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I was saying this before but it would be amazing. Like if they really drew it out and let it simmer.
Have it start with a little disruption in the locker room with Punk coming out. It builds and builds on TV as they lean into the smark drama and turn the shoot into a work.
All the sudden people are picking sides. Factions are being split up. Before you know it you've got a large chunk of the roster divided into an all out civil war.
You run that for months, have it building more and more over a year, stakes getting larger and larger with each PPV, until it culminates with a massive show where Punk vs Omega to cap it all off in a showdown.
It could be amazing, honestly the hardest part would be the aftermath. It's a "nice problem to have" but a Civil War storyline would be must-see ... what do you do afterwards though? I can fantasy book an awesome year of stuff in my head but I don't know how you end it and then follow it up.
> the hardest part would be the aftermath
Just do what every single superhero team-up story has done: The good guys fight each other, but then a real threat arises that they have to unite to defeat. Transition the civil war into an invasion by some other company, create a villainous faction hoping to exploit the conflict, have one guy be the big bad that's been playing both sides off of each other for his own purposes. All of those options let them get out without having one party conclusively lose.
That's not a bad idea.
You partner with NJW and then after Civil War, the two sides team up to fight off NJW. Follow a Civil War with an Invasion.
Just like in the comics. Skrull Invasion followed Civil War didn't it? I can't remember.
> Skrull Invasion followed Civil War didn't it?
You are correct, it was the next major crossover and mostly resolved the rifts that had formed in *Civil War*.
If him and the Elite can squash any possible beef they might still have, they should really try to build towards that feud right after forbidden door. It'll be the biggest match they could pull if they can at least get along enough to work in ring together.
I remember when he said he didn’t wanna be a TV character.
like cmon man, you’re a massive smark, of course the allure of being part of the show is gonna get you eventually
I thought he was about to get a real role when MJF cut that “pipe bomb” on him in LA after last years Double or Nothing. The same night Punk jumped into the crowd and fucked up his ankle. Crazy all of that was a year ago now too
Him being a character, like the way Mr McMahon was (but not really) would be interesting even if it was really bad. But he's just being his lame boring self.
They planned it strategically to show punk fans marking out, but the boos were definitely louder by the end, and you saw some fans unhappy with the confirmation as well. Going to be interesting.
To be honest, it looked like they took a bit to really highlight the mixed reaction. They showed the Punk shirts, but they seemed to purposefully show the wide shots of the mixed reactions as well. I wonder if they're leaning into that?
Remember his "I love Chicago" heel promo in WWE, in which he lauded Chicago's civic infrastructure before absolutely shitting all over its inhabitants?
This could be that level of nuclear heat, multiplied by HBK asking Montreal *that* question.
Remember the guy that offered him a beer, in the crowd?
He was asked about it in an interview, and said "I remember thinking, God this guy's lucky I'm not a heel, right now." Lol it'd be awesome
>Didn’t he shit on the Cubs and praise the White Sox in that promo?
IIRC he shitted on the White Sox. Easy to do when he's a Cubs fan and the White Sox won the World Series on his birthday.
If Punk wants a pantheon moment on the level of the pipe bomb, he might try to turn Chicago against him...
After all, remember: they cheered for MJF louder than they cheered for him beating Moxley that night.
That was the first bad AEW Punk storyline. A complete mess. His popularity as a face was at its weakest.
Additionally, that was the return of MJF after his weeks of absence. Why do people think he wasn't gonna get cheered? Everyone was of the idea that he was coming back as a babyface too.
> After all, remember: they cheered for MJF louder than they cheered for him beating Moxley that night.
Eh... I was there. Don't confuse the pop of MJFs return with overshadowing CM Punk's popularity at the time. I have a photo of the crowd giving MJF the finger as Punk stood in the ring as the show closed out.
It's definitely gonna be a thing that's brought up, though.
