns that everything he had done up to that point was the “appetizer” of his career. Even though he had already main evented WrestleMania four times, that was practice.
“This is where your legacy gets crafted,” he told Reigns. “This is your Hall of Fame run. This is what you will be remembered for and everything before was just getting you here, including four WrestleMania main events.”
Heyman says CM Punk is still in the “warm up” phase of what could be an all-time great career. A year from now, when this current honeymoon phase is over, he’ll have a chance to solidify his legacy.
“Where does he take the CM Punk character in 2023, 2024, 2025? Can he make that character so progressive, so revolutionary, so evolutionary, so riveting, so compelling, so different and unique than anybody that’s out there that he truly defines himself as a transformative figure, a true disruptor in the professional wrestling/sports-entertainment game? That’s the interesting part to me.”
Heyman added that “momentum eventually stops” and Punk has to create the next wave of momentum to truly touch the audience in a meaningful way.
Wrestlers’ Court is a bygone practice where backstage issues amongst talent are settled by an appointed ‘judge’ before things escalated beyond the point of no return.
When someone was ‘acting up’ in a way that offended the rest of the locker room, they would ‘stand trial’ and have the opportunity defend themselves. If they were found guilty, a punishment was handed down by the judge as a way of resolving the matter.
The appointed judge was often a locker room leader, with The Undertaker presiding over many trials during his day.
Today’s wrestling business is far from perfect, but things have evolved and cleaned up dramatically from past eras. The antics that would have landed someone in Wrestlers’ Court are more taboo today than they were in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Many find Wrestlers’ Court itself to be completely antiquated.
On Monday, CM Punk mentioned on social media that he’d like to one day dress up like a cowboy for one of his matches, including leather chaps and vest. A few of his followers pointed out that Adam “Hangman” Page already has this gimmick.
One fan told Punk that he might land himself in Wrestlers’ Court if he started dressing up like a cowboy and ‘infringing’ on Hangman Page’s gimmick. Punk took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Wrestlers’ Court.
According to CM Punk, Wrestlers’ Court was “the most insecure small dick energy average white man embarrassment to the wrestling business shit of all time.”
Wrestler court was the most insecure small dick energy average white man embarrassment to the wrestling business shit of all time.
Ric Flair believes that CM Punk would benefit from not giving his opponents a lot of offense in the midst of a program.
Punk is currently feuding with MJF on AEW TV. The two have traded barbs for weeks but the match doesn’t have an official date.
Some have questioned the booking of Punk’s matches in AEW. He’s given a lot of offense to his opposition, something MJF has used in storyline claiming Punk is struggling against guys he should be dominating.
Many were critical of Punk’s match with MJF’s bodyguard Wardlow on the Jan. 12 episode of Dynamite. Wardlow basically dismantled Punk before being pinned by a fluke roll-up.
At the end of the match, the attention was more on Wardlow than it was on Punk, who still hasn’t had his match with MJF.
Ric Flair On CM Punk Giving Too Much
Taking to his WOOOOO Nation UNCENSORED podcast, Ric Flair expressed his belief that CM Punk shouldn’t be as generous in his matches when he needs to build a feud.
“If Punk is arguably their top star, I would always just keep him — he’s already proved that he can work his ass off, right?
“I would always keep him in matches on TV where he took more of the match going into an angle like he is right now with the other guy. Considering that he’s gonna have to get up, make a promo with MJF and all that I just would’ve shortened it up.
“I think he’s being overgenerous. That doesn’t make him a bad guy. That would’ve been my style forever too but I just think he’s going into this big program he doesn’t need to be quite as generous.”
Wardlow splitting from MJF has been a story that’s been brewing for quite a while. While many feel Wardlow is destined to be a star, many also believe the momentum of Punk vs. MJF has been squandered.
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CM Punk has once again blasted the people who chase celebrities for autographs in airports during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The AEW star shared his frustrations with such people in a tweet telling them that they need to stop frequenting airports to get things signed.
This tweet prompted a fan to post a GIF of CM Punk during his AEW debut in Chicago last year where he is seen jumping into the crowd.
The straight edge star responded to this tweet as well. He explained that the audience at the show had to show proof of vaccination to get entry into the arena:
“Sure is me, you c–t. At a show. Post vax, pre omicron, had to show proof of vax to gain entrance. NOT STALKING ANYONE AT AN AIRPORT OR A HOTEL. How stupid are you?”
Still in a pandemic. If you’re waiting at an airport to get stuff signed, you need to stop doing that shit.
