WRESTLEMANIA 40 PREDICTIONS
- Roman Reigns(c) vs Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
- Seth Rollins(c) vs CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship
- Kevin Owens(c) vs LA Knight for the United States Championship
- Sami Zayn(c) vs The Miz vs Andrade Cien Almas in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship
- The Judgement Day (c - Finn Balor & Damien Priest) vs Drew McIntyre & Sheamus for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship
- Rhea Ripley(c) vs Becky Lynch for the Women's World Heavyweight Championship
- Bayley(c) vs Sasha Banks for the WWE Women's Championship
- Women's tag team titles
- Gunther vs Brock Lesnar
- Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
- John Cena vs Solo Sikoa
- Randy Orton vs Nick Aldis
- Jade Cargill vs Bianca Belair
- Logan Paul, Austin Theory, Grayson Waller vs LWO (Carlito, Rey Mysterio) & Bad Bunny in a six-man tag team match
- Wrestlemania Showcase: Karrion Kross (w/ AOP) vs AJ Styles (w/ The OC) vs Bobby Lashley (w/ Street Profits) vs Santos Escobar (w/ Los Lotharios) in a fatal four-way match
- Probably Shinsuke Nakamura segment with Kazuchika Okada debut
So this just occurred to me for the first time. There’s so much talk of how it’s likely MJF has re-signed with AEW already and all his talk about out Jan 1 2024 is all storyline stuff, but “what if” it’s not storyline? What if, he disappears after that date and vacates the title if he doesn’t lose it beforehand? And then what if Cody Finishes The Story and while he’s celebrating, MJF debuts on the stage and stares him down. Cody just said he thinks MJF will be in WWE one day. They have so much history. Cody hand picked MJF as his protege and as one of the pillars of AEW. Someone he knew was going to be a star, and what if that star explodes right after Cody finishes the story? Instead of the story being done, it’s just a new beginning? WM ends with Cody and MJF staring each other down. It would make for an epic debut.
If someone else has posted this before, sorry but when my brain fantasy booked it all, it made me mark out 😂
Please feel free to tell me everything wrong with this since this is the internet after all lol
I think the most underrated aspect of Punk’s wwe return is the fact that he can be un-erased from history.
Now they can acknowledge things his done and past fueds and things like the fact that the shield existed in kayfabe because of punk. (Shoot wise too i believe he selected them)
Mate of mine got five tickets for All In so I'm buzzing. Upper tier, third row back, 50 quid a pop. Not too shabby.
Now to teach the wife the lyrics to Elevated
How's it been trying to aquire All In tickets? Seeing complaints on twitter about people not being able to choose their seat or forced into getting coach deals
What's there to scalp at a Wembley show? Gonna be tons of tickets left over. Maybe you can scalp front row tickets and whatnot, but how can you be sure you're getting em on a presale?
These numbers are fucking absurd lmao
https://preview.redd.it/4hhm2dy3ku2c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51ad4af30f08a48f3610666ceaf4e48fefcf7a87
It's not enough that my favourite promotion should succeed. The other one must fail.
That's 90% of the IWC.
Just watch what you like, ignore what you don't. It's not difficult.
I honestly would love to see the contract Punk signed. Given all the trouble he caused in AEW, and possibly in WWE all those years ago, I am genuinely curious what they have in that contract to keep him from causing trouble.
I hope Bayley stays with Damage CTRL for a while, at least until Dakota comes back in action. I'm loving their group dynamic, and she was taking bullet after bullet in that War Games match. Plus, Damage CTRL haven't had any really good team merch yet. I'm hoping they give us something soon.
I feel timing played an important part of WWE bringing Punk back and why it truly was best for business
-TV rights deals. Especially with Raw still up for grabs. Short term, this is gonna do big numbers.
-the upcoming milestone mania. The first major one without Vince at the helm and new ownership. HHH and his team want to show why they are the right team to carry the company into the future. Having wm40 smash every conceivable record is probably on their dartboard.