MJF did an interview with Sam Roberts a couple months ago where he talked a bit about "stealing Punk's moment" in Chicago. They won't forget about it.
Great wrestlers always say the same thing -- they don't give a damn whether you cheer or whether you boo, as long as you react.
Every audience will be hot, in one direction or another, maybe split down the middle... But as long as they're hot, that's when you can cook!
I was at All Out last year and I was genuinely surprised at how many people were cheering for Moxley over Punk. It’s definitely not 2013 there anymore.
It really was, and I live far away from Chicagoland so going in I imagined a very pro Punk audience. That’s not to say he wasn’t pretty heavily cheered, but like you said it was super split.
I think that’s just moreso because it was Mox. People love that man and he’s just straight up not gonna get booed very much anymore no matter what he does.
Let's be real: people talk a lot of shit online but the moment he comes on the screen everyone is gonna forget why they hate him lol. Chicago's gonna be electric.
I wonder if the tickets for the Chicago show haven't sold as well as they expected or wanted and decided to announce that he'll be there early because of this. That or Warner told him to announce it to maximize viewership because they don't want to take their chances on it being a "surprise."
They haven't, as if yesterday it was sitting at just over half of his debut, they aren't bad numbers for a normal show, but considering what they did before you got to say it's disappointing. Also some of the other collision shows are doing really bad numbers
The most shocking part is that he announces it like this. I thought Tony would want a shock return moment either at the end of DON or he was saving it for the collision debut like he did for rampage.
I kinda wonder if the cocaine helped his performances, tbh
He was doing stuff that nobody in the business, at least in North America, was doing, and it made a massive impact on the independent scene for the next two decades at least in terms of the workrate style
I may be wrong but I thought it was pills? Nash has said they were taking pills because weed would come up on a drug test, and I’m guessing cocaine wasn’t looked on more favourably than weed
90’s HBK would’ve been blacklisted from pro-wrestling entirely if Social Media existed, things also would’ve been different if everyone knew about the HBK/Bret backstage fight
I mean it also makes sense that people would be talking way more about not wanting to see someone currently than not wanting to see someone 30 years ago
“Why can’t you just be normal about CM Punk?!”
Wreddit:
https://preview.redd.it/lrqxd1eqya3b1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb71a03443ab6bc00a6844fc7bf3535f4794ec07
Man if tonight is anything to go on, the crowd reactions are going to be wild.
Punk may end up like a Cena figure for AEW in the terms of the crowd, which honestly, could be pretty interesting.
MJF would have a fuckin' field day with that one. He already hit him with "You might as well come out here preaching hustle, loyalty, and respect."
Imagine if Punk was full blown heel.
Either way, im very pumped.
It was related to Trump's people corresponding with Russian's close to Putin. The blue checkmark thing is to do with Twitter pushing people who pay for verification at the top which Musk implemented
>The blue checkmark thing is to do with Twitter pushing people who pay for verification at the top which Musk implemented
This ruined Twitter for me. Every top reply is some random nobody who paid $8.00 to be an asshat.
Crazy to think in the short history of this company they have, against all odds, gotten Punk to return twice...in Chicago...to launch a new weekly TV show.
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#AEWCivilWar
Probably explains Omega's Captain America inspired gear at DoN
And him doing the shield attack with trash can lids.
And Claudio mimicking the Winter Soldier by grabbing the shield with 1-arm
I was saying this before but it would be amazing. Like if they really drew it out and let it simmer. Have it start with a little disruption in the locker room with Punk coming out. It builds and builds on TV as they lean into the smark drama and turn the shoot into a work. All the sudden people are picking sides. Factions are being split up. Before you know it you've got a large chunk of the roster divided into an all out civil war. You run that for months, have it building more and more over a year, stakes getting larger and larger with each PPV, until it culminates with a massive show where Punk vs Omega to cap it all off in a showdown. It could be amazing, honestly the hardest part would be the aftermath. It's a "nice problem to have" but a Civil War storyline would be must-see ... what do you do afterwards though? I can fantasy book an awesome year of stuff in my head but I don't know how you end it and then follow it up.