Sure is me, you cunt. At a show. Post vax, pre omicron, had to show proof of vax to gain entrance. NOT STALKING ANYONE AT AN AIRPORT OR A HOTEL. How stupid are you? https://t.co/5mEseS94kR
This isn’t the first time CM Punk has targeted the fans for this type of behaviour in public places. He previously called out the autograph chasers during his infamous 2011 pipebobm promo.
He said “At five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face so you can get an autograph and try to sell it on eBay because you’re too lazy to go get a real job.”
Punk is scheduled to face Wardlow in a one-on-one match during this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC.
Bully Ray believes MJF is firing verbal shots towards CM Punk that are getting under his skin.
Punk and MJF have been involved in a feud and fans have had the pleasure of witnessing verbal battles on Dynamite. The two have yet to have a one-on-one match but they’re expected to collide within the next month or so.
“It’s not a made-up line, it’s dead-on balls-accurate truth. And guess what? Punk don’t like those truths being thrown in his face. You could see it in the phony smile that comes over his face.
“It’s like when a boxer gets tagged in the ring with a great shot and they smile and they try to laugh it off. All that smile says is, ‘Yeah, you got me and you got me good.’ MJF is not pulling sh*t out of thin air.
“He’s hitting him straight between the eyes with brutal honesty and whether or not they discussed it, it doesn’t matter. There’s so many things that you can hit Punk with that can land death blows on him it’s not funny.
“All those smoke and mirrors that he used can go away in the snap of a finger and MJF knows how to do it.”
In storyline, MJF is also flying a little too close to the sun when it comes to his bodyguard Wardlow. Fans have noticed MJF taking Wardlow for granted over the past few months and it’ll likely lead to a split between the two.
As for Punk, many believe he’s been planting the seeds for an eventual heel turn. He seemingly tested the waters while throwing shade at MJF’s hometown crowd in Long Island back in late 2021.
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Kazuchika Okada hopes that he can share the ring with Bryan Danielson and CM Punk before it’s too late.
Okada is gearing up for Wrestle Kingdom 16. He’ll be challenging Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Okada won the 2021 G1 Climax and if he defeats Takagi on Jan. 4, he’ll defend the gold against Will Ospreay on Jan. 5.
While Okada has a lot on his mind going into the big Tokyo Dome show, he isn’t afraid to look into the future.
Kazuchika Okada’s Dream Matches
Ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Kazuchika Okada spoke to Sports Illustrated. Okada admitted that he wants to have matches with Danielson and Punk but he knows there isn’t a lot of time left.
“Danielson and Punk would make for some incredible matches. A lot of those dream match scenarios are about getting excited for the possibilities, and once the match is done, it’s done. So it is important to keep that excitement and anticipation, I think. Still, if we wait too long, they’ll both retire eventually, so I want to face them both while they’re still active.”
(Update) CM Punk has has since replied to Okada expressing interest in working together. Punk provided the address of Chicago’s United Center and says, “come see me.”
Danielson and Punk are currently members of the AEW roster. NJPW and AEW have been chummy as of late and once Japan allows foreigners to return without a quarantine period, Okada may get his wish.
Okada has had some classics against the likes of Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and many more.
NJPW has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. There has already been rumblings about Wrestle Kingdom this year not being as heavily hyped as it had been in years past. Still, Okada is looking to remind fans of his legendary status.
NJPW has attempted to spice things up by adding a third night of WK on Jan. 8. That show will be a crossover with Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Since announcing his return to professional wrestling this past August with AEW, CM Punk has worked with several young stars. Rather than jumping right into the main event scene, the former world champion has been sharing the spotlight with both new faces and legends.
Speaking with ESPN’s SportsNation, Punk revealed which young AEW stars have impressed him the most and who he sees as future main event stars.
“There’s so many honestly,” CM Punk said when reflecting the roster (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “There’s so many guys. I think the future of AEW is in such good hands. Most of the younger guys that we have that we’re going to wind up spotlighting in the next five years or so are in their early 20’s. Britt Baker, Hook. I mean, everyone seems to love Hook and the guy’s had one match. I just think we take our time with our talents.
“AEW as a whole is still a baby. Two years old. And we’re going to be moving to TBS in the new year. That’s a big step. And just taking time and fostering the new talent instead of just kind of throwing them out there and having a sink or swim attitude, I think helps. Daniel Garcia is a guy that I think is phenomenal. Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks. I’ll forget so many people if I name them. I just think that the future is very, very bright.”