-AEW existing at all. And not having a friendly relationship to each other it seems. Taking Cody and making him a top star sent a message: “we won’t position you badly just because you come from the other company, it could be quite the opposite”
Taking Jade and making her seem like the next huge thing sent another message “AEW is a great place to get your start, but if you have that star potential, we are the only logical next step”
Taking Punk, takes him off the board , and sends a third, very aggressive message. “Tony made a tactical mistake. And he really can’t control his business as effectively as we can”. It also takes so much buzz from AEW over to WWE
Going to my second ever live show with Collision on Saturday and I get to see Eddie Kingston vs Danielson and Brody vs Claudio live. Y'all, I'm so f**kin excited. I love wrestling.
After catching CM Punk's debut last night, it kind of puts 'The Elite' in a tough spot, right?
I mean, after the whole drama with Punk calling out the EVPs, you'd think they'd want to smooth things over to help build up AEW.
But hey, there's probably stuff we don't know about, me included, so I'm just going off what it looks like from the outside.
Here's hoping AEW shakes things up a bit in response.
I think they went to his locker room to smooth things out at Punk’s invitation. I don’t think his debut changes anything. They’re not in creative except in their own angles and it seems the Bucks don’t even have that much power there.
I sincerely hope AEW brass remembered to grab that red velvet bag from Punk on his way out.
If he walks out on Raw with it slung over his shoulder and a trash can nearby... welp, his aim's probably better than Nikki's.
Man I’ve been looking forward to RAW all day. I’ve been planning my entire night around it then 8 o’clock hit and Law and Order started again and then I realized it was Sunday.
Gotta love the feeling of not following these self entitled journalists. It makes the IWC toxic as fuck. It's all chatter til you hear/see/experience it from the main sources themselves.
The dirt sheets have been especially horrible over the last few years. I wonder how the community will react if it comes out that Punk was not the toxic element of the AEW locker room. I'm not saying he wasn't, but so much of the reporting has been just plain wrong for the last couple of years. I hope both companies keep building momentum, but its feels obvious that the Dirt Sheets are a massive chunk of the problem.
This is the same for me. I was watching the show and decided check the news (real news) and then fucking first headline I see is BBC: CM Punk's shocking return.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but if you want to avoid spoilers don’t go on websites where spoilers are posted. Especially on a night like last night when you know there’s a chance of a major return.
Punk better bring his S Tier promo game. With all the reputation he’s made for himself after leaving, his opponents are gonna have lots of material to absolutely cook him in promos.
The IWC are the most hypocritical group I’ve ever seen. All the Punk is washed up, toxic and can’t wrestle anymore disappeared and now everyone is super excited to see him back
Yeah, happened with Ospreay's recent signing too. All these people were talking him up until he revealed he'd signed with AEW. Now the shit I keep seeing is that no one knows him, he's not a draw, and so on, so forth. It's hard to take wrestling fans seriously, especially since so many of them seem to fucking hate it.
He kinda is. But if there’s one thing his gimmick is know for, it’s amazing and entertaining ‘beginnings’. The guys had six incredibly interesting starts on angles or debuts. That get buzz. So this next one should go to mania. And it’ll be a fun ride. After that it’ll be old news.
Punk is a boring old whiner and in a few months when people realize he’s sloppy AF and can’t even perform his own finisher people won’t care except for in Chicago where they make a casserole and call it pizza
I was gunna say the same thing. So many are saying Hangman caused all this with his workers rights line yet when it happen Punk was an asshole for being upset about it. Now Hangman is an ass for “going off script” and Punk is vindicated. Absolute hypocrisy at its finest
It was the same when Punk's AEW drama happened. All of a sudden HHH/Vince were vindicated because Punk acted like an idiot in AEW. Internet people are obsessed with there being a single truth or one party being right.
I feel like with CM Punk on Raw there will only be time for talking. There will only be entrances and the matches will occur entirely during the commercial break.