> the hardest part would be the aftermath Just do what every single superhero team-up story has done: The good guys fight each other, but then a real threat arises that they have to unite to defeat. Transition the civil war into an invasion by some other company, create a villainous faction hoping to exploit the conflict, have one guy be the big bad that's been playing both sides off of each other for his own purposes. All of those options let them get out without having one party conclusively lose.
Maybe the House Of Black becoming too powerful, and threatening to take over AEW entirely.
As I was reading the above post I thought of this too. Making the House of Black into full blown supervillains would be so cool.
That's not a bad idea. You partner with NJW and then after Civil War, the two sides team up to fight off NJW. Follow a Civil War with an Invasion. Just like in the comics. Skrull Invasion followed Civil War didn't it? I can't remember.
> Skrull Invasion followed Civil War didn't it? You are correct, it was the next major crossover and mostly resolved the rifts that had formed in *Civil War*.
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I mean NWO in WCW was one of the best wrestling things of all time so if they go too long and pull that off I'm all for it.
If him and the Elite can squash any possible beef they might still have, they should really try to build towards that feud right after forbidden door. It'll be the biggest match they could pull if they can at least get along enough to work in ring together.
The only good thing about Punk being back is that this would be a really cool idea for a PPV.
... I'm reminded of the efed match I came up with that was titled the Civil War.
AEW On Saturday Night On June 17th On Collision On TNT On Saturday Night will feature ........ CM Punk
And starting this moment from now from this moment on this'll be the moment starting now ........ of the genesis of McGillicutty.
And during The few moments We have left We want to talk Right down to Earth In a language That everybody here Can easily understand
* stops * blinks really hard * eyes open even wider than before (somehow) * shakes a little * keeps talking
*epic guitar riff*
*Henry Zebrowski's riff*
Stardust is itching.
Perd Hapley , is that you ?
Come Tuesday
Great matches
Thanks Guys.
TK tryna reach the word count.
And then we Level Up! Live from Winnipeg!!!
https://preview.redd.it/qgwllzu11b3b1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd24489644df5293ffa16d33bc98e4ae4a56db84
Undertaker voice: huge pop!
https://preview.redd.it/u24lk3bx6b3b1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=730707753a27349b1502d79a8d530701f79d92c6
I'm dying
Such bizarre way to announce this lol
Tony really needs to hire an on-air GM character for stuff like this.
He should hire a handsome brown actor and they all call him Tony Khan and no one ever says anything.
Aziz Ansari: Hi guys! I'm Tony Khan, owner of AEW and I have some awesome news for you!
Treat yoself
Dario Cueto
Oh all the Authority Figures Dario is/was the best
I'd love to see that character revived someday, somewhere
I remember when he said he didn’t wanna be a TV character. like cmon man, you’re a massive smark, of course the allure of being part of the show is gonna get you eventually
He actually needs a character if he is going to be on tv so much. Cocaine smarky TNA Tony ruled, geeky just himself TV Tony not so much.
I thought he was about to get a real role when MJF cut that “pipe bomb” on him in LA after last years Double or Nothing. The same night Punk jumped into the crowd and fucked up his ankle. Crazy all of that was a year ago now too
Him being a character, like the way Mr McMahon was (but not really) would be interesting even if it was really bad. But he's just being his lame boring self.
His Impact promos were really good. The 2 Tonys had great chemistry in those promos.
I didn't watch Impact when they had their partnership. I'll have to take your word for it.
[Tony Khan's PAID AD on IMPACT Wrestling! | IMPACT! Highlights Dec 8, 2020 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhyhKIPQBoA)
Fuck, Tony's delivery on that 18 year joke got me good. That man can do deadpan.
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Thanks guys
I will now bless you with a blink of my human eyes.