Punk also explained why he has chosen to work with young talent like Darby Allin, Hobbs, Garcia, and others.
“I think I could use my name, whatever value that has, and kind of highlight some of the guys while knocking off some ring rust and moving myself up the ladder. So for storyline purposes, it makes sense to me. And I always remember guys helping me and they were few and far between. I think more people should help more people and I’m just trying to do my best to do that.”
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CM Punk took a 7-year hiatus from wrestling after quitting WWE before he made his triumphant return earlier this year. Though during his time away, he never took his hand off the pulse of the industry. He kept an eye on the up-and-coming talents. While many have criticized some of the storylines he has been a part of since his return, it appears that giving young talents the spotlight was always part of his plan.
The straight edge star recently appeared on ESPN SportsNation. He was asked why it was important for him to make his return in this capacity where he is working with a lot of younger talent. Answering it Punk explained that it’s about using his name to help the relatively unknown talents:
“Because very selfishly, it’s what I wanted to do. When you take seven years off of something that you’re pretty decent at and you’re priding yourself at having your finger on the pulse of everything. I think there’s an undercurrent and there’s a lot of young professional wrestlers out there that are probably better than a lot of people give them credit for. They just don’t have the spotlight. They don’t have anybody that’s saying, ‘Hey, look at this guy.’ Or they do but just not on a national level.
Punk continued, “I think I could use my name, whatever value that has, and kind of highlight some of the guys while knocking off some ring rust and moving myself up the ladder. So for storyline purposes, it makes sense to me. And I always remember guys helping me and they were few and far between. I think more people should help more people and I’m just trying to do my best to do that.”
Will We Get To See CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Adam Cole & Britt Baker?
CM Punk and AJ Lee
AEW is not very big on mixed tag matches but there is one match that many people want to see. The match of CM Punk & AJ Lee vs Adam Cole & Britt Baker is something that even Cole and Baker have shown interest in. Though when asked if we will get to see the bout, the former world champion said that he can’t promise that:
“That one I can’t promise you. She is doing her own thing. To be completely honest, I know her and if I said, ‘Hey, you want to do this wrestling match?’, and if she was all gung-ho to do it, I know she would want to get into stupid shape to do it, and I like her thick. So I don’t want to take that away from myself.”
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Posted December 24th, 2021 in AEW, News. Tagged: CM Punk.
This week’s special Holiday Bash edition of AEW Dynamite saw Sting team up with Darby Allin and CM Punk in the main event. They defeated the team of Maxwell Jacob Friedman and FTR of the Pinnacle.
Sting and Punk paid homage to one another with their face-paint and ring gear.
Ahead of this memorable bout, Sting spoke to Sports Illustrated and had glowing things to say about Punk.
“CM Punk, he’s truly amazing to me,” he began. “Hearing the crowd respond to him, it’s made me turn back the clock and think of all the different memorable reactions over the years to different wrestlers. I’ve especially been thinking about The Road Warriors. Animal was really big on that. He would say, ‘This guy got a huge pop, but it wasn’t a Road Warrior pop.’ That’s what Punk gets.”
Sting and CM Punk
Sting has wrestled alongside some of the biggest names in pro wrestling history. He’s worked with them all, yet still credits Punk for being a “remarkable” and “electrifying” performer.
“I had an idea of CM Punk’s greatness, but now I have experienced it,” Sting continued. “His appearances are so electrifying. He is remarkable, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to be in the ring with him and Darby as their tag team partner.”
Sting Retiring on His Terms
Sting also spoke about how fortunate he is to write this final chapter of his career on his terms.
“Not many people get to rewrite their final chapter, not at this level. I had great matches at the Greensboro Coliseum with Lex Luger, and now I get to do it with Darby and CM Punk against MJF and FTR. It’s a great way to end my career. The crowd, their appreciation makes me want to tear up. It’s almost as if they don’t want to say goodbye.”
Sting has a lot of great memories wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum. Back in 1988, he wrestled NWA Champion Ric Flair to a 45-minute time-limit draw at the first-ever Clash of the Champions. That show went head-to-head with WWE’s WrestleMania IV.
Serena Deeb was once a member of CM Punk’s Straight-Edge Society faction in WWE. They are now both members of the AEW roster. Deeb was recently interviewed by Wrestling Inc. and noted that Punk has helped her career in multiple ways.
“We have a great relationship, we obviously go back a long way and we did some really good business together over the years,” Deeb said. “I met Punk in, I want to say 2005 at OVW when he first reported there and Paul Heyman was booking the show and Punk was his guy.”