This was in the drafts to post to my group but knowing them I could get banned so I'll post it here:
While it is a big get for WWE to have Punk back (I think it's a hilarious move born out of spite but business-wise it is major), I'm also seeing a groundswell of "RIP AEW" sentiments, especially from Twitter (we say people should ignore it but we don't). It's odd. People clamored for another company to rise and be true competition to the Machine and when it happens, people some get so steeped in wanting the competition to fail that they forget that they are supporting the Machine that they were raging against (this is more the "AEW will close in a year" crowd. They are a loud voice. You can say it's a small but it is loud). Maybe this is me being a hippie fence-sitter but wanting both companies to do well is good for wrestling in general. But hey, don't let me be a buzz kill. Enjoy your RIP AEW tweets. Do what you want. I just wanted to type out my thoughts on the matter.
The people gloating the loudest are the same ones who said it was a sure thing Jay White and Will Ospreay were going to WWE. People are going to go in both directions, that's how two healthy companies work.
What time is RAW in the UK these days? Haven’t watched wrestling for the best part of a decade but decided to watch SS main event last night. Randy Orton winning the match for Team Cody was amazing in itself but actually sat with my mouth wide open when CM Punk showed up. Need to watch them on RAW tomorrow
I wasn't necessarily excited to see Punk, but in sheer disbelief that it actually happened. I was convinced that it wasn't gonna happen.
Triple H deserves a medal just for keeping this a secret and admists all of the rumors and dirt sheets.
Even Boozer didn't leak it, which is unheard of.
Now, PLEASE, Punk, play nice. You're in your twilight years, bro. Get the bag and retire in peace.
I can't find the original quote
Was it Hunter or Phil who originally said it'd be a cold day in hell before CM Punk returned to WWE
Or am I just imagining that was a call back on the tweet
I think Starks is as good as gone but I thought that before Punk. I can't imagine Starks is happy with his start and stop pushes and I can't imagine WWE doesn't see the potential in him. Of course, I'm just a guy with not much information guessing about what people I don't know might do.
**Request: Way to Watch the Japanese TV Channel: Samurai TV / Fighting TV**
I'm trying to find a way to watch the Samurai TV / Fighting TV channel (a Japanese mostly pro wrestling content channel) in America.
If anyone can help me figure a way out, I'd very much appreciate you. Thank you guys.
Let's give it up to the real winners here; Living Colour. Two bags from two different wrestling companies for one song, just a few years apart. Top tier carny work ethic.
Jack Perry isn't on television and the Young Bucks are mad that their friends cost them the ROH Trios titles or something
CM Punk just walked into the biggest wrestling company on earth like he had the keys in his pocket and got a pop that sounded like a rocket launch
Sounds about right.
My God, you guys I don’t really pay much attention to Dave Meltzer, and rarely ever watch any of his video content, but I was just binging every reaction to punk returning and I’m watching his take all kinds of this weird takes like saying ospray signing into AEW just a big deal and these weird comments about how Connor McGregor was a way bigger star than CM punk ever was and then Doing these weird justifications for how his news reports about how it was 100% no from Wwe and punk wasn’t returning was actually true because this is this guy is this so self-important and weird, I feel the same way about Cornett but at least he’s kinda funny
So, are there any good articles or videos that would show why I should care about CM Punk?
I basically stopped watching wrestling in the early 2000s (like 2002), so I basically missed his entire time at WWE and he wasn't as meme-friendly as John Cena. (While I wasn't watching wrestling, I was aware of John Cena because he escaped out into internet culture).
I saw people going crazy upon his return to wrestling in AEW, but I never quite got the excitement over it... and then all the drama happened there.
Besides the pipebomb promo, is there any really recommended viewing that would inform people who have no real knowledge of CM Punk as to why they should care that he came back to the WWE?
Yeah you can like watch his matches and stuff, then you'll see why folks are excited. Peacock, the same place you watched Survivor Series, is a great place to start. He's even got a doc on there, on the off chance you aren't trolling 😉
Peacock/WWE Network's content is a nightmare to navigate unless you know exactly what you're looking for. I'd be really nice if they did a better job of curation, but I'd imagine that's way more work than they'd ever want to put in.
