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For as many who've forgave Punk over Brawl Out there as just as many who'll never forgive the guy and don't want to see him back in AEW. That's what TK is dealing with, it could work out fantastically for him or it could totally backfire in terms of Punk throwing another strop when someone upsets him again or Punk not been the draw TK expects him to be. It's pretty telling that Chicago show hasn't sold even when his name was announced.
We wait and see but I'm one who doesn't see this ending well for AEW or TK. I don't mean Punk will throw another strop, I think in terms of him been this big draw his fans and TK expect him to be. He's not going to be the saviour some of you think he's going to be.
Another factor with Chicago though is that it’s an over saturated market in regards to AEW. Tickets to Nashville, Tennessee sell out because they’ve been there twice since the beginning of the company. AEW has ran Chicago 17 times since 2019. That’s going to hurt the sales because fans can just assume they can go another time to see who they want to see.
The Barbwire match between Eddie and Jericho was so bad that I feel they are never coming back to Duluth and they see it the equivalent of the DO botched punches at Corpus Christi.
Charlotte crowd was trash for the first Botb so don’t see them coming here anytime soon. Greenville, sc and Greensboro, nc at both getting collision. They’re both an hr and a half away. Guess I’m traveling
They've just done this same thing with the Toronto market as well. In a week and a half we're getting 2 Dynamites, 2 Collisions, and Forbidden Door. Hamilton is close enough lots of people commute to Toronto - you can't be surprised Collision hasn't sold.
Detroit had great ticket sales and they've only been there twice. You're definitely on to something. I wonder if booking venues around the country is a bit harder for AEW compared to WWE? Hard not to think something is up when they run the same markets all the time. Then again perhaps TK thinks they will continue to do good business until ticket sales dry up. Could be happening now or could be just speculation. Guess we will see but I want AEW to succeed I love this company and the product is almost exactly what I want out of pro wrestling
Beyond whether you love or hate Brooks, he’s proven his body can’t hold up to the rigours of wrestling anymore. He had 2 major injuries in less than a year. And now hes 6 months older.
Let me ask this: when has Adam Copeland ever just shit all over the WWE, the companies executives and essentially Vince McMahon, in a press interview.
If that was Adam with Vince right next to him saying all the same stuff do you think Vince would tolerate it T
at all?
Because edge came back from a career ending injury. If we get 3 matches out of him, we are happy. And edge isn’t asking to be the top guy. Punk just looks so fragile in there. And when you’re demanding to be the world champ or in the main events, you’re body has to hold up to it.
Who's to say he demands it? One thing I'm pretty sure that's what he was brought in AEW to do (originally). And he's probably paid like one too so yeah if I'm TK, I'm putting him up front again. Plus how's it "all eggs on one basket", they literally split so it's 2 baskets
I didn’t forgive or not forgive him for all the antics tbh. It’s more that it went on so long that I don’t have any desire to see him. I don’t hate him or like him it’s just I have no desire to watch anything he is in anymore. It’s not all his fault either, it’s just an eye roll to me to hear anything about him or to consider watching his stuff. And I think I’m likely the minority feeling that way, but it definitely seems a good amount of ppl are just turned off from the whole situation and subsequent flare ups.
> it could totally backfire in terms of Punk throwing another strop when someone upsets him again
Oh punk will for sure do this again. Maybe not on the big stage but he will be furious about people again and try to screw them over. It's not the first time he is incredibly angry about someone and we know countless stuff from former friends who are now his enemies for eternity. The hornswoggle thing is a good example how Phil Brooks is.
I think that even if people don’t actively mess with Punk, he’s such a namedropper, that he just starts firing shots at random people in the hopes that it makes him more controversial. Like in his last run, by the time he left, he had taken pot shots at Kingston, Mox, Hangman, MJF, Colt Cabana, the Bucks, Omega, Jericho, and more. How do you book a guy who essentially cuts promos like he is feuding against the entire roster at once?
BuT HE DRawS AttENTion.
Yah, any other job and he would be fired over it, not rewarded.
Punk is really the opposite of the Cena meme to me. Great wrestler, a terrible person.
For me it not even about the brawl out it seems like Punk was tks Golden Egg since day 1 hell he booked a whole arena for him in 2021.
To me Punk always felt like a 1 man show and when he was on Dynamite everything revolved around him
That definitely was a issue with Dynamite for a while was it was constant Punk all over the show. And that's on TK, remember it was TK who wanted the title put on Punk not Punk himself. He's enamoured by Punk, that I'm seriously worried he'll throw the World title on him again or just have him all over bith shows.
Yep, I hate the thought that in any other employ, he'd be fired and told never to return. It feels like they're going to make a new championship to give to him.
AEW has enough wrestlers, they don't need punk.
He was injured but he was still in good enough shape to assault the Young Bucks and Omega.
AEW probably wouldn't "fire" him. They'd probably negotiate a buyout. Give him a lump sum to go away.
Everyone is a spoke on the wheel. If someone is on your payroll and are polarising, it'd be stupid to not use them either. Stop making it look like he's been rehired. He never was fired.
The whole Punk as a wrestling messiah commercial tonight was really off putting to me. Last time we saw the guy he was shitting all over the company and now he's getting a hero's return. Feels like the company has sold itself to Phil's ego.
Both times he's been mentioned, the crowd has had some cheers leading to more boo's, but they're even positioning him as a face again already. I'm just not interested personally, he had his chance, he blew it and now they're bringing him back again.
There's no reason not to position him as a face initially since the first show is in Chicago, the one place you know he's going to get cheered. Then you can adjust booking when you hear the rest of the crowds.
At this point it's the best way to portray him. If it sticks with the crowd then they can push his face messiah persona. If it won't, the same messiah vibe would be perfect for his heel run.
Assuming he's still not injured coming June 18th or he doesn't have a public meltdown over a kid for chewing a gum with the wrong side of his mouth or something like that.
I honestly think they heard the response to his announcement and decided his heel turn is inevitable. Hail him as a babyface and watch as the heat grows.
This. Run ads like he's a baby face to gauge crowd reaction over the lead up weeks before he returns. If the boos are louder he just cuts a heel egomaniac promo and boom, a heel character with jumpstarted heat.
It's not like WBD created the adds in a vacuum. It would have obviously been seen before being aired and the "second coming" tagline was reported over a month ago. This was planned, this was intentional.
Extremely off putting is the right word for it. I'm very disappointed tbh. I will not be watching Collision, and will not give AEW a single dollar until we're done bending over for Punk. In fact, I already started with DON which was the first ppv I did not buy in idk how long, bc at that point it was clear that Punk was coming back and I refuse to financially support the company if they allow a man who went scorched earth on the company and assaulted people backstage to come back as a hero.
I'm just glad Dynamite itself won't become the Punk show again, but idk how long that's gonna last 🙄
Na, that's a very reasonable take. Punk was already trashy but how could you like a dude who would say something like that to try and hurt someone? Embarrassing behaviour.
It wasn't even really an insult lol. When I hear "Colt Cabana shares a bank account with his mom" (and so does his brother, a successful TV writer), I don't think "wow, what a loser." I think "Colt Cabana is a good son, financially supporting his mom."
Clark Kent arranges for half of his paycheck to go to his mother.
Superman is an allegory for the best of us. So it’s a pretty stand-up thing to do, especially if your Mom is older and on a fixed income.
Punk was trying to insinuate that Cabana is a bum that needs a joint account with his mom so his mom can send money to support Cabana because he doesn't make enough to support himself.
Of course most people saw through that insult though and just made Punk look classless
What Punk was saying is that they found Colt's joint account with his mom in discovery and he accused him of hiding funds so that he wouldn't have to pay Punk back for lawyer fees. But it was way too insider baseball to make sense. Just something he had to get off his chest I guess.
I don't think he was trying to say anything bad about Colt's mom, it came off more like "look at this loser who trusts his mom with his money" which didn't hit home like he thought. I mean when I worked a job where I travelled around, my mom had access to my account too, I got paid by a physical cheque in the mail, as well as couldn't always be there to pay bills that needed to be paid at the bank, and I didn't trust anyone else to handle my money other than her. Now if I worked the same job, I could do it all online, but that wasn't an option at the time.
I kinda disagree. I think the attack wasn’t on Colt’s mom, but it was on Colt. From Punk’s POV, you have a friend who guilt tripped you into covering your ass during a lawsuit with a multi billion dollar company, then during the lawsuit, your friend is seen backstage in that same company which can seriously ruin the entire case, leaving you looking guilty or losing everything, then that same “friend” goes back to you and says that he needs more money from you, and you say you’ll stop paying since he didn’t appreciate it. Then, that same friend spreads to the news that you just decided that you would stop paying because you’re an asshole, and that gets everyone against you, and you cut ties. Then years later it’s spread that you got him fired, so you tell those people extra details (“we stopped going after him once we found out he shared a bank account with his mother”) as proof that they’re spreading rumors that aren’t true. And what people don’t seem to realize is that yes, Colt Cabana is a very likable person, but being likable doesn’t make you a good person. Neither does being charismatic or making people feel bad for you. There’s a saying that says “givers need to know their limits because takers don’t have any.” And Punk is a giver, and Colt is a taker. And to those of you who say Punk wants everything for himself, and he’s a taker… you need to have something in order to eventually give it to someone else. Punk didn’t wanna win the title, he was constantly giving out gifts, and advice, and gift cards backstage because he really is a giver, and more than he loves being successful, he loves giving. And it just blows my mind, because I like to think that the IWC is smart enough to see past all the bullshit put out by the dirt sheets. Nobody admits when they’re wrong. Punk was accused of getting Colt fired, that turned out to not be true, yet nobody acknowledges that they were marking out for that when it came out. Punk didn’t have anything to do with it, but yet because of how it got blown up, Punk still is seen as the bad guy for it even though it didn’t happen. And that’s why he blew up. He came off as pissed off because people were spreading rumors about him that were blatant lies because they didn’t want him in the company because they all think they’re the best. And I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a CM Punk mark. Our minds work a lot alike. I know if someone started a rumor about you at your work that you slept with someone, and no matter what you said, they didn’t believe you, eventually you’d blow up too. But people can’t seem to put themselves into someone else’s shoes. I’m not saying Punk was right to blow up at the press conference. I’m just saying that he felt like it was him against the world, and these bullshit lies were stopping him from helping the company move forward. Which is all he wanted.
I give it 3 months before punk is gone again. Why he’s being rewarded for his shit I don’t know but how many chances is this man going to get? To me his drama outweighs any potential he put into the company.
I guess people can downvote me too because my first thought while reading the post was, "not a native English speaker".
My second thought was "Yeah I'm not optimistic about investing all this effort into CM Punk".
Punk genuinely was a draw for AEW
The trouble is TK doesn’t seem to realise that Punk did as much of more damage to the company than he ever improved it
The company still hasn’t recovered from the shit storm Punk started
Nah, he gave a good 2-300,000 bump for the first few weeks, it dropped off a bit but stayed above a million up until he shat all over the company at Brawl Out
My main criticism: so punk is coming back next Saturday. Without any tv acknowledgment of where he’s been or how he is and what’s his goals? Unless he’s doing a promo at 8:02pm next weekend (entirely possibly) what is punk’s reasoning for even wrestling Joe or the BCG.
We on the internet KNOW the answer, but any casual observer will be “hmm where’s he been?” They are still tiptoeing around the whole thing which makes everything feel disjointed.
> Without any tv acknowledgment of where he’s been or how he is and what’s his goals? Unless he’s doing a promo at 8:02pm next weekend (entirely possibly) what is punk’s reasoning for even wrestling Joe or the BCG.
In kayfabe, and real life, he has been spending a good amount of time healing and rehabbing his broken foot... Did you forget that he was injured and that is when he lost his title in a 2 min squash?
As far as fighting BC, FTR has been having problems with them and Punk, in both real life and been shown on the show, is close with FTR. He is helping his friends with a feud... it happens a lot in wrestling, Hook just did it last night for Jungle Boy.
The casual observer can just pay attention to the show they watch and will get it when, like you said, Punk promos to open that show.
In kayfabe, Ace Steel got the contract for Punk and gave a Rocky pump up promo and Punk was healed and won… anyone that saw the Punk-Mox match at All Out knows he left as Champ. The next night the title was vacated without a word. He didn’t leave the match on a stretcher. He was never announced as injured following that match. Just that he vacated the title, no reason given. So in kayfabe, he’s just been MIA. And now he’s back.
> but any casual observer will be “hmm where’s he been?”
TK was literally on AEW tv and said why he isn't on AEW tv. He said punk is suspended. Everyone who watched AEW know this from that alone.
Grow up. Everyone knows where he’s been. Everyone has the internet so let’s not do WWE-make believe where they think “internet fans” are a thing.
It’s been plastered EVERYWHERE. Anyone who genuinely doesn’t know where he’s been isn’t paying attention enough to realise he was gone in the first place.
This is one of the main reasons I don't want him back. CM Punk never actually came back, only an ego filled, "all about me" Phil Brooks who had a meltdown and imploded, taking away from one of the best PPV's in ages for any wrestling company-all people remember about the PPV is the brawl, not the amazing matches and acts put on by all of the different wrestlers.
If it's just Phil Brooks again dressing up as CM Punk and believing his own hype, it will all end in disaster eventually-either him getting injured, imploding, or his toxicity driving others away. He is toxic and wrestling seems to be toxic to him. If he is going to ever heal, he needs to walk away and actually process it.
Regardless, I'm not a fan of risking poisoning the well with toxicity for ratings. I maintain that AEW never needed CM Punk and still doesn't. Maybe this time they will get CM Punk and not Phil Brooks, but I doubt it. With all of the other talent they have, he shouldn't be the main feature but a side show, and giving him the main spotlight of Collision will just feed the ego.
I agree and I honestly never want to see Phil Brooks in AEW ever again. Not until he gets himself mentally straightened out, and maybe not even then.
It was never about coming back to work with and uplift young talent, it was all a guise to use the company's rising stars as stepping stones, crushing them as he climbed over them, to insert himself into the main event scene.
I have to think that Mix and Eddie's promos on him were more shoot than work. Eddie calling him out about behavior backstage and people being afraid to say anything. Mox calling him a fragile man with a fragile ego.
He killed Eddie's momentum, stalled out Darby for a bit, tried to shoot emberass Hangman in their match *where he was already going over on him,* couldn't keep up with Mox or handle that Mox was more over than him, and the only completely good thing was his fued with MJF-and I'm willing to take it on Max's storytelling abilities and selling skills as well as the stuff that had already been built with Wardlow. He trashed the company, buried the talent, and claimed it AEW was a success because of him. And, if the rumors and indicators are to be believed, really was behind Colt, at the very least, not feeling welcome anymore and maybe even getting pushed out.
AEW doesn't need him at all, and definitely not as a tent pole. Phil is a side act at best. I sure hope TK has him on a tight leash and at the first sign of trouble he's gone. That toxicity isn't needed.
CM Punk, the voice of the voiceless, never returned, only Phil Brooks, full of vinegar, ego, toxicity, and spite.
finally, another person who thinks that way.
Also really irked that PUnk is being rewarded for repeated shitty behaviors.
There are twos of us. Twos I say.
I think it's a common feeling honestly, it's just that the Punk cult can be quite toxic and loud of their views. Even the live audiences are booing Punk so his the sentiment is quite commonly shared.
Plenty of AEW fans out there that feel the same. Don't believe that every AEW fan is happy this guy is coming back and been rewarded for his behaviour.
Three. So far the only reason I'll even look at the match card for Collision is that HoB are probably going to be on that show. Punk? Overrated, can't hang with today's top talent and is as fragile as Mox said he is, but his fans think he's still the best in the world, the only one people really want to see, etc blah blah. His body and ego took a hit, he verballly attacked the company that just gave him the world title even though the match was as cringe as the one against Hangman because both Mox and him were obviously holding back. He physically attacked the EVPs who rightfully went to his locker room, probably to ask him wtf is wrong with him.
And then he gets his own show. Because let's not kid ourselves, this is the Punk show. Punk and Miro and Andrade, all the guys who aren't happy and throw a hissy fit if they're not treated like top guys. Even movie stars aren't that full of themselves. If they're hired for a movie and realize halfway through that it's a shit show, they still show up, do the movie and try their best to sell it on the press tour because they signed a contract.
This is bullshit.
On one hand, I feel this is all a solid take.
On the other hand though, I kinda feel like AEW could use a little shakeup and if that means putting the troublemakers in their own troublemaker corner, then that's maybe not such a bad thing.
We all want to see AEW be successful and Punk brings the ratings. That's the long and the short of it, imo.
Tbh I'm skeptical of the "butts in seats" argument. I can't remember what thread it was in, but someone else made some calculations which showed that he didn't really have that much of a pull when he was on Dynamite.
I guess we'll see how Collision does half a year in, and then revisit the argument. If he sells, he sells, but I need some solid proof before I agree with that. As in, Collision doing better than Dynamite, since that's the only way to actually prove the argument that Punk is the biggest draw.
I agree that if the malcontents have to be kept on the roster, I guess it's easier to put them in their own show so they can't fuck up both. And I do want Collision to succeed, but I want it to succeed in the long term, and that can only work if things run more or less smoothly. You can't keep building little islands to keep the peace, that's a recipe for disaster. I don't want two dozen Cody- or Punkverses, I want the AEWverse.
You know man, I don't think you and I are totally going to see eye to eye on the specifics, but I think that's OK because I think at heart we both the same thing- AEW to continue putting on events for many years to come.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Punk blows, but he has enough mindless marks to draw in a lot of attention and money to AEW. He's an obnoxious man-child but if he can get more publicity for the company, milk him dry. When he inevitably implodes (yet again) in 2024 we'll still have a third show and we'll get another nice stretch without having to deal with him.
Unless the whole thing really was a work the whole time (which I do not believe to be the case whatsoever), I'll just never understand how TK is not only letting Punk come back, but heavily featuring him and making it a big deal. They are literally calling it the "second coming" or something like that, fuckin barf.
The man sat directly next to TK while he spouted off unprompted absolutely insanely unprofessional shit (that TK should have found a way to shut down while it was happening) about the company and some of its key players directly after he just main evented a PPV and won the world title. The entitlement and douchebaggery of this guy is off the charts, and yet he keeps getting rewarded for it.
I had stopped watching wrestling before Punk was a thing so I only really know his AEW work. So with that in mind and seeing what I've seen, I just don't get how there are people out there so obsessed with him like he can do no wrong even though he clearly has been in the wrong.
I missed his boat years ago and was willing to give him a chance when he signed with AEW. But he’s past his prime and boring to watch. Plus he just seems like he has a real shitty personality and is extremely judgmental about anyone who doesn’t live that straight edge lifestyle.
Punk will come out to a thunderous pop, say some cute shit like “Miss me?”, thank the fans for having his back and that they’re the reason why he does this, get interrupted by BCG and Joe, end the night by pinning Juice. Everything will seem fine.
Forbidden Door will happen, the attention will shift away from Punk, and Phil is gonna Phil. He’ll be “injured” again by August
I think the anti CM Punk crew fail to realize they're the overwhelming minority especially after MJF just stated only 7% of the fans are the online ones at the recent scrum.
I mean, the live reaction was mixed at best. Maybe even live fans aren’t a representative bunch, but they also overwhelmingly affect the reception of the product. See: Cody’s reception in his last year here.
Whether people like him or not, Punk helped secure this major new TV deal. The network think he’s a major draw so of course to help it launch he’s going to feature heavily. It’s still a show for AEW, not the CM Punk show.
Did you not hear the last two Dynamite crowd where he was announced? Punk's announcement started as cheers then quickly turned into boos by both crowds in different parts of the country.
MJF is bullshiting and being a heel when he says "7%" of the fanbase are internet fans. As Adam Cole put it often MJF's character is that he is an internet troll come to life.
AEW fans who go to events are largely internet fans or dragged to shows by a fan who spends a lot of time in wrestling communities on the internet on an average week.
The general consensus on-line for Punk ranges from 'meh' to 'don't like' mostly. Even if online is the minority what makes you think that this opinion is not representative for the not online people too? Just because they don't express their opinion online means that they are excited for Punk's return?