Deeb continued to say that Punk played a role in helping her get into the Shimmer and Ring of Honor promotions.
“Punk was the driving force behind getting me to Shimmer for the first time, which at the time was, as a female wrestler, that was the indie that you aspire to go to because that was the best. From Shimmer that got me to Ring Of Honor. Punk really guided me and really helped support me in getting to all these places before WWE.”
CM Punk, Serena Deeb, and the Straight Edge Society
During the January 22nd, 2010 edition of WWE SmackDown, Deeb appeared as a fan in the crowd. She jumped the guardrail and made it known she wanted to join Punk’s Straight Edge Society faction. As an initiation, the group shaved her head. Deeb also spoke about her time in the group during her recent interview.
“I think because we had that great relationship and that friendship and that foundation, we had chemistry already just from all of that. It translated on-screen. I constantly get tagged on social media and people still love The Straight Edge Society and it was over a decade ago, it’s crazy. I love having him in the locker room.”
Serena Deeb On Advice She Receives From CM Punk
Deeb also spoke about how she regularly goes to CM Punk for advice on her matches. She believes everyone in the AEW locker room should do the same.
“He’s somebody I think all the guys and all the women should be asking for feedback. I ask him. I ask him to watch my matches, he doesn’t always get the chance to because he’s doing a million things on the show.”
Deeb continued to praise CM Punk’s ability to tell stories in the ring. She even noted that we might see a reunion between them somewhere down the line.
“The dude’s a master storyteller. I mean he blows my mind with some of the stuff he does. He’s clearly one of the best to ever do it and we have a great relationship. We talk every week and everything is great and yeah, we might see a reunion one day.”
The full interview is available in the player below:
While many believe CM Punk got off to a slow start in AEW, things have picked up since then. The straight edge star has gotten in a feud with MJF. As expected, the two have created an incredible buzz using their mic skills and their recent promo on Dynamite created a lot of headlines. Though if we believe Punk, then what we have seen is just the start. The former world champion was part of the AEW panel at C2E2. Among other things he was asked about his rivalry with the young star.
Replying to it, Punk mentioned how it’s the one matchup everybody wanted to see even when he hadn’t made his return. The wrestling veteran then admitted that MJF is somebody he wanted to share a ring with himself:
“I think that’s one matchup that everybody wanted to see. Before I even came back, I always heard about ‘oh, I want to see MJF and CM Punk go back and forth.’ A lot of people think I am off to a slow start and AEW doing certain things a certain way. But to me, just like Adam Cole just said, there’s five years worth of stuff with all these interchangeable characters and players. MJF is definitely somebody I wanted to share a ring with. I think now that we’re getting to it, people kind of can maybe see the bigger picture. And they can trust AEW as a whole for like the direction of where stuff goes.”
CM Punk also discussed how the fans want to know the behind the scene stuff. He claimed that everybody including himself is an armchair booker and it’s just human nature. However, he later mentioned how AEW enjoys giving fans what they want and making them happy. The former WWE star then teased an epic conclusion to his already extraordinary feud with MJF:
“The fans I understand they want to know the behind the scene stuff. They want to peel back the curtain. Everybody’s an armchair booker. I am. Everybody’s an armchair coach or quarterback or whatever. That’s human nature. You watch sports and you’re like, ‘ Oh come on, why did you put that guy in? Why is he in the bench? Why is this guy a healthy scratch? Why didn’t you do this? blah, blah, blah. And it’s no different than I think pro wrestling and the fans.
To me one of the best things about AEW is we enjoy payoffs. We like making the fans happy instead of just for some reason making them miserable. Doing stuff just to piss them off. Sometimes the happiest outcome is the most obvious one. We don’t really feel the need to beat anybody over the head with switching it just because they figured it out first, you know? I enjoy making the fans happy. The juice for being a pro wrestler is getting reactions out of the crowd. When it comes to me and him, without me trying to say anything too positive about him – you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Booker T isn’t a fan of AEW’s decision to have CM Punk defeat Darby Allin.
Darby is a rising star under the AEW banner. He is considered to be one of the “Four Pillars” of AEW. The others are MJF, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara.
Three months after Punk’s victory, Booker T believes more harm than good may have been done to Darby. He gave his take on the Hall of Fame podcast.
“There’s a lot of hypocrites in the world out there because if it was a character in WWE doing the same thing that CM Punk has done since coming into AEW — like Punk said the first person he called out is Darby Allin, ‘And I beat him.’ Why?