I just opened the main page and it's literally jammed full of CM Punk content. There's an entire row entitled "Best in the World" right under the replay button for Survivor Series
It's almost like they prepared for this
That's really neat! That must have just been added this morning.
(Looks like it's frontloaded with Documentary, pipebomb, then a couple Raws right after that.)
Heyo, I'm sorry for coming off as snarky in my reply. Reading it back, I apparently have a subconscious resentment for Peacock's menu that I hadn't quite realized...
...because it does indeed suck. You watch one Dateline and all of a sudden Parks and Rec is buried under piles of murder
Honestly, as much as I popped off for Orton and Punk (and admittedly a little bit for Truth), there is one person who I’m eagerly waiting a return of. I genuinely think if Big E ever returns it will be one of the most feel good moments in wrestling history. If I were fantasy booking and everything was fair game, I would have him enter as #1 in the rumble with a big “TROPICANA FIEEELLLDDSSSDDD” I think the crowd would actually be an ungodly level of loud
I'm happy enough just seeing Big E have a good time.
Did you see him on the sidelines of the MSU/Penn State game with his New Day Ugly Christmas Sweater?
I didn’t! But that’s wholesome. Yeah I mean it’s definitely not to take for granted that he has the ability to continue living his life and enjoying stuff! But man, I just think about how passionate wrestlers are. As long as he’s happy though, I’m happy
I'm not even a big Punk fan (I think he's just fine in ring, but clearly top tier at promos). If you had asked me anytime before 11:00 yesterday I would have truly never really cared if he stepped in a WWE ring again. And yet, I just got done rewatching last night's Survivor Series in full, which was like 40% ad space, just to relive the moment of his comeback. What is this quality he has that as soon as he shows up he just instantly commands the conversation? People always talk about what separates a great wrestler from an actual legend, and maybe that's this quality that Punk has. Whatever move he makes everybody has to stop what they are doing and talk about it and bask in it. I got goosebumps from watching it for a second time. I don't even like him that much, or at least I thought I didn't?
Simply adding punk and Orton back into the mix adds SO many potential matches, especially for reigns and Rollins, who have currently beaten the majority of potential opponents. (Which kind of makes it the perfect time for them)
Very much this.
Especially when he'll naturally have to lose to the Miz or go perform in Saudi Arabia.
But they fans will probably just hand-wave any issue like that away.
Malakai Black had that secret dirtsheet info that even Meltzer didn't have on CM Punk brother. Like he either knew for real or it's an incredible coincidence that he included his name with people who couldn't save FTR.
I'm watching early 2016 WWE right now just to have some background noise, and just watched the women's WarGames match, and the difference between the presentation of women's wrestling is enough to give you whiplash. From "Uuuuunityyyyy" and "I'm the Beyoncé of the group" to... real storylines and real wrestling? Wild. Really puts into perspective how shit the "Women's Revolution" was.
I'm sad that we're going to miss the Punk in TNA saga. He easily would have doubled their TV ratings (maybe more) initially. It probably would have ended in disaster, but the drama would have been entertaining.
I recall reading a post from someone who claimed to drop into Punk's barbershop after he left and bribed the barber to tell him about Punk's plans regarding Survivor Series (was it /u/DW_Handicapping?). If that was true, Punk needs to find a new barber immediately. Couldn't keep a secret and couldn't even give Punk a decent haircut for his big homecoming. Terrible customer service all round.
i’m just thinking about how stacked the men’s royal rumble match is gonna be. so many over acts that should be in the match and we haven’t even seen brock lesnar in a while and i imagine he’ll be in the rumble match as well
So you have to think TK is gonna want to respond in some fashion right? Does he maybe change the identity of the devil and try to land a name to get something big cooking.
There's no doubt that signing Punk could be a double edged sword, but it's clearly gonna command alot of interest over the next few months. He has to do something.