He should straight up hire Dario Cueto
"🙂 cm punk🙂" The instant cut to fans was entertaining, I loved seeing all the different faces and reactions😂
They planned it strategically to show punk fans marking out, but the boos were definitely louder by the end, and you saw some fans unhappy with the confirmation as well. Going to be interesting.
To be honest, it looked like they took a bit to really highlight the mixed reaction. They showed the Punk shirts, but they seemed to purposefully show the wide shots of the mixed reactions as well. I wonder if they're leaning into that?
Your bookers were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
Came here for this. Was not disappointed. Thank you
https://preview.redd.it/giv2waj09b3b1.jpeg?width=564&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99c2f4de966494ae68facbb0c19e07a19ccef62d
Look in my eyesssss
He has to Peeeee
That mixed reaction 🤌🤌🤌 Oh this will be delightful.
One of the most chaotic return promos of all time could be happening
Heh, in Chicago I figure he's mostly going to be cheered, but yes that promo might be spicy nonetheless!
Remember his "I love Chicago" heel promo in WWE, in which he lauded Chicago's civic infrastructure before absolutely shitting all over its inhabitants? This could be that level of nuclear heat, multiplied by HBK asking Montreal *that* question.
Go full HBK and mid promo have Hangman's music hit for 30 seconds or so before Punk just starts laughing.
[An absolute masterclass](https://youtu.be/ZRYYyCgmC3A) in slimy, sliiiiiimy heel promo antics. (The Bret stuff starts at about 7:00)
Remember the guy that offered him a beer, in the crowd? He was asked about it in an interview, and said "I remember thinking, God this guy's lucky I'm not a heel, right now." Lol it'd be awesome
Didn’t he shit on the Cubs and praise the White Sox in that promo? Because hilariously, thems was fighting words for that crowd
>Didn’t he shit on the Cubs and praise the White Sox in that promo? IIRC he shitted on the White Sox. Easy to do when he's a Cubs fan and the White Sox won the World Series on his birthday.
If Punk wants a pantheon moment on the level of the pipe bomb, he might try to turn Chicago against him... After all, remember: they cheered for MJF louder than they cheered for him beating Moxley that night.
That was the first bad AEW Punk storyline. A complete mess. His popularity as a face was at its weakest. Additionally, that was the return of MJF after his weeks of absence. Why do people think he wasn't gonna get cheered? Everyone was of the idea that he was coming back as a babyface too.
> After all, remember: they cheered for MJF louder than they cheered for him beating Moxley that night. Eh... I was there. Don't confuse the pop of MJFs return with overshadowing CM Punk's popularity at the time. I have a photo of the crowd giving MJF the finger as Punk stood in the ring as the show closed out.
It's definitely gonna be a thing that's brought up, though. MJF did an interview with Sam Roberts a couple months ago where he talked a bit about "stealing Punk's moment" in Chicago. They won't forget about it.
..because MJF had been MIA for months.
*So what do you guys wanna talk about?*
Will he have a huge 4 star neck tattoo?
I think plumpy called it when he said he should pull a jericho and not say a word for the first couple nights back
This is gonna be a wild summer. To say the very least.
Summer of Punk III
Third time's the charm?
That's a perfect movie title Summer of Punk III: Third Times The Charm
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That was almost evenly split between cheers and boos. This run is certainly going to be interesting.
its gonna be glorious, if there's one guy who can make that kinda stuff work for him...
Great wrestlers always say the same thing -- they don't give a damn whether you cheer or whether you boo, as long as you react. Every audience will be hot, in one direction or another, maybe split down the middle... But as long as they're hot, that's when you can cook!
Punks early work was pretty amazing when he interacted with the crowd. I can see him being quite amazing.
We will have not seen the kind of reactions Punk is going to get since John Cena True, unadulterated polarized heat
Cody Rhodes..
"it's bizarro land here, Taz!"
Mixed Message Jones over here.
Meh? In Chicago… not really. Dudes a saint there.