“Tell me why. Why did you beat Darby Allin when Darby Allin is considered one of those guys, pillars of that company? Why beat him?
“I’m just trying to figure it out, and if that same thing would’ve happened vice versa it would be talked about from a negative perspective.
“So, don’t be so hypocritical when you see stuff like that happen because me personally, I do not think Darby Allin should’ve got beat. Reason why, there was no reason for Darby Allin to get beat.
“[Punk] could’ve beat all of these guys that he’s beaten after Darby Allin and we would’ve still had the same thing that we have right now and Darby Allin would still be — what has Darby Allin done since CM Punk?”
Punk is in the midst of a high-profile feud with MJF. Meanwhile, Darby has been in a rivalry with The Gunn Club, which has been disappointing to some fans.
Darby is a former TNT Champion and one of the most popular stars among the “Four Pillars.” Time will tell when he’ll get his next major feud and victory.
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This will be Punk’s 8th match in AEW. He’s defeated Darby Allin, Powerhouse Hobbs, Daniel Garcia, Matt Sydal, Bobby Fish, Eddie Kingston, and QT Marshall.
As for Lee Moriarty, he’s 1-4 in singles matches in AEW. He’s defeated Nick Comoroto but lost to Bobby Fish, Daniel Garcia, Joey Janela, and Dante Martin.
AEW Dynamite Preview (12/1/21)
4 other matches have been confirmed for this week’s Dynamite.:
The TBS Title Tournament will continue with the final quarter-final match. Ruby Soho will face Kris Statlander with the winner moving on to face Jade Cargill in the semi-finals.
Bryan Danielson defeated Colt Cabana in front of Cabana’s hometown in Chicago last week. This week he will attempt to do the same thing to another member of the Dark Order. Alan “5” Angels, who is from the Atlanta area, will step up to the plate to face the American Dragon. AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page will likely be in attendance and have his eye on what happens here.
After Andrade El Idolo, Malakai Black and FTR defeated Cody Rhodes & Death Triangle in the main event last week, Andrade and Rhodes will face off in an Atlanta street fight this week. This was set up after Dynamite went off the air last week when Andrade gave Rhodes a DDT on the floor outside the ring. Considering this show is in Rhodes’ hometown, it should be interesting to see what fan reaction he gets. He might even toss his weight belt into the crowd again.
Darby Allin & Sting will continue their rivalry with the Gunn Club this week. This started on Rampage a couple of weeks ago when Darby Allin defeated Billy Gunn in singles competition. After the match, the Gunn Club attacked both him and Sting. On Dynamite last week, Allin was able to attack Austin Gunn on the ramp but Billy & Colten bailed before him and Sting could get their hands on them. This week, it will be Sting and Darby Allin against Billy & Colten Gunn in tag-team action.
Bully Ray had a lot to say about the CM Punk-MJF promo and he isn’t a fan of one zinger.
On the Nov. 24 episode of Dynamite, fans got to witness the long-anticipated verbal battle between Punk and MJF. Both men hurled some digs that garnered big reactions from the crowd in Chicago.
On a new episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray had a suggestion for Punk’s future promos with MJF and explained why he hated the “needle dick” line.
“So, if I’m CM Punk you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna let MJF pile all those shots on me.
“I’m gonna let him get in as much steam on me as I possibly can because I know I don’t have enough material to come back at him with.
“He doesn’t have that much time in the business and the amount of time he does have he’s been doing so well.
“If I’m Punk in that situation, and this is definitely a Monday morning quarterback call cause I haven’t thought about this until now, I think I might let him get the best of me for real.
“Pile on so much heat that people are like, ‘Holy crap, Punk’s in a lot of trouble.’ And then have to do the one thing that you can beat him at, with your fists.
“That’s why I thought the needle dick line was stupid. ‘I’d like to punch you right in your needle dick.’ You’re supposed to wanna punch him in the face.”
Punk and MJF don’t have a matchup lined up officially but that definitely seems to be the plan. Both men competed in separate matches at Full Gear. Punk defeated Eddie Kingston, while MJF pinned Darby Allin.
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Mark Henry recently revealed the backstage reaction to the CM Punk – MJF segment which kicked off Dynamite last week. According to Henry, the promo battle got a big reaction from the AEW roster.
Henry also said that he had to walk out to the crowd to feel the live reaction as well.
“I started off at the monitor. I’m sitting at the monitor. There’s 30 wrestlers sitting around that area, and everybody is popping,” Henry said on Busted Open Radio.