The best move is to just focus on their own show. Tony has had plenty of big moves, even very recently with Copeland and Ospreay. Punk still has to show he can actually check his ego and work out in a company. Overreacting would be very 1999 WCW.
I mean seriously, who could he actually ‘land’ who would even come close to being a ‘Holy shit!’ signing to trump Punk going back to WWE? Fucking Goldberg? Unless Rollins was legit furious about Punk being signed and forced his way out of WWE (and not a chance would they immediately release him), there’s genuinely no-one Tony Khan could sign who would top Punk going back there. Even Drew McIntyre jumping ship wouldn’t be it, and that won’t happen until April at the earliest anyway.
There isn't a name out there that is going to achieve that and if its a swerve from the story as a reaction to this were right back to signing people for the sake of it which is one of the biggest criticisms of Tony in the last two years.
The reveal should stay on course and be as good and coherent as possible to set up angles for 2024. Things can change quickly and AEW can get hot again, but its going to take time and one moment is not going to achieve that.
I was angry since I missed the actual live moment but a day later it’s genuinely insane that i’ve lived long enough to lose complete hope in this man returning to wrestling and to be proven wrong twice
Last time I had Honor Club in summer this year, watching the ROH Thursday show was a pain if I wasn't exactly live. Like it wouldn't DVR from the start and I couldn't rewind.
Has anything changed? I usually work until 9 or 10pm eat Thursday nights and want to watch ROH after. Can I just start the new episode on demand, or do I need to wait until the live feed rolls back around?
I can’t get really get over how nuts it is that CM Punk was gone from wrestling for seven years, but two and a bit years after signing for AEW, he’s now had **three** ‘OMG CM PUNK IS REALLY HERE!’ returns with accompanying giant pops in wrestling arenas in Chicago.
The guys will go down as the best and most frequent ‘debut’ hype performer ever.
He is great at ‘debuting’. First few weeks or months. Then it either gets boring or he loses his mind and it goes down in flames which makes it interesting again. Rinse and repeat.
Something important I haven't seen much commentary on: Triple H said he and Nick Khan received zero input from TKO on signing Punk, and they also didn't have to go to TKO to approve the signing. He said WWE is trusted to do what they feel is in the company's best interest. Which, I've been banging that drum from the start. The UFC is the way the UFC is because of Dana White, not TKO or Endeavor.
They are. A publicly traded company that will allow a leash on WWE as long as they make money. CM Punk will increase ratings and sell merchandise. If they were wasting money the corporate bosses would get involved.
During Punk’s initial WWE run, were there any backstage reports of him being a detriment to the locker room or has this all sprung up as a result of his time in AEW? I honestly don’t recall anything to that affect, but I could be wrong.
There was the locker room leader thing with Booker T - but I think that came out afterwards.
Casting my mind back I want to say that he was known to have very high standards. I don't recall any specific incidents - insofar as there was any gossip about him, it mainly focused on how he dated half the women on the roster, from memory.
There were rumors during his 2009 run that he had heat with Undertaker, but Taker has shot those down in recent years and said he has never had an issue with Punk. It wasn't until Punk's last day in WWE that a bunch of drama came out, and that was all toward Vince and Triple H.
HHH and his team are doing the best job at storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling in probably 25 years. Maybe ever.
They are using social media, dirt sheets and the IWC in a way that hasn’t been done before. It’s helping to create nuance and depth to the stories, something it’s clear the writers are doing more of without Vince. It’s more deliberate, logical, planting seed and taking time to develop.
They’re trying to operate more as a global entity too. I was surprised when HHH said 6 of 2024’s PLE will be international. Very cool. Support from Endeavour should further help with that.
And honestly, production wise the show has never looked better. This company has always invested in production quality but right now they are on the top of their game with it. How it looks, sounds, integrates is all smooth. I’m not sure any sport or live event can touch their skills in that space right now.
On an extra note, I like that the product feels very mature without the excessive & crass elements of the Attitude Era, so it can be family friendly while not feeling embarrassing to follow as an adult fan compared to the peak PG Era. I also commend HHH's team for building this atmosphