I've Moved on From CM Punk. I wish the wrestling world would too.
Crossposted at
After a fantastic Survivor Series pay-per-view and the return of Randy Orton after eighteen months off…..
…..WWE dropped the ball.
It really was a mighty cold day in hell as CM Punk was on a WWE screen for the first time in nine years.
The real question is……why?
In the nine years since CM Punk left the WWE, the following things happened:
Punk buried the company on Colt Cabana’s podcast for a variety of things and the way Punk perceived them to happen:
Was sued by a WWE doctor for defamation, a suit which he won;
Refused a public apology from Vince McMahon for how he was terminated in WWE;
Was sued by his former best friend Colt Cabana for legal fees and breach of contract, after which Punk countersued Cabana. These suits were settled.
Returned to AEW, but served a lengthy suspension after the “Brawl Out” incident involving a backstage brawl with The Young Bucks after Punk went into business for himself at the All Out post-show media scrum;
Came back after his lengthy suspension but only lasted three more months in AEW before he was fired in September for cause regarding a backstage brawl with Jack Perry.
Punk may have, at one point, been the best wrestler in the world. But that ship has since long sailed. Many of Punk’s matches since his return to AEW were sloppy and he has not shown the ability that he once had in the ring. Maybe my opinion on that would be different were he not still using the same gimmick that he was using in 2011. But Punk just can’t go anymore, and that makes all of the “off-field” incidents even harder to deal with.
It’s no coincidence that AEW’s in-ring product and storytelling have improved without Punk.
Triple H may have said all the right things during the Survivor Series post-game media scrum last night, but I think even he knows that this entire thing will go sideways at some point. It’s not if, but when, Punk blows this relationship up. Again.
And that makes the entire thing a pointless exercise that will likely do little more than earn a cheap pop at the end of last night’s show. And one that overshadowed a fantastic main event and the return of a Hall of Famer who did (eventually) mature into a reliable performer.
I just don’t want to watch CM Punk on my TV anymore. His first promo back on television is going to be predictable: He’ll say “Never say never”, bury Tony Kahn, bury the Young Bunks, bury some of the talent in the back, and then say he’s the Best in the World again. It’s boring. I’ve seen it. And I know that whatever program he does get involved in will never gets its payoff because he’ll talk himself right out of the company first.
I’ve moved on from CM Punk. I wish the rest of the major promotions would too.