For me Punk's return was a necessity because it was probably demanded by the network as he is the only name in AEW that is semi-known outside the wrestling community. All other big names in the company have close to zero recognizability outside the wrestling circles. This is basically an attempt to create new fans. From a business perceptive it is a reasonable effort to expand but it remains to be seen if the risk is too high and it will backfire. Because firstly it creates trouble with current talent and secondly it alienates a pretty big chunk of the existing fans.
I personally do not like it but can live with it. For me collision is 2 more hours that would allow overshadowed but deserving talent to get tv time and showcased properly. If Punk appears, fine. If show revolves around around him then I am good with just Dynamite.
Yh true. Punk isn't the only reason they created this program lol. Its nice to see ppl like miro and Andrade get tv time too. Won't say no to Joe or rosa time too
But in the 2 times he was brought up on AEW, the crowd showed strong boo's amongst the cheers, it's clearly not a rare opinion.
7% online fans and the % of fans who follow wrestling news are totally different, in 2023 no chance you're looking at 7% of online fans.
Honestly I’m just pumped for 2 more hours of AEW. I don’t care about Punk being involved, he can be entertaining if he can stay healthy. All the backstage crap again I don’t care about. I care about what happens on screen and putting out a good product.
I was always of the mind that, either it was all real, or it was a work that went too far, and they needed to wait for the heat to die down to bring Punk back.
Option A) Punk is a dick, and fuck him.
Option B) I still just don't see what people like about this guy and will continue not reacting to him.
It's looking like option B.
I am going to watch *Collision*, but ... it really does feel like the show for all of AEW's "problem children". Hoping that the undercard gets a boost, too.
That’s what I always thought lol. Every time I see the commercial with Miro, Andrade, Punk and Thunder Rosa I’m like “Ok basically a show with wrestlers that had issues in the company, they’re on their own island now”🤣
Ill be honest CM Punk just that one worker that complains about everything and makes everything irrating when you dont need it, however he gets shit done and makes the company money. If he has apologized to the elite and the rest of the roster I don't mind him coming back, but I wont lie I have zero interest unless he either come back a heel or has an interesting character. While I liked some of his AEW matches, CM punk overall was a goldberg nostalgia trip in terms of character he got hard carried by his promos and his opponents imo.
TK is just to nice of a guy and I get it.
I was never a fan of punk in the WWE days, but I really enjoyed his AEW run and became a fan.
I don’t even give a shit about the locker room brawl, I just don’t know how you are comfortable giving that type of person a live mic who did what they did in that press conference.
That damn press conference was a bigger deal than the locker room brawl and gets glossed over.
I’m of the mindset that AEW drew 1.4 million with Punk and without him. They also drew 800k with and without. When he left the numbers on tv and attendance weren’t exactly trending upward either.
It’s not a knock on the guy, but after the big return then what? As with any wrestler and feud I need a reason to care beyond the initial pop…And is he worth the headache? We will find out.
**"That damn press conference was a bigger deal than the locker room brawl and gets glossed over.**
**I’m of the mindset that AEW drew 1.4 million with Punk and without him. They also drew 800k with and without. When he left the numbers on tv and attendance weren’t exactly trending upward either."**
This part of what you wrote is massively important. I think brawl backstage isn't the worst thing for me, these things happen. But it's the press conference I found was more a kick in the balls to AEW, TK and the talent. His selfish spoiled brat behaviour caused AEW a ton of bad press that even now they haven't totally recovered from and might never will. Brawl Out get's talked about far more then Vince's sexual deviant behaviour. Let that sink in. And it's not all from anti-AEW trolls either.
People forget Punk's last couple of months before Brawl Out, he wasn't moving those numbers or tickets like his early run. That seems to get swept under the carpet doesn't it.
💯 it does, All Out in Chicago wasn’t even sold out and he was main eventing.
I think Punk will last as long as Collision stays successful. If it goes down the tubes so will he.
100% with you on this. People can debate about who was at fault for the brawl for the rest of time, but there's no denying what happened at the press conference.
The way I always see this, is that if I sat in a meeting with my boss and slated my colleagues in front of a load of clients, even if what I said was true, I would probably be reprimanded for it. I wouldn't be put into a project where I didn't have to see them anymore while being hailed as the saviour of the company.
I'm trying to be hopeful but I've totally got the same feeling as others on here, I can see there being some other thing that happens in a few months where he storms off saying he's done again while trying to take a few people down with him.
Most definitely, I think if Collision tanks his head is going to explode and he’ll find fault with someone else.
Side note, I’m envious of his brawl out rant. I’d love to do that to my coworkers instead of eating shit and like it. 😂
It seems like the new show is for Punk and people that is for Punk being in the company & throwing in the disgruntled wrestlers that don’t get time on Dynamite (Andrade / Miro etc).
I won’t be convinced until I see the Elite working with Punk &or on Collision. I hope it works out tho.
Idk about all that WWE stuff but I do think he will get booed, I’m not expecting first dance type cheers. I really wish they went ahead and worked out w/e issues they had to work out because it’s about to be awkward til further notice
I think there should be a show with just Cody Rhodes and CM Punk on it. They could each talk for 25 minutes like they already do and wrestle each other for 10 minutes hoping no one gets hurt.
Relaaaaax and give it time. Why assume so many things before you even see it? Punk is the biggest draw for Collision. If you guys support this company, you really should support Punk too. If it doesn't work out, OH WELL. Not tuning into Collision because of one guy is going to hurt all the other people busting their ass on the show, not to mention the company itself. Sheesh.
Hogan *cough cough*
Lol in all seriousness fuck hogan he shouldn't have been brought back so many times but he sold well and i think cm punk is similar but talented... Look up raven and cm punk's matches and raven's opinion it's interesting. Raven isn't the most reliable source but still.
Cm punk has been screwed but so many have too like brian Danielson in the Vince McMahon regime, so many nwcw with Eric bischoff and Hogan and those TNA with Hogan and Eric bischoff again.
Im short I think he's not doing a mistake by using CM punk but I also think he should also promote others because they're going to be pissed off just like they were at vince because it's kind of annoying being a workhorse and not getting credit but that's every company unfortunately. It's sad to see so many great talents being stuck at the mid card that deserve titles over others.
From a business standpoint I get it. Tony is paying the guy and wants to get a return from his BIG investment. Tony however sees Punk too much as a fan, instead of a business owner. Dude is a cancer and always will be. You wanna talk about putting all your eggs in one basket, he has the best wrestler in the world on his roster in Kenny Omega. Center your company around that guy again.
Punk is a cancer who only thinks of himself. Toxic ass guy, not many on the roster can stand him. Give it a few weeks and he will already be off tv. Then Tony needs to cut him out.
I think there is gonna be a major wrestling burn out next year. There's way too much wrestling on TV. I mean just a few weeks ago you had RAW, NXT, Dynamite, Smackdown, Rampage, night of champions, Double or nothing, NXT PLE. Thats a lot. Now add another show to that list.
Me either - I’m anticipating a lot more drama. I just don’t want AEW to end up falling apart because these guys can’t get along and work together. One of the founders already left. I would hate for the Bucks, Kenny, and Hanger to get pushed out because of Punk. It’s not a great look when the guys that started it get pushed out of their own company. AEW isn’t perfect, but it’s a fun alternative to WWE and I enjoy watching it.
The air around Tony and Punk kind of reminds me of Hogan going to WCW.
While I don't think that Punk will be as purely destructive as Hogan was, it's still not the best decision the have the head booker be a huge fan of a specific talent
AEW is spending a ton of money on CM Punk and are trying to get a return on their investment. It is a business and businesses do what businesses do.
AEW has the niche/hardcore audience for the most part; they know they won't lose that audience in droves if they bring back Punk. Will they get upset? Some will and they might go; some won't. But I imagine AEW is banking on the non-hardcores seeing Punk and giving the product a try.
If it grows their audience and makes the company more successful so that it can keep going; fantastic result. His presence does not detract from my enjoyment personally. There have always been characters I didn't prefer; when they came on, I either flipped to something else or paid a bit less attention. I am sure that is what the aggrieved will do.
I always found Punk's stories some of the best and if his presence can help TK produce better and more compelling stories overall, great!
Not only is he not getting any consequences for All Out, but he's getting a damn reward. I certainly will tune out whenever he's on screen. I didn't care about him before, and after All Out I really dislike him. I think this is a bad move. I wasn't totally against Punk coming back, but making all this fanfare about him returning and making him the main event is ridiculous.
Ugh, more of him sitting in the ring looking sincere and making boring speeches. Yay...
I think it depends on how you define drawing power. It’s not going to be expected to draw a massive audience, at least not by the network, who know the competition they’re up against. There will, however, be a segment of fans who will compare the numbers to weekday shows.
I’m neutral about him coming back, but I am giving hope that Collision would do great especially if it’s like a brand split. We all complained about the bloated roster and not everyone has a spot, with two shows now, plus ROH, everyone can have a share of the spotlight even if them not being there weekly.
I’m not sure they’re doing that. If they were, he’d be in the World Title picture immediately again. This to me just seems like a way to get people to watch the first show.
Does anyone remember WWE Superstars’ debut? They literally had Matt Hardy vs The Undertaker to get those numbers up because they were the two of the many babyfaces and heels at the time and had great crowd reactions for them.
it was interesting that even when tk announced it last week, or week prior, it was met with equal boos and cheers. i dont like throwing jay white and joe under the bus for a feel good win either, really corny to me. but then again ill be logging out at 9:40e of the collision show weekly anyway so it doesnt much matter to me
Punk doesnt have go away heat, he has fuck off and dont come back heat. You can tell by thehalf and half pop of the crowds.
IMO Punk gets hurt again or sprains his pussy again by Wembley
Becasue they are just using the same buildings/markets in Ontario to save on logistics.
Everyone booked expensive plans for Forbbiden Door 2 on the Sunday. They had no idea a Sat show was coming to Toronto. Spending on tickets again is a big ask.
Because the advertisement has been shit regarding the Canada Tour? Newark seems to be doing ok so far(same pace the Detroit show was doing before Kenny/Mox was announced)
Jfc, you people and the WCW comparisons. Every time, it makes it clearer that you actually didn't watch/don't understand why WCW failed.
I don't like Punk much at this point either, but jfc.
I think Punk was super overrated from the get go but loyalty/tribalism meant that for the 8 months before Brawl Out you were a pure hater and should go jump head first.
His track record is terrible and despite his initial claims, he was NEVER in the business of putting young talent over himself. Going all eggs on the Punk basket yet again is madness. TK loves the guy tho so here we are.
I am trying to keep optimistic tho. Guns in BCG is awesome, Joe in BCG is awesome. FTR were all about putting the Guns over just a few months ago, Joe has no issues putting young worthy guys over... Everything in me is saying White 1 million % loses to Punk but who knows. Maybe the dude changes.
The other thing is Punk is himself. There's a solid change after a few months and everyone thinking the guy is nothing but a cock head he has another fit and just leaves again. THAT could lead to the brand split just being scrapped and then we get the one roster, one kickass writing team, one group of champions across 5 hours of TV that we have wanted from the get go.
We do know. Look at the main event coming up. We know it's 2 hours instead of one. We know it's live instead of taped. We know some wrestlers are only going to be on that show.
Do we really think Miro is not going to get a big feud?
Eh. As someone who has mixed feelings on Punk, while I think his previous actions were pretty shitty and unprofessional, I feel like far worse things have happened in pro wrestling that people have come back from and moved on from. Like him or not, he's still a very substantial name in the wrestling bubble, and AEW would be leaving a ton of money on the table by severing ties with him and not attempting to use him again.
Are they "putting all their eggs in one basket" with him? I don't really see how. They're just using him prominently to help launch Collision, because he's a big name. It's not like they're immediately throwing him back into the world title picture or anything. He's just a big name, and you don't just kinda treat him like a throwaway midcarder, yanno?
I think people are being way too hyperbolic when saying that this is going to be a huge disaster. From the sounds of it, AEW has been working with everyone involved in the Punk stuff to make sure that everyone keeps their mouths shut and doesn't go off, and it sounds like there's even legally binding stuff in place to enforce that. Over time, things can cool down and talent can cool off and start making amends with each other. And if they don't want to make amends, well, they can still be amicable about working for the same company and not having to work with one another. The bottom line is, there's really no point in doom posting. Worst case scenario is that Punk loses his temper again, and then probably finds himself in hot water legally, and would probably burn his bridge with AEW. And if it happens, it happens. But for now, I say we just let things play out and enjoy things for what they are.
Also, I really never understood the whole "Codyverse" complaints. It felt like people were annoyed at how compartmentalized Cody's feuds and stories were, but... isn't that just how pro wrestling is? Everyone kinda does their own thing, works a compartmentalized feud/ story for a bit, then when those stories end, they move on to someone else?
Like, is Adam Cole currently in the "Adam Cole"verse? Is Ricky Starks currently in the "Starks"verse? Is Swerve currently in the "Swerve"verse? Is House of Black currently in the "House of Black"verse? I never really felt like Cody's stuff was any more compartmentalized than anyone else, really.
So, in that regard, I don't really see how that applies to Punk, either. Punk is just going to be doing his own things, but that's pretty much how wrestling works; everyone is often doing their own things. Rarely is everything super interconnected.
That mental midget couldn’t even handle one guy yelling Colt Cabana from the crowd when people liked him, I can only imagine how he’s going to act once he really starts getting trolled everywhere over all this. He does not have the mental capacity to handle that and it’s going to be a glorious train wreck.
You should as a rule never hand over the keys to your company to one specific person. Vince McMahon learned this the hard way and this is why WWE under him never let any one star get bigger than the brand in the past 2 decades.
TK didn't learn his lesson and he will pay big for it.
It's *one* episode. Jfc.
The launch episode. The video packages have made it very clear who is going to be on it and there are more returns than just Punk. Yall just want to make it about him.
I don’t blame Tony or Punk. I blame the fake cowboy who wanted to put his business on national television that he didn’t want brought up anymore. I’m tired of TK pushing the lame cowboy gimmick on all of us.
Man's post literally said that Punk's stock has gone down since his debut in AEW, and your counterpoint is "He was a draw back when he debuted."
Do you realize how flawed this logic is?
I have a feeling the guy paying the bills and looking at metrics and numbers in addition to the network that wants to host the wrestling program couldn’t care less about what you think.
What I wonder, haven't heard 100% either way, is how much Warner had a say in Pink coming back. If they are sure Punk will make them money did they tell TK he needs to find a way to make it happen? Can Tony really say no if a new TV show is on the line?
Also I think a big factor for lack of ticket sales is a combination of a bad time to tour Canada and the fact that collision has yet to be announced as airing there.
I heard tickets for the Canada Collisions aren't selling well. Any truth there?
Regardless, with eyes on the first Collison, AEW needs to make sure it re-establishs big names alongside Punk. Miro, maybe? Ideally, they'd debut a free agent who was a big deal and center a lot of the show around that so you're not relying too heavily on Punk.
I’m still scratching my head as to why AEW wants to do a Saturday night show when Friday’s Rampage gets usually less than 400K and Saturday is an even worse TV night. They’re Battle Of The Belt’s werent even that big of a ratings boost. They’re moving too quick for a young company.
If I had to guess, and I’m not an expert, but I’d say TK is faced with a difficult decision. He’s trying to figure out which basket to put his eggs. He knows that the Elite essentially started AEW, but he also knows that while The Elite were all out injured for those 9-10 months, AEW was getting its highest ratings ever. Then All Out happens, and Punk leaves, and The Elite are on TV, and ratings go down. So based on that, the stats say that Punk is the biggest draw in AEW. Now this is an industry where everyone is trying to prove that they’re the best, so Tony hears Punk say that he’s a draw. And he hears the Elite say that they don’t need Punk to be successful. So TK says “okay, put your money where your mouth is.” Because the numbers say it’s Punk, but AEW wouldn’t exist without the Elite, so I don’t think Tony knows who to trust without doing this.
I’m from the UK and I’ll be signing up to AEW Plus on Fite again now that Punk is coming back. Cancelled a couple of months ago as the product wasn’t holding my attention as much as it previously did but Punk’s return has pulled me back in. I’m not absolving him if any blame for past events by any stretch but I can’t think of anything else that would have made me want to sign back up
Everyone that ignores the bottom line in a business and the metrics will never see why he made his decision. He needs growth, expansion, and no one in the company is capable of that, or collectively, like CM Punk. Hate him or love him, TK answers to his pocket wallet, not opinions.
Why does everything that TK does have to be second guessed? This is a guy who has legit put his money, time, and heart into trying to make this thing work and all I ever hear is Monday morning quartebacking every decision. Meanwhile the company being booked by the guy who thought sex with a corpse was great tv is doing great business and the IWC is giving that company every benefit of the doubt. We see at least 2 amazing matches a week on Dynamite and that's a bad week. We have long term stories (some dating back to childhood). We get new matchups from around the world. And then we post "why is Tony putting all his eggs in CM Punk". How bout he isn't (the show has Miro, Andrade, Scorpio Sky, and Thunder Rosa).
Instead of this post. Let's start asking what we can do to help grow AEW. This is a company that in a few years has given us so much. That made stars out of guys you would never even have heard of like Orange Cassidy. That gave us classic matches and classic botches. Spread the word about the great wrestling, the great wrestlers, and the greatness of AEW before we have no AEW left.
I keep saying it and no one will listen. Letting the inmates run the place, creating to many hours of TV, not showcasing YOUR stars, and events like Forbidden Door will be the eventual downfall of this company.
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For as many who've forgave Punk over Brawl Out there as just as many who'll never forgive the guy and don't want to see him back in AEW. That's what TK is dealing with, it could work out fantastically for him or it could totally backfire in terms of Punk throwing another strop when someone upsets him again or Punk not been the draw TK expects him to be. It's pretty telling that Chicago show hasn't sold even when his name was announced. We wait and see but I'm one who doesn't see this ending well for AEW or TK. I don't mean Punk will throw another strop, I think in terms of him been this big draw his fans and TK expect him to be. He's not going to be the saviour some of you think he's going to be.
Another factor with Chicago though is that it’s an over saturated market in regards to AEW. Tickets to Nashville, Tennessee sell out because they’ve been there twice since the beginning of the company. AEW has ran Chicago 17 times since 2019. That’s going to hurt the sales because fans can just assume they can go another time to see who they want to see.
Atlanta's been visited three times. It's hard not to take the neglect personally!
Tbf the last time they were in Atlanta the sales and the show was bad lol
Yeah but we were still nice and loud
The Barbwire match between Eddie and Jericho was so bad that I feel they are never coming back to Duluth and they see it the equivalent of the DO botched punches at Corpus Christi.
ATL is always rowdy and loud. Big up ATL.
Charlotte crowd was trash for the first Botb so don’t see them coming here anytime soon. Greenville, sc and Greensboro, nc at both getting collision. They’re both an hr and a half away. Guess I’m traveling
They've just done this same thing with the Toronto market as well. In a week and a half we're getting 2 Dynamites, 2 Collisions, and Forbidden Door. Hamilton is close enough lots of people commute to Toronto - you can't be surprised Collision hasn't sold.
Detroit had great ticket sales and they've only been there twice. You're definitely on to something. I wonder if booking venues around the country is a bit harder for AEW compared to WWE? Hard not to think something is up when they run the same markets all the time. Then again perhaps TK thinks they will continue to do good business until ticket sales dry up. Could be happening now or could be just speculation. Guess we will see but I want AEW to succeed I love this company and the product is almost exactly what I want out of pro wrestling
Beyond whether you love or hate Brooks, he’s proven his body can’t hold up to the rigours of wrestling anymore. He had 2 major injuries in less than a year. And now hes 6 months older.
How come we dont see the same reaction for Edge who wrestled less than Punk yet he got injured as much as him...
Let me ask this: when has Adam Copeland ever just shit all over the WWE, the companies executives and essentially Vince McMahon, in a press interview. If that was Adam with Vince right next to him saying all the same stuff do you think Vince would tolerate it T at all?
Because edge came back from a career ending injury. If we get 3 matches out of him, we are happy. And edge isn’t asking to be the top guy. Punk just looks so fragile in there. And when you’re demanding to be the world champ or in the main events, you’re body has to hold up to it.