“If you’re popping wrestlers, you’ve done something in your life. You won. I had to get up, walk out to the crowd to feel it because that’s why people go to wrestling. People go to wrestling because of how you feel, not because you just want to be entertained.”
Live reaction to CM Punk vs. MJF
Mark Henry continued to speak on the reaction from the live crowd inside Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.
“It felt like electricity moving my clothes one zinger to another one, one zinger back and forth. The city of Chicago, everybody that was there, will get to tell people for the rest of their lives, ‘I was at that show where CM Punk and MJF went toe to toe, a battle of wits, over 20 minutes, and not one punch connected.’ It was arguably the best verbal jousting that I’ve ever seen.”
Amongst the many verbal shots that were taken in the promo was CM Punk referring to MJF as a “less famous version of The Miz.”
One of Punk’s lines that got a big reaction was when he said that the only way MJF will ever become the #1 guy is if Tony Khan has a daughter that he marries.
AEW has posted the entire segment to YouTube. It is available in the player below:
Bryan Danielson is eager to work with CM Punk in AEW, whether they are tag team partners or opponents.
The American Dragon appeared on the Casual Conversations podcast this week and discussed the possibility of teaming with Punk against the Young Bucks or FTR.
“Yeah I mean, I think both of those are really exciting to me,” he began. “You also mentioned 2 teams that I would love to do a serious program with not just a one-off thing.”
Danielson knows people want to see him and Punk joining forces to battle AEW’s top tag teams. However, he’s also interested in working against the Chicago made cult hero. Danielson and Punk never got a chance to clash on a big stage like WrestleMania. In AEW, that could become a very real possibility.
“Who better to team with than Punk,” Bryan continued. “Although, you know I always thought and said this even when I was in WWE. It felt to me like Punk and I were destined to do a WrestleMania match together and then it never happened. It felt like, man, it’s so perfect and it makes so much sense that we would have this WrestleMania match against each other, but it never happened.”
Who is the Best in the World?
It’s been years since Danielson and Punk shared a ring. Sooner or later, they may have to determine who is the Best in the World once and for all.
“Given the time of how long it’s been since we’ve been in a ring against each other or even as a tag-team, like now I feel like when we do it, it’ll be big and big in a different way,” he added.”
“That’s something I look forward to, I also like the idea of us battling each other over who the real ‘Best in the World’ is, I think that sounds like a lot of fun.”
Listen to Bryan Danielson on Casual Conversations:
In 2019, ROH’s Silas Young booked an indy event at the Knights Of Columbus Hall in West Allis, Wisconsin. It is widely believed that a masked CM Punk did a run-in on the show.
It was the last event held in the venue as it was later torn down. Young reached out to several wrestlers who had history in the building about coming in for the last ever show there. Young recently spoke to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful about the event and the wrestler who performed a run-in under a mask that night.
“I started reaching out to guys that had wrestled there over the years and wanted to bring back guys from years past,” Young said.
“I reached out to Ace Steel because he’s an amazing wrestler, good dude, and it all snowballed together with Ace and Dave Prazak being on the show and I think Punk might have done a jiu-jitsu tournament in West Dallas, which is where that show was being run earlier in the day.”
“Someone came up to me in the locker room and was like, ‘Hey, they want to do something in the match and Punk is going to do a run-in in a mask or something.’ I said, ‘Yeah, whatever they want to do, do it.’ What am I going to say, ‘No, Punk can’t get on the show?”
Numerous people associated with the show and fans in attendance that night posted to social media. Many seemed to believe it was CM Punk under a mask who had made a run-in. Footage of the run-in are available in the social media posts below:
Here is some PUNK running in a match last night @MKE_Wrestling you never know who’s in gonna show up at our shows. Former world champions have been stopping in at the last couple shows!!! Don’t miss out on May 17 at our new home Buenavista Banquets 76&oklahoma next to AMF lanes https://t.co/rr8xVH8UJ0
Here is the picture comparison for CM Punk and the masked person. This would really be something. I do not know who made this picture, so I do apologize for not being able to attribute, had it sent to me. pic.twitter.com/NtS2XC5HbU
Wrestling fans who were in attendance for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite were treated to some post-show shenanigans after the cameras stopped rolling.
Following the Dynamite and Rampage tapings, AEW President Tony Khan and CM Punk came out to the ring. Punk had Britt Baker’s red “leather” jacket with him, which actually fit better than you might expect.
Punk thanked the Chicago crowd for coming out and once again being one of AEW’s most vocal and rowdy fanbases.