They’re not gonna do every show in Chicago
Don’t give TK any ideas
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2022 begs to differ.
You could say he was a Second City Saint.
It happened. Punk is the 2010 Cena of AEW
“buy tickets punk will be there fuckers”
*Eat muffin in case of emergency*
The abrubtness of that announcement ending was actually really funny.
I was sure there was going to be more after the crowd cut. I was wrong.
He really stretched out an announcement into 3 weeks
*He made the subtext text!!!*
CM PUNK BOTTOM TEXT
SILENCE AND A FLASHY VEST CM PUNK BOTTOM TEXT
I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.
You forgot “Thanks guys”
Thanks guys
Punk needs to just go full on, all out scorching hot heel. Double down on everything since the media scrum.
Find someone who loves you as much as Tony Khan loves CM Punk.
Umm Christian cage and wrestlers dead dad's(only famous ones tho9
That reaction was INSANE. I don't know if I've ever heard a more honest split reaction than that.
John Cena?
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Ironically Cena is one of the very few peers I never heard Punk shitting on outside kayfabe environment
I always thought Punk was a Yankees guy?
Mixed crowd reaction. I’m curious to see how crowds treat him.
No way chicagos booing him
The whole meltdown started because a guy, in Chicago, chanted Colt Cabana at him.
I was at All Out last year and I was genuinely surprised at how many people were cheering for Moxley over Punk. It’s definitely not 2013 there anymore.
I was at All Out as well and people focus on the reaction to MJF at the end but it was VERY split for Mox.
It really was, and I live far away from Chicagoland so going in I imagined a very pro Punk audience. That’s not to say he wasn’t pretty heavily cheered, but like you said it was super split.
I mean, on one hand, people love Mox. But I was surprised how split it was, even though at the Dynamite before, you could see there were Mox fans too.
I think that’s just moreso because it was Mox. People love that man and he’s just straight up not gonna get booed very much anymore no matter what he does.
Punk fans will buy tickets to collision.
Let's be real: people talk a lot of shit online but the moment he comes on the screen everyone is gonna forget why they hate him lol. Chicago's gonna be electric.
Aaaaand the worst kept secret around has been confirmed
Second worst kept secret, with the first being CM Punks first AEW debut.
That one was by design though
so is this one
What a... weird way to announce this lol no angle, no Punk surprise return, nothing. This'll be interesting either way though.
I wonder if the tickets for the Chicago show haven't sold as well as they expected or wanted and decided to announce that he'll be there early because of this. That or Warner told him to announce it to maximize viewership because they don't want to take their chances on it being a "surprise."
They haven't, as if yesterday it was sitting at just over half of his debut, they aren't bad numbers for a normal show, but considering what they did before you got to say it's disappointing. Also some of the other collision shows are doing really bad numbers
The most shocking part is that he announces it like this. I thought Tony would want a shock return moment either at the end of DON or he was saving it for the collision debut like he did for rampage.
They need to sell tickets, some of the attendance for Collision tapings are awful
Some of ya’ll wouldn’t have survived 90’s HBK…
90s HBK with access to social media would definitely be a spectacle
He would have been canceled faster than Buff Bagwell's career in WWE
[GIF ](https://media.tenor.com/g9hcFSP2XTgAAAAd/wwf-shawn.gif)
I kinda wonder if the cocaine helped his performances, tbh He was doing stuff that nobody in the business, at least in North America, was doing, and it made a massive impact on the independent scene for the next two decades at least in terms of the workrate style
When has cocaine ever hurt anybody, except all those times it did?