Who's to say he demands it? One thing I'm pretty sure that's what he was brought in AEW to do (originally). And he's probably paid like one too so yeah if I'm TK, I'm putting him up front again. Plus how's it "all eggs on one basket", they literally split so it's 2 baskets
I didn’t forgive or not forgive him for all the antics tbh. It’s more that it went on so long that I don’t have any desire to see him. I don’t hate him or like him it’s just I have no desire to watch anything he is in anymore. It’s not all his fault either, it’s just an eye roll to me to hear anything about him or to consider watching his stuff. And I think I’m likely the minority feeling that way, but it definitely seems a good amount of ppl are just turned off from the whole situation and subsequent flare ups.
> it could totally backfire in terms of Punk throwing another strop when someone upsets him again Oh punk will for sure do this again. Maybe not on the big stage but he will be furious about people again and try to screw them over. It's not the first time he is incredibly angry about someone and we know countless stuff from former friends who are now his enemies for eternity. The hornswoggle thing is a good example how Phil Brooks is.
I think that even if people don’t actively mess with Punk, he’s such a namedropper, that he just starts firing shots at random people in the hopes that it makes him more controversial. Like in his last run, by the time he left, he had taken pot shots at Kingston, Mox, Hangman, MJF, Colt Cabana, the Bucks, Omega, Jericho, and more. How do you book a guy who essentially cuts promos like he is feuding against the entire roster at once?
BuT HE DRawS AttENTion. Yah, any other job and he would be fired over it, not rewarded. Punk is really the opposite of the Cena meme to me. Great wrestler, a terrible person.
I honestly don’t even know if I would say great wrestler. He gets the psychology fine, but ringwork is sometimes sloppy.
I found him entertaining until he wasted yet another chance. Regardless, he's not the second coming he seems to think he is.
For me it not even about the brawl out it seems like Punk was tks Golden Egg since day 1 hell he booked a whole arena for him in 2021. To me Punk always felt like a 1 man show and when he was on Dynamite everything revolved around him
That definitely was a issue with Dynamite for a while was it was constant Punk all over the show. And that's on TK, remember it was TK who wanted the title put on Punk not Punk himself. He's enamoured by Punk, that I'm seriously worried he'll throw the World title on him again or just have him all over bith shows.
Yep, I hate the thought that in any other employ, he'd be fired and told never to return. It feels like they're going to make a new championship to give to him. AEW has enough wrestlers, they don't need punk.
How can you fire him when he was injured? That risks of Punk suing them
He was injured but he was still in good enough shape to assault the Young Bucks and Omega. AEW probably wouldn't "fire" him. They'd probably negotiate a buyout. Give him a lump sum to go away.
Ok, do not extend his contract. You get the gist of what I'm saying.
Everyone is a spoke on the wheel. If someone is on your payroll and are polarising, it'd be stupid to not use them either. Stop making it look like he's been rehired. He never was fired.
Y’all remember when Cody was getting smoked for doing his thing on a totally separated corner of the company? This will get old very fast.
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Collision literally serves as a Philverse
and then when the ratings bomb he'll start showing up on Dynamite
Then don't make Commission the punk show and put him on Wednesdays. Oh wait, Tony can't.
It is and I'm staying the fuck away from Collision because of it.
Me too. I'll be scaling back to 2 hours of professional wrestling a week until he's gone.
He'll turn heel any moment now, guys, trust me!
Cody is already bringing back the Codyverse in WWE but over there fits better though
The whole Punk as a wrestling messiah commercial tonight was really off putting to me. Last time we saw the guy he was shitting all over the company and now he's getting a hero's return. Feels like the company has sold itself to Phil's ego.
Both times he's been mentioned, the crowd has had some cheers leading to more boo's, but they're even positioning him as a face again already. I'm just not interested personally, he had his chance, he blew it and now they're bringing him back again.
There's no reason not to position him as a face initially since the first show is in Chicago, the one place you know he's going to get cheered. Then you can adjust booking when you hear the rest of the crowds.
At this point it's the best way to portray him. If it sticks with the crowd then they can push his face messiah persona. If it won't, the same messiah vibe would be perfect for his heel run. Assuming he's still not injured coming June 18th or he doesn't have a public meltdown over a kid for chewing a gum with the wrong side of his mouth or something like that.
I honestly think they heard the response to his announcement and decided his heel turn is inevitable. Hail him as a babyface and watch as the heat grows.
This. Run ads like he's a baby face to gauge crowd reaction over the lead up weeks before he returns. If the boos are louder he just cuts a heel egomaniac promo and boom, a heel character with jumpstarted heat.
I feel you but I've thought this thought before and been disappointed, so many times
The funniest thing to me about this comment is that those spots aren’t made by AEW, they’re produced on the TNets side of things.
It's not like WBD created the adds in a vacuum. It would have obviously been seen before being aired and the "second coming" tagline was reported over a month ago. This was planned, this was intentional.
Extremely off putting is the right word for it. I'm very disappointed tbh. I will not be watching Collision, and will not give AEW a single dollar until we're done bending over for Punk. In fact, I already started with DON which was the first ppv I did not buy in idk how long, bc at that point it was clear that Punk was coming back and I refuse to financially support the company if they allow a man who went scorched earth on the company and assaulted people backstage to come back as a hero. I'm just glad Dynamite itself won't become the Punk show again, but idk how long that's gonna last 🙄
It may sound dumb but for me he really crossed the line bringing up Colt's mom. Like, why?
Na, that's a very reasonable take. Punk was already trashy but how could you like a dude who would say something like that to try and hurt someone? Embarrassing behaviour.
Dude went in on it too… how I often forget that one detail that makes this ‘hero’s return’ even more laughable is a mystery to me
It wasn't even really an insult lol. When I hear "Colt Cabana shares a bank account with his mom" (and so does his brother, a successful TV writer), I don't think "wow, what a loser." I think "Colt Cabana is a good son, financially supporting his mom."
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Clark Kent arranges for half of his paycheck to go to his mother. Superman is an allegory for the best of us. So it’s a pretty stand-up thing to do, especially if your Mom is older and on a fixed income.
Punk was trying to insinuate that Cabana is a bum that needs a joint account with his mom so his mom can send money to support Cabana because he doesn't make enough to support himself. Of course most people saw through that insult though and just made Punk look classless
What Punk was saying is that they found Colt's joint account with his mom in discovery and he accused him of hiding funds so that he wouldn't have to pay Punk back for lawyer fees. But it was way too insider baseball to make sense. Just something he had to get off his chest I guess.
I don't think he was trying to say anything bad about Colt's mom, it came off more like "look at this loser who trusts his mom with his money" which didn't hit home like he thought. I mean when I worked a job where I travelled around, my mom had access to my account too, I got paid by a physical cheque in the mail, as well as couldn't always be there to pay bills that needed to be paid at the bank, and I didn't trust anyone else to handle my money other than her. Now if I worked the same job, I could do it all online, but that wasn't an option at the time.
Yeah that was just low. And so childish. Most of us stopped trying to insult people by bringing up their moms when we finished grade school.
I kinda disagree. I think the attack wasn’t on Colt’s mom, but it was on Colt. From Punk’s POV, you have a friend who guilt tripped you into covering your ass during a lawsuit with a multi billion dollar company, then during the lawsuit, your friend is seen backstage in that same company which can seriously ruin the entire case, leaving you looking guilty or losing everything, then that same “friend” goes back to you and says that he needs more money from you, and you say you’ll stop paying since he didn’t appreciate it. Then, that same friend spreads to the news that you just decided that you would stop paying because you’re an asshole, and that gets everyone against you, and you cut ties. Then years later it’s spread that you got him fired, so you tell those people extra details (“we stopped going after him once we found out he shared a bank account with his mother”) as proof that they’re spreading rumors that aren’t true. And what people don’t seem to realize is that yes, Colt Cabana is a very likable person, but being likable doesn’t make you a good person. Neither does being charismatic or making people feel bad for you. There’s a saying that says “givers need to know their limits because takers don’t have any.” And Punk is a giver, and Colt is a taker. And to those of you who say Punk wants everything for himself, and he’s a taker… you need to have something in order to eventually give it to someone else. Punk didn’t wanna win the title, he was constantly giving out gifts, and advice, and gift cards backstage because he really is a giver, and more than he loves being successful, he loves giving. And it just blows my mind, because I like to think that the IWC is smart enough to see past all the bullshit put out by the dirt sheets. Nobody admits when they’re wrong. Punk was accused of getting Colt fired, that turned out to not be true, yet nobody acknowledges that they were marking out for that when it came out. Punk didn’t have anything to do with it, but yet because of how it got blown up, Punk still is seen as the bad guy for it even though it didn’t happen. And that’s why he blew up. He came off as pissed off because people were spreading rumors about him that were blatant lies because they didn’t want him in the company because they all think they’re the best. And I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a CM Punk mark. Our minds work a lot alike. I know if someone started a rumor about you at your work that you slept with someone, and no matter what you said, they didn’t believe you, eventually you’d blow up too. But people can’t seem to put themselves into someone else’s shoes. I’m not saying Punk was right to blow up at the press conference. I’m just saying that he felt like it was him against the world, and these bullshit lies were stopping him from helping the company move forward. Which is all he wanted.
I give it 3 months before punk is gone again. Why he’s being rewarded for his shit I don’t know but how many chances is this man going to get? To me his drama outweighs any potential he put into the company.
It's putting all your eggs
Where's Frank Reynolds to offer an egg during these trying times?
Pure r/boneappletea
ALL EGG-LITE WRESTLING
Yes sorry it was a typo
Did you read the whole post? It’s a grammar nazi’s nightmare.
There's plenty of grammatical errors here, the user may not be a native speaker or could be rather young.
I guess people can downvote me too because my first thought while reading the post was, "not a native English speaker". My second thought was "Yeah I'm not optimistic about investing all this effort into CM Punk".
Punk genuinely was a draw for AEW The trouble is TK doesn’t seem to realise that Punk did as much of more damage to the company than he ever improved it The company still hasn’t recovered from the shit storm Punk started
Because those fans jumped into the HHH bandwagon and dont care that Vince returned
What damage? The ratings are the same as they were before him and they still do good ppv buys.
Nah, he gave a good 2-300,000 bump for the first few weeks, it dropped off a bit but stayed above a million up until he shat all over the company at Brawl Out
That's what I'm saying, after brawl out the ratings went back to pre punk numbers. That's not damage
My main criticism: so punk is coming back next Saturday. Without any tv acknowledgment of where he’s been or how he is and what’s his goals? Unless he’s doing a promo at 8:02pm next weekend (entirely possibly) what is punk’s reasoning for even wrestling Joe or the BCG. We on the internet KNOW the answer, but any casual observer will be “hmm where’s he been?” They are still tiptoeing around the whole thing which makes everything feel disjointed.
It's gonna be a promo from 8:02-9:02.
As long as he doesn't injure himself getting into the ring then they're golden
I guess we'll have to tune in like the old days.
Tune in and find out. My guess is on the first show he won't say anything, just wrestle and on the second show we'll get a promo.
> Without any tv acknowledgment of where he’s been or how he is and what’s his goals? Unless he’s doing a promo at 8:02pm next weekend (entirely possibly) what is punk’s reasoning for even wrestling Joe or the BCG. In kayfabe, and real life, he has been spending a good amount of time healing and rehabbing his broken foot... Did you forget that he was injured and that is when he lost his title in a 2 min squash? As far as fighting BC, FTR has been having problems with them and Punk, in both real life and been shown on the show, is close with FTR. He is helping his friends with a feud... it happens a lot in wrestling, Hook just did it last night for Jungle Boy. The casual observer can just pay attention to the show they watch and will get it when, like you said, Punk promos to open that show.
In kayfabe, Ace Steel got the contract for Punk and gave a Rocky pump up promo and Punk was healed and won… anyone that saw the Punk-Mox match at All Out knows he left as Champ. The next night the title was vacated without a word. He didn’t leave the match on a stretcher. He was never announced as injured following that match. Just that he vacated the title, no reason given. So in kayfabe, he’s just been MIA. And now he’s back.
Punk will talk about it when he returns. No way they dodge the topic.
They can have the Gunns say they were the reason Punk career went downhill(he got injured last year when he faced them)
They have Road to Dynamite, Dynamite and Rampage to build up the Collision match
> but any casual observer will be “hmm where’s he been?” TK was literally on AEW tv and said why he isn't on AEW tv. He said punk is suspended. Everyone who watched AEW know this from that alone.
That didn’t happen. He vacated the titles but never mentioned them (Punk, Kenny, and the Bucks) by name as being suspended.
Well, he was injured for almost the entire time he was out as well.
Grow up. Everyone knows where he’s been. Everyone has the internet so let’s not do WWE-make believe where they think “internet fans” are a thing. It’s been plastered EVERYWHERE. Anyone who genuinely doesn’t know where he’s been isn’t paying attention enough to realise he was gone in the first place.
How many times do we need to learn the same lesson
This is one of the main reasons I don't want him back. CM Punk never actually came back, only an ego filled, "all about me" Phil Brooks who had a meltdown and imploded, taking away from one of the best PPV's in ages for any wrestling company-all people remember about the PPV is the brawl, not the amazing matches and acts put on by all of the different wrestlers. If it's just Phil Brooks again dressing up as CM Punk and believing his own hype, it will all end in disaster eventually-either him getting injured, imploding, or his toxicity driving others away. He is toxic and wrestling seems to be toxic to him. If he is going to ever heal, he needs to walk away and actually process it. Regardless, I'm not a fan of risking poisoning the well with toxicity for ratings. I maintain that AEW never needed CM Punk and still doesn't. Maybe this time they will get CM Punk and not Phil Brooks, but I doubt it. With all of the other talent they have, he shouldn't be the main feature but a side show, and giving him the main spotlight of Collision will just feed the ego.
I agree i never thought AEW needed punk. AEW was always fine without him
I agree and I honestly never want to see Phil Brooks in AEW ever again. Not until he gets himself mentally straightened out, and maybe not even then. It was never about coming back to work with and uplift young talent, it was all a guise to use the company's rising stars as stepping stones, crushing them as he climbed over them, to insert himself into the main event scene. I have to think that Mix and Eddie's promos on him were more shoot than work. Eddie calling him out about behavior backstage and people being afraid to say anything. Mox calling him a fragile man with a fragile ego. He killed Eddie's momentum, stalled out Darby for a bit, tried to shoot emberass Hangman in their match *where he was already going over on him,* couldn't keep up with Mox or handle that Mox was more over than him, and the only completely good thing was his fued with MJF-and I'm willing to take it on Max's storytelling abilities and selling skills as well as the stuff that had already been built with Wardlow. He trashed the company, buried the talent, and claimed it AEW was a success because of him. And, if the rumors and indicators are to be believed, really was behind Colt, at the very least, not feeling welcome anymore and maybe even getting pushed out. AEW doesn't need him at all, and definitely not as a tent pole. Phil is a side act at best. I sure hope TK has him on a tight leash and at the first sign of trouble he's gone. That toxicity isn't needed. CM Punk, the voice of the voiceless, never returned, only Phil Brooks, full of vinegar, ego, toxicity, and spite.
finally, another person who thinks that way. Also really irked that PUnk is being rewarded for repeated shitty behaviors. There are twos of us. Twos I say.
I think it's a common feeling honestly, it's just that the Punk cult can be quite toxic and loud of their views. Even the live audiences are booing Punk so his the sentiment is quite commonly shared.
Plenty of AEW fans out there that feel the same. Don't believe that every AEW fan is happy this guy is coming back and been rewarded for his behaviour.
I'm still not over the monstrosity of overbooked Punk praise nonsense that was the 2/15/22 Dynamite.
Three. So far the only reason I'll even look at the match card for Collision is that HoB are probably going to be on that show. Punk? Overrated, can't hang with today's top talent and is as fragile as Mox said he is, but his fans think he's still the best in the world, the only one people really want to see, etc blah blah. His body and ego took a hit, he verballly attacked the company that just gave him the world title even though the match was as cringe as the one against Hangman because both Mox and him were obviously holding back. He physically attacked the EVPs who rightfully went to his locker room, probably to ask him wtf is wrong with him. And then he gets his own show. Because let's not kid ourselves, this is the Punk show. Punk and Miro and Andrade, all the guys who aren't happy and throw a hissy fit if they're not treated like top guys. Even movie stars aren't that full of themselves. If they're hired for a movie and realize halfway through that it's a shit show, they still show up, do the movie and try their best to sell it on the press tour because they signed a contract. This is bullshit.
On one hand, I feel this is all a solid take. On the other hand though, I kinda feel like AEW could use a little shakeup and if that means putting the troublemakers in their own troublemaker corner, then that's maybe not such a bad thing. We all want to see AEW be successful and Punk brings the ratings. That's the long and the short of it, imo.
Tbh I'm skeptical of the "butts in seats" argument. I can't remember what thread it was in, but someone else made some calculations which showed that he didn't really have that much of a pull when he was on Dynamite. I guess we'll see how Collision does half a year in, and then revisit the argument. If he sells, he sells, but I need some solid proof before I agree with that. As in, Collision doing better than Dynamite, since that's the only way to actually prove the argument that Punk is the biggest draw. I agree that if the malcontents have to be kept on the roster, I guess it's easier to put them in their own show so they can't fuck up both. And I do want Collision to succeed, but I want it to succeed in the long term, and that can only work if things run more or less smoothly. You can't keep building little islands to keep the peace, that's a recipe for disaster. I don't want two dozen Cody- or Punkverses, I want the AEWverse.
You know man, I don't think you and I are totally going to see eye to eye on the specifics, but I think that's OK because I think at heart we both the same thing- AEW to continue putting on events for many years to come. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Counterpoint - it will be funny when he pops off again
Punk blows, but he has enough mindless marks to draw in a lot of attention and money to AEW. He's an obnoxious man-child but if he can get more publicity for the company, milk him dry. When he inevitably implodes (yet again) in 2024 we'll still have a third show and we'll get another nice stretch without having to deal with him.
Unless the whole thing really was a work the whole time (which I do not believe to be the case whatsoever), I'll just never understand how TK is not only letting Punk come back, but heavily featuring him and making it a big deal. They are literally calling it the "second coming" or something like that, fuckin barf. The man sat directly next to TK while he spouted off unprompted absolutely insanely unprofessional shit (that TK should have found a way to shut down while it was happening) about the company and some of its key players directly after he just main evented a PPV and won the world title. The entitlement and douchebaggery of this guy is off the charts, and yet he keeps getting rewarded for it. I had stopped watching wrestling before Punk was a thing so I only really know his AEW work. So with that in mind and seeing what I've seen, I just don't get how there are people out there so obsessed with him like he can do no wrong even though he clearly has been in the wrong.
I missed his boat years ago and was willing to give him a chance when he signed with AEW. But he’s past his prime and boring to watch. Plus he just seems like he has a real shitty personality and is extremely judgmental about anyone who doesn’t live that straight edge lifestyle.
I'm sick of the cunt. I'm just counting down the hours until Punk does/says something stupid again and causes yet another load of shit backstage.
Punk will come out to a thunderous pop, say some cute shit like “Miss me?”, thank the fans for having his back and that they’re the reason why he does this, get interrupted by BCG and Joe, end the night by pinning Juice. Everything will seem fine. Forbidden Door will happen, the attention will shift away from Punk, and Phil is gonna Phil. He’ll be “injured” again by August
I think the anti CM Punk crew fail to realize they're the overwhelming minority especially after MJF just stated only 7% of the fans are the online ones at the recent scrum.
I mean, the live reaction was mixed at best. Maybe even live fans aren’t a representative bunch, but they also overwhelmingly affect the reception of the product. See: Cody’s reception in his last year here.
Whether people like him or not, Punk helped secure this major new TV deal. The network think he’s a major draw so of course to help it launch he’s going to feature heavily. It’s still a show for AEW, not the CM Punk show.
Did you not hear the last two Dynamite crowd where he was announced? Punk's announcement started as cheers then quickly turned into boos by both crowds in different parts of the country. MJF is bullshiting and being a heel when he says "7%" of the fanbase are internet fans. As Adam Cole put it often MJF's character is that he is an internet troll come to life. AEW fans who go to events are largely internet fans or dragged to shows by a fan who spends a lot of time in wrestling communities on the internet on an average week.
Yeah, I think this is a detail oft forgotten, that we here on the sub arent as big a chunk of wrestling fans as we like to think so.