They announced that AEW will return to Chicago on Wednesday, February 2nd for another live edition of Dynamite. Tickets for that show go on sale this Saturday.
CM Punk said it’s still surreal to be able to perform in front of the best wrestling fans on earth.
“The only thing I can really say that means the most is from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much,” said Punk. “It’s still surreal and still very, very good to be in front of the best professional wrestling fans in the world.”
Check out this ringside footage of the post-show happenings, courtesy of super-fan Brock Lesnar Guy:
CM Punk and Adam Page came out for a segment after AEW finished taping last night from Norfolk, Virginia.
Punk and Hangman were in the ring, when Punk requested that the champ sing, “Cowboy Songs.” The fans weren’t super enthusiastic about songs being sung about “West Virginia” however. In response, Page changed the lyrics slightly.
Video of this was posted to YouTube in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nKcO4GwGKg
AEW also taped Rampage following the conclusion of Dynamite last night. That show will air on Friday night. Matches confirmed for Friday’s show include:
Darby Allin vs. Billy Gunn
Adam Cole & Bobby Fish vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus
Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet (TBS Title Tournament match)
Here’s another video of the singing that took place after Wednesday’s Dynamite from Norfolk, Virginia:
Announced for next week’s episode of Dynamite from Chicago include Bryan Danielson facing Colt Cabana, a TBS title tournament quarterfinal featuring Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter, and The Lucha Bros, Cody Rhodes and PAC vs. FTR, Andrade El Idolo and Malakai Black.
That was one of my favorite #AEWDynamite episodes ever, thank you to all of the wrestling fans, wrestlers, & staff who made tonight possible! See you on Friday Night at 10pm ET/9pm CT for a HUGE #AEWRampage on TNT + next Wednesday for Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite LIVE from Chicago!
CM Punk’s return to Chicago next week should also be interesting. On Dynamite last night, Punk confronted Maxwell Jacob Friedman leading to a “Holy S**t” chant from the live crowd. Punk didn’t say a thing, however, he just walked out on MJF after he offered a handshake.
Ric Flair isn’t sold on the idea that CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have done much for AEW thus far.
The Nature Boy has a new podcast launching this week, Ric Flair Wooooo Nation Uncensored. Each week, Flair and former WCW commentator Mark Madden will take a deep dive into his career and current events in the world of pro wrestling.
In a teaser clip to promote the premiere episode, Flair and Madden discuss Punk and Danielson’s impact on AEW business since joining the company in August/September.
Madden acknowledges that Punk and Danielson certainly stars by any definition of the word. However, he asked Flair, what have they contributed to AEW?
“Well, if I’m looking at the ratings, I don’t know what they’ve contributed.”
– Ric Flair on CM Punk and Bryan Danielson’s impact on AEW
It’s a television business
Pro wrestling is business largely driven by television ratings and rights fees. Flair says Punk and Bryan have had successful careers, but so far, they’ve failed to deliver for AEW where it counts.
“Well, if I’m looking at the ratings, I don’t know what they’ve contributed,” said Flair. “Yeah, certainly, as you said, they’re both big stars in the business. Both have had a lot of success, but I don’t know how to answer that question, because all you can do, as we do with football or any other show, is look at the ratings.”
Flair continued, “To me, that show should never do less than 1.1 million. If they get there once, and bring in all this talent, and go back, then there’s something wrong.”
AEW viewership has been sliding in recent weeks. After a nice stretch of time with Dynamite drawing over 1 million viewers in the overnight numbers, the show has been below that level for the past several weeks. The dip coincides with Dynamite being preempted several times in October.
Despite television viewership faltering, Tony Khan has been adamant that CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have made a significant impact on AEW’s business.
During an interview with Robbie Fox for Barstool Sports last month, Khan revealed AEW has seen half a dozen metrics increase since Punk and Danielson’s arrivals.
“I’d say since Punk came in, before Bryan, and now with Bryan, we’ve seen at least six business metrics go up,” said Khan. “We’ve had our all-time record for pay-per-view. Those digital numbers, live event attendance – all-time highs. We were already, before the pandemic, the number one attended wrestling company in the world.”
Not much has surprised CM Punk about AEW but he does find one thing to be refreshing.
Punk had been away from the wrestling business for seven years before making his return back in August. Punk ended up choosing AEW as his new wrestling home.
Since getting back into the wrestling business, CM Punk has shared the ring with Darby Allin, Daniel Garcia, Powerhouse Hobbs, Matt Sydal, and most recently Eddie Kingston.