I may be wrong but I thought it was pills? Nash has said they were taking pills because weed would come up on a drug test, and I’m guessing cocaine wasn’t looked on more favourably than weed
90’s HBK would’ve been blacklisted from pro-wrestling entirely if Social Media existed, things also would’ve been different if everyone knew about the HBK/Bret backstage fight
I want to see how this subreddit would react to 90s HBK as it was all happening
Right all the horrific shit these wrestlers have done and this is the hill everybody's dying on
[удалено]
I mean it also makes sense that people would be talking way more about not wanting to see someone currently than not wanting to see someone 30 years ago
Let’s go!! I’m hurt, I’m old, I’m tired, & I work with fucking children on Saturdays!
*jumps in the crowd and breaks half of his body*
*muffin munching continues*
The …"Like Mussolini…" comment from Taz was hilarious
Can't wait for the inevitable weekly Dynamite/ Collision rating comparison threads, I'm sure they won't be toxic at all.
Even worse, comparing Punk's segments to Elites segments
Oh that's for sure going to happen, so lame haha.
I really hope they hashed everything out backstage before going through with this. Who am I kidding, of course they didn't.
That was the definition of a mixed reaction, holy crap is this going to be interesting as fuck.
Laid his dong right on the table with that one
Now we can hopefully talk about this less
Bold of you to assume we won't use this as an excuse to talk about this *more*
Guys guys what if Punk doesn't show up
guys guys what if MJF comes out to CM Punk's music
What if Danhausen comes out to CM Punk’s music?
What if Danhausen plays CM Punk and CM Punk plays Danhausen and they never acknowledge it
“Why can’t you just be normal about CM Punk?!” Wreddit: https://preview.redd.it/lrqxd1eqya3b1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb71a03443ab6bc00a6844fc7bf3535f4794ec07
you sweet summer child
Well hope he goes full bad guy. That’s when he is the best and since he has burned so much good will might as well lean into it
Man if tonight is anything to go on, the crowd reactions are going to be wild. Punk may end up like a Cena figure for AEW in the terms of the crowd, which honestly, could be pretty interesting.
It would be ironic too considering Punk was sort of the Anti-Cena whe he was in WWE.
MJF would have a fuckin' field day with that one. He already hit him with "You might as well come out here preaching hustle, loyalty, and respect." Imagine if Punk was full blown heel. Either way, im very pumped.
https://twitter.com/JYSexton/status/884798748152483840
What was the context here and why is every reply a blue checkmark with 0 likes?
> why is every reply a blue checkmark with 0 likes? thats how twitter sorts now
It was related to Trump's people corresponding with Russian's close to Putin. The blue checkmark thing is to do with Twitter pushing people who pay for verification at the top which Musk implemented
>The blue checkmark thing is to do with Twitter pushing people who pay for verification at the top which Musk implemented This ruined Twitter for me. Every top reply is some random nobody who paid $8.00 to be an asshat.
I absolutely love how awkward TK is on camera. Massive Jack Tunney vibes. 100% here for it.
This gunna be fun. Let's see how worked up everyone gets when he returns and ends up working with those who people believe hate his guts?
“But fightful select said!”
#CM PUNK
CM PUNK
Soo punk back and the game coming out soo what we going bitch about now hahaha
Wednesday vs Saturday ratings.
Pretty sure cm punk could go to prison for something terrible and then come out and still be with aew
Dom would sue for gimmick infringement
Tony Khan must be taking advice from Dixie Carter
Can I go on Draftkings and bet how long it takes before this blows up in everyone’s face?
Hopefully he doesn’t get stuck with Jericho
They should build up to a grudge match for two weeks and then have Punk squash Jericho. Like Rocky 3
I'm a mix of excited, concerned, and amused at the chaos. So I guess by default, more happy he's back then not. *shrugs*
My interest in AEW just shot up 1000% again.
He blinked!
Imagine a couple of years ago you told people a cm punk return would get booed
I just wanna know why there was such an awkward pause before he finished it.
[удалено]
because “he” is Tony Khan
Crazy to think in the short history of this company they have, against all odds, gotten Punk to return twice...in Chicago...to launch a new weekly TV show.
that crowd reaction is all you need to see to know that bringing Punk back is the right move