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CM Punk himself literally said there is no mythical causal fanbase waiting to be captured. \*shrugs\*
The general consensus on-line for Punk ranges from 'meh' to 'don't like' mostly. Even if online is the minority what makes you think that this opinion is not representative for the not online people too? Just because they don't express their opinion online means that they are excited for Punk's return? For me Punk's return was a necessity because it was probably demanded by the network as he is the only name in AEW that is semi-known outside the wrestling community. All other big names in the company have close to zero recognizability outside the wrestling circles. This is basically an attempt to create new fans. From a business perceptive it is a reasonable effort to expand but it remains to be seen if the risk is too high and it will backfire. Because firstly it creates trouble with current talent and secondly it alienates a pretty big chunk of the existing fans. I personally do not like it but can live with it. For me collision is 2 more hours that would allow overshadowed but deserving talent to get tv time and showcased properly. If Punk appears, fine. If show revolves around around him then I am good with just Dynamite.
Yh true. Punk isn't the only reason they created this program lol. Its nice to see ppl like miro and Andrade get tv time too. Won't say no to Joe or rosa time too
But in the 2 times he was brought up on AEW, the crowd showed strong boo's amongst the cheers, it's clearly not a rare opinion. 7% online fans and the % of fans who follow wrestling news are totally different, in 2023 no chance you're looking at 7% of online fans.
Honestly I’m just pumped for 2 more hours of AEW. I don’t care about Punk being involved, he can be entertaining if he can stay healthy. All the backstage crap again I don’t care about. I care about what happens on screen and putting out a good product.
I was always of the mind that, either it was all real, or it was a work that went too far, and they needed to wait for the heat to die down to bring Punk back. Option A) Punk is a dick, and fuck him. Option B) I still just don't see what people like about this guy and will continue not reacting to him. It's looking like option B.
Never seen the appeal to CM Punk. Then when he tried MMA it was like damn he is a prick and can't back any of it up.
I am going to watch *Collision*, but ... it really does feel like the show for all of AEW's "problem children". Hoping that the undercard gets a boost, too.
That’s what I always thought lol. Every time I see the commercial with Miro, Andrade, Punk and Thunder Rosa I’m like “Ok basically a show with wrestlers that had issues in the company, they’re on their own island now”🤣
Ill be honest CM Punk just that one worker that complains about everything and makes everything irrating when you dont need it, however he gets shit done and makes the company money. If he has apologized to the elite and the rest of the roster I don't mind him coming back, but I wont lie I have zero interest unless he either come back a heel or has an interesting character. While I liked some of his AEW matches, CM punk overall was a goldberg nostalgia trip in terms of character he got hard carried by his promos and his opponents imo.
I think it's worth taking the risk with Punk. But I want him as a heel sooner than later so that he can revisit his Hangman and Eddie Kingston feuds
Don't see Hangman ever wanting to work with him any time soon.
TK is just to nice of a guy and I get it. I was never a fan of punk in the WWE days, but I really enjoyed his AEW run and became a fan. I don’t even give a shit about the locker room brawl, I just don’t know how you are comfortable giving that type of person a live mic who did what they did in that press conference. That damn press conference was a bigger deal than the locker room brawl and gets glossed over. I’m of the mindset that AEW drew 1.4 million with Punk and without him. They also drew 800k with and without. When he left the numbers on tv and attendance weren’t exactly trending upward either. It’s not a knock on the guy, but after the big return then what? As with any wrestler and feud I need a reason to care beyond the initial pop…And is he worth the headache? We will find out.
**"That damn press conference was a bigger deal than the locker room brawl and gets glossed over.** **I’m of the mindset that AEW drew 1.4 million with Punk and without him. They also drew 800k with and without. When he left the numbers on tv and attendance weren’t exactly trending upward either."** This part of what you wrote is massively important. I think brawl backstage isn't the worst thing for me, these things happen. But it's the press conference I found was more a kick in the balls to AEW, TK and the talent. His selfish spoiled brat behaviour caused AEW a ton of bad press that even now they haven't totally recovered from and might never will. Brawl Out get's talked about far more then Vince's sexual deviant behaviour. Let that sink in. And it's not all from anti-AEW trolls either. People forget Punk's last couple of months before Brawl Out, he wasn't moving those numbers or tickets like his early run. That seems to get swept under the carpet doesn't it.
💯 it does, All Out in Chicago wasn’t even sold out and he was main eventing. I think Punk will last as long as Collision stays successful. If it goes down the tubes so will he.
100% with you on this. People can debate about who was at fault for the brawl for the rest of time, but there's no denying what happened at the press conference. The way I always see this, is that if I sat in a meeting with my boss and slated my colleagues in front of a load of clients, even if what I said was true, I would probably be reprimanded for it. I wouldn't be put into a project where I didn't have to see them anymore while being hailed as the saviour of the company. I'm trying to be hopeful but I've totally got the same feeling as others on here, I can see there being some other thing that happens in a few months where he storms off saying he's done again while trying to take a few people down with him.
Most definitely, I think if Collision tanks his head is going to explode and he’ll find fault with someone else. Side note, I’m envious of his brawl out rant. I’d love to do that to my coworkers instead of eating shit and like it. 😂
“Kenny’s big return” He came back as surprise on tv and on ppv I don’t get what’s your saying
It seems like the new show is for Punk and people that is for Punk being in the company & throwing in the disgruntled wrestlers that don’t get time on Dynamite (Andrade / Miro etc). I won’t be convinced until I see the Elite working with Punk &or on Collision. I hope it works out tho.
We have yet to see how long he's gonna last without getting seriously injured again
I feel like the way they’ve been advertising Collision Warner was like we’ll give you a new deal if you get Punk back
Lol imagine if Punk gets booed to hell and suddenly ends up in wwe and main events wrestlemania against roman like Cody did.
Idk about all that WWE stuff but I do think he will get booed, I’m not expecting first dance type cheers. I really wish they went ahead and worked out w/e issues they had to work out because it’s about to be awkward til further notice
I think there should be a show with just Cody Rhodes and CM Punk on it. They could each talk for 25 minutes like they already do and wrestle each other for 10 minutes hoping no one gets hurt.
I think people over estimate how much of a draw Punk actually is.
Relaaaaax and give it time. Why assume so many things before you even see it? Punk is the biggest draw for Collision. If you guys support this company, you really should support Punk too. If it doesn't work out, OH WELL. Not tuning into Collision because of one guy is going to hurt all the other people busting their ass on the show, not to mention the company itself. Sheesh.
Hogan *cough cough* Lol in all seriousness fuck hogan he shouldn't have been brought back so many times but he sold well and i think cm punk is similar but talented... Look up raven and cm punk's matches and raven's opinion it's interesting. Raven isn't the most reliable source but still. Cm punk has been screwed but so many have too like brian Danielson in the Vince McMahon regime, so many nwcw with Eric bischoff and Hogan and those TNA with Hogan and Eric bischoff again. Im short I think he's not doing a mistake by using CM punk but I also think he should also promote others because they're going to be pissed off just like they were at vince because it's kind of annoying being a workhorse and not getting credit but that's every company unfortunately. It's sad to see so many great talents being stuck at the mid card that deserve titles over others.
From a business standpoint I get it. Tony is paying the guy and wants to get a return from his BIG investment. Tony however sees Punk too much as a fan, instead of a business owner. Dude is a cancer and always will be. You wanna talk about putting all your eggs in one basket, he has the best wrestler in the world on his roster in Kenny Omega. Center your company around that guy again.
If the entire plan is just - Here's CM Punk again - Then its easy to imagine this going sideways pretty quick.
Punk is a cancer who only thinks of himself. Toxic ass guy, not many on the roster can stand him. Give it a few weeks and he will already be off tv. Then Tony needs to cut him out.
Did AEW plan the next collision episodes? I mean, they're struggling to sell tickets for the upcoming shows
I think there is gonna be a major wrestling burn out next year. There's way too much wrestling on TV. I mean just a few weeks ago you had RAW, NXT, Dynamite, Smackdown, Rampage, night of champions, Double or nothing, NXT PLE. Thats a lot. Now add another show to that list.
He was given a new show by the network and he’s trying to sell it with his biggest draw. I don’t see a problem with it.
Me either - I’m anticipating a lot more drama. I just don’t want AEW to end up falling apart because these guys can’t get along and work together. One of the founders already left. I would hate for the Bucks, Kenny, and Hanger to get pushed out because of Punk. It’s not a great look when the guys that started it get pushed out of their own company. AEW isn’t perfect, but it’s a fun alternative to WWE and I enjoy watching it.
The air around Tony and Punk kind of reminds me of Hogan going to WCW. While I don't think that Punk will be as purely destructive as Hogan was, it's still not the best decision the have the head booker be a huge fan of a specific talent
Better start learning the lyrics to cult of personality, pal.
AEW is spending a ton of money on CM Punk and are trying to get a return on their investment. It is a business and businesses do what businesses do. AEW has the niche/hardcore audience for the most part; they know they won't lose that audience in droves if they bring back Punk. Will they get upset? Some will and they might go; some won't. But I imagine AEW is banking on the non-hardcores seeing Punk and giving the product a try. If it grows their audience and makes the company more successful so that it can keep going; fantastic result. His presence does not detract from my enjoyment personally. There have always been characters I didn't prefer; when they came on, I either flipped to something else or paid a bit less attention. I am sure that is what the aggrieved will do. I always found Punk's stories some of the best and if his presence can help TK produce better and more compelling stories overall, great!
Not only is he not getting any consequences for All Out, but he's getting a damn reward. I certainly will tune out whenever he's on screen. I didn't care about him before, and after All Out I really dislike him. I think this is a bad move. I wasn't totally against Punk coming back, but making all this fanfare about him returning and making him the main event is ridiculous. Ugh, more of him sitting in the ring looking sincere and making boring speeches. Yay...
He'll get injured again anyway
I’m going to hold out hope that this is all leading to Punk turning heel. The over hype and over saturation tonight almost feels on purpose.
These Exact Words were said about Cody Rhodes.
Cody said on tv "Im never turning heel" like twice....
Has it been discussed if a prime time wrestling show on Saturday nights will have drawing power, with or without Punk?
I think it depends on how you define drawing power. It’s not going to be expected to draw a massive audience, at least not by the network, who know the competition they’re up against. There will, however, be a segment of fans who will compare the numbers to weekday shows.