CM Punk Talks AEW Run
(via AEW)
Following his Full Gear victory over Kingston, Punk spoke to media members. When asked if anything has surprised him about AEW, the Chicago native had the following to say.
“Man, I don’t know if anything was a big surprise except just maybe how consistent we are. I have opinions just like the fans do. Not everybody’s gonna love me or what I do.
“I don’t necessarily have to like everything on the TV show but that’s the whole point. We’re not giving you one thing for two hours or three hours.
“We’re giving you a variety of different things and I think everybody who loves pro wrestling can find something that they love about the show.
“To me, that’s the most, I don’t even think it’s really surprising. It’s just a breath of fresh air.
“It’s different, it’s rad and it’s one of the reasons I was drawn to this place. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to be here and it’s one of the reasons why I’m here.”
Time will tell what’s next for Punk. Many agree that the match with Kingston provided his most intriguing feud under the AEW banner yet despite a short build.
Who do you want to see CM Punk feud with next?
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Posted November 14th, 2021 in AEW, News. Tagged: CM Punk.
The ability to play the crowd is one of the things that has contributed to the success of CM Punk and this skill was on display again at Full Gear.
The former world champion managed to evoke a range of different emotions from the crowd through his performance. One moment, in particular, that got a lot of attention was when he mimicked some moves of John Cena.
Punk spoke about this tribute to his arch-rival and longtime friend in the post-show media scrum. He said that it’s fun for him to play the audience:
“I have one boss when I’m in the ring and I often like to say, ‘I have no boss when I’m in the ring,’ but the truth is it’s the people, and I listen to them. Sometimes I go with the flow and sometimes I take it places.
Regardless of the seven-year gap, I’ve been doing this for a minute.” said CM Punk, “To me, it’s fun just to fuck with people. That’s the whole juice for me. It’s getting different reactions and kind of getting to play with that.”
The straight edge star also discussed paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero on the 16th anniversary of his death and claimed that he never expected to get cheered or booed.
CM Punk faced Eddie Kingston in what many are calling his best match since his in-ring return during Full Gear PPV. He won this bout but there is no word on what’s next for him.
The return of CM Punk was one of the biggest wrestling comebacks of the past decade. The buzz surrounding him, however, has cooled down quite a bit since then. Many fans believe that his lackluster booking in AEW is the reason for it. Now the straight edge star has responded to this criticism from the fans.
Punk recently had an interview with Bleacher Report. Responding to the criticism, he said that people who have seen the same thing for the past 20 years, don’t understand when they see something different:
“I think the majority of people currently watching wrestling have been fed the same thing for 20-25 years so that when they see something different, they automatically don’t understand it, don’t like it, or try to dissect it. There are a million different styles of pro wrestling, there are a million different booking philosophies, and I’m just kind of doing what I want to do. You can’t really look at the whole picture until you know we’re done telling the story.”
CM Punk admitted that there are a lot of moving parts in what they are doing so they have to come up with some things on the fly. Though according to him, it’s just a different way of doing things and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad or wrong:
“And honestly, this is all meant for me to kind of have fun with, so as long as I’m having fun and I’m doing what I want to do, I don’t listen to the criticism, I can understand the criticism because we’re not doing what people are used to what they’ve seen for 20 years, but we’re moving in the right direction and at the pace we want to go.”
CM Punk made his triumphant wrestling return and joined AEW back in August. His first match for the company was against Darby Allin at All Out which he won. The former world champion is scheduled to face Eddie Kingston at the upcoming Full Gear PPV this Saturday.
Eddie Kingston and CM Punk’s intense promo segment from last week’s Rampage focussed on a beef Kingston had with CM Punk going back to their days on the independent circuit. More details regarding what actually did happen between the two of them was covered in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
A source speaking on the condition of anonymity noted that they were backstage at a show when Punk and Kingston had an altercation.
“I can fully vouch for Eddie’s promo on Punk the other night. I was sitting right there in an IWA Mid South locker room when Punk called Eddie and his partner at the time, Blackjack Marciano, fat, lazy and unsafe. Marciano had just accidentally injured Delirious in a previous match and Punk was hot about it, so just buried them nonstop. I could see why Eddie hung onto that hate and anger for so long,” the anonymous source said.
This week on AEW Dynamite, Punk and Kingston had to be separated from brawling in the back. The two will face off in singles action at AEW Full Gear on Saturday. It will be the first time the two have ever been in a match together.