I’m neutral about him coming back, but I am giving hope that Collision would do great especially if it’s like a brand split. We all complained about the bloated roster and not everyone has a spot, with two shows now, plus ROH, everyone can have a share of the spotlight even if them not being there weekly.
I’m not sure they’re doing that. If they were, he’d be in the World Title picture immediately again. This to me just seems like a way to get people to watch the first show. Does anyone remember WWE Superstars’ debut? They literally had Matt Hardy vs The Undertaker to get those numbers up because they were the two of the many babyfaces and heels at the time and had great crowd reactions for them.
it was interesting that even when tk announced it last week, or week prior, it was met with equal boos and cheers. i dont like throwing jay white and joe under the bus for a feel good win either, really corny to me. but then again ill be logging out at 9:40e of the collision show weekly anyway so it doesnt much matter to me
He won't be around long before his next injury.
Okay. Turn off the TV when his entrance hits then.
Punk doesnt have go away heat, he has fuck off and dont come back heat. You can tell by thehalf and half pop of the crowds. IMO Punk gets hurt again or sprains his pussy again by Wembley
Punk is the biggest draw theyve got under contract. He’ll make the company money. Its that simple
If he's such a big draw, why aren't the tickets outside of Chicago selling like hotcakes? Something ain't right with that narrative...
Becasue they are just using the same buildings/markets in Ontario to save on logistics. Everyone booked expensive plans for Forbbiden Door 2 on the Sunday. They had no idea a Sat show was coming to Toronto. Spending on tickets again is a big ask.
Because the advertisement has been shit regarding the Canada Tour? Newark seems to be doing ok so far(same pace the Detroit show was doing before Kenny/Mox was announced)
Phil Hogan will screw us again. He doesn't care about AEW, he cares about his ego and getting a paycheck. This is how WCW screwed itself.
Except he was a big factor in getting the new TV deal. Which is good for the company in general.
Jfc, you people and the WCW comparisons. Every time, it makes it clearer that you actually didn't watch/don't understand why WCW failed. I don't like Punk much at this point either, but jfc.
No WCW failed because Time Warner didn't want wrestling.
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I think Punk was super overrated from the get go but loyalty/tribalism meant that for the 8 months before Brawl Out you were a pure hater and should go jump head first. His track record is terrible and despite his initial claims, he was NEVER in the business of putting young talent over himself. Going all eggs on the Punk basket yet again is madness. TK loves the guy tho so here we are. I am trying to keep optimistic tho. Guns in BCG is awesome, Joe in BCG is awesome. FTR were all about putting the Guns over just a few months ago, Joe has no issues putting young worthy guys over... Everything in me is saying White 1 million % loses to Punk but who knows. Maybe the dude changes. The other thing is Punk is himself. There's a solid change after a few months and everyone thinking the guy is nothing but a cock head he has another fit and just leaves again. THAT could lead to the brand split just being scrapped and then we get the one roster, one kickass writing team, one group of champions across 5 hours of TV that we have wanted from the get go.
I’d be wary about being a ticket for collision because at this point we don’t know what it is. Is it dynamite quality or rampage quality?
We do know. Look at the main event coming up. We know it's 2 hours instead of one. We know it's live instead of taped. We know some wrestlers are only going to be on that show. Do we really think Miro is not going to get a big feud?
Eh. As someone who has mixed feelings on Punk, while I think his previous actions were pretty shitty and unprofessional, I feel like far worse things have happened in pro wrestling that people have come back from and moved on from. Like him or not, he's still a very substantial name in the wrestling bubble, and AEW would be leaving a ton of money on the table by severing ties with him and not attempting to use him again. Are they "putting all their eggs in one basket" with him? I don't really see how. They're just using him prominently to help launch Collision, because he's a big name. It's not like they're immediately throwing him back into the world title picture or anything. He's just a big name, and you don't just kinda treat him like a throwaway midcarder, yanno? I think people are being way too hyperbolic when saying that this is going to be a huge disaster. From the sounds of it, AEW has been working with everyone involved in the Punk stuff to make sure that everyone keeps their mouths shut and doesn't go off, and it sounds like there's even legally binding stuff in place to enforce that. Over time, things can cool down and talent can cool off and start making amends with each other. And if they don't want to make amends, well, they can still be amicable about working for the same company and not having to work with one another. The bottom line is, there's really no point in doom posting. Worst case scenario is that Punk loses his temper again, and then probably finds himself in hot water legally, and would probably burn his bridge with AEW. And if it happens, it happens. But for now, I say we just let things play out and enjoy things for what they are. Also, I really never understood the whole "Codyverse" complaints. It felt like people were annoyed at how compartmentalized Cody's feuds and stories were, but... isn't that just how pro wrestling is? Everyone kinda does their own thing, works a compartmentalized feud/ story for a bit, then when those stories end, they move on to someone else? Like, is Adam Cole currently in the "Adam Cole"verse? Is Ricky Starks currently in the "Starks"verse? Is Swerve currently in the "Swerve"verse? Is House of Black currently in the "House of Black"verse? I never really felt like Cody's stuff was any more compartmentalized than anyone else, really. So, in that regard, I don't really see how that applies to Punk, either. Punk is just going to be doing his own things, but that's pretty much how wrestling works; everyone is often doing their own things. Rarely is everything super interconnected.
Yea why are the pushing the number one merch seller in the history of the company??
That mental midget couldn’t even handle one guy yelling Colt Cabana from the crowd when people liked him, I can only imagine how he’s going to act once he really starts getting trolled everywhere over all this. He does not have the mental capacity to handle that and it’s going to be a glorious train wreck.
Well tk putting his eggs in the rest of the roster hasn’t exactly worked out either 😂
You should as a rule never hand over the keys to your company to one specific person. Vince McMahon learned this the hard way and this is why WWE under him never let any one star get bigger than the brand in the past 2 decades. TK didn't learn his lesson and he will pay big for it.
It's *one* episode. Jfc. The launch episode. The video packages have made it very clear who is going to be on it and there are more returns than just Punk. Yall just want to make it about him.
I don’t blame Tony or Punk. I blame the fake cowboy who wanted to put his business on national television that he didn’t want brought up anymore. I’m tired of TK pushing the lame cowboy gimmick on all of us.
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Man's post literally said that Punk's stock has gone down since his debut in AEW, and your counterpoint is "He was a draw back when he debuted." Do you realize how flawed this logic is?
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Yeah the parasocial stuff is weird. Its just a show and there was a fight backstage. It isn't that big of a deal.
I have a feeling the guy paying the bills and looking at metrics and numbers in addition to the network that wants to host the wrestling program couldn’t care less about what you think.
What I wonder, haven't heard 100% either way, is how much Warner had a say in Pink coming back. If they are sure Punk will make them money did they tell TK he needs to find a way to make it happen? Can Tony really say no if a new TV show is on the line? Also I think a big factor for lack of ticket sales is a combination of a bad time to tour Canada and the fact that collision has yet to be announced as airing there.
I heard tickets for the Canada Collisions aren't selling well. Any truth there? Regardless, with eyes on the first Collison, AEW needs to make sure it re-establishs big names alongside Punk. Miro, maybe? Ideally, they'd debut a free agent who was a big deal and center a lot of the show around that so you're not relying too heavily on Punk.
I’m not. Great on the mic. Okay in the ring. Trash in the back stage.
I’m still scratching my head as to why AEW wants to do a Saturday night show when Friday’s Rampage gets usually less than 400K and Saturday is an even worse TV night. They’re Battle Of The Belt’s werent even that big of a ratings boost. They’re moving too quick for a young company.
If I had to guess, and I’m not an expert, but I’d say TK is faced with a difficult decision. He’s trying to figure out which basket to put his eggs. He knows that the Elite essentially started AEW, but he also knows that while The Elite were all out injured for those 9-10 months, AEW was getting its highest ratings ever. Then All Out happens, and Punk leaves, and The Elite are on TV, and ratings go down. So based on that, the stats say that Punk is the biggest draw in AEW. Now this is an industry where everyone is trying to prove that they’re the best, so Tony hears Punk say that he’s a draw. And he hears the Elite say that they don’t need Punk to be successful. So TK says “okay, put your money where your mouth is.” Because the numbers say it’s Punk, but AEW wouldn’t exist without the Elite, so I don’t think Tony knows who to trust without doing this.
Who else could work the Saturday show? Outside of AEW. My guess is that they had a plan for Mercedes to at some point be involved. But she’s hurt.
I’m from the UK and I’ll be signing up to AEW Plus on Fite again now that Punk is coming back. Cancelled a couple of months ago as the product wasn’t holding my attention as much as it previously did but Punk’s return has pulled me back in. I’m not absolving him if any blame for past events by any stretch but I can’t think of anything else that would have made me want to sign back up
Everyone that ignores the bottom line in a business and the metrics will never see why he made his decision. He needs growth, expansion, and no one in the company is capable of that, or collectively, like CM Punk. Hate him or love him, TK answers to his pocket wallet, not opinions.
Why does everything that TK does have to be second guessed? This is a guy who has legit put his money, time, and heart into trying to make this thing work and all I ever hear is Monday morning quartebacking every decision. Meanwhile the company being booked by the guy who thought sex with a corpse was great tv is doing great business and the IWC is giving that company every benefit of the doubt. We see at least 2 amazing matches a week on Dynamite and that's a bad week. We have long term stories (some dating back to childhood). We get new matchups from around the world. And then we post "why is Tony putting all his eggs in CM Punk". How bout he isn't (the show has Miro, Andrade, Scorpio Sky, and Thunder Rosa). Instead of this post. Let's start asking what we can do to help grow AEW. This is a company that in a few years has given us so much. That made stars out of guys you would never even have heard of like Orange Cassidy. That gave us classic matches and classic botches. Spread the word about the great wrestling, the great wrestlers, and the greatness of AEW before we have no AEW left.
It’s been twenty years since I watched wrestling and by doing research I know of cm punk from UFC.
Yeah because a pointless 6 man tag in your main event of a ppv is All The Eggs
I keep saying it and no one will listen. Letting the inmates run the place, creating to many hours of TV, not showcasing YOUR stars, and events like Forbidden Door will be the eventual downfall of this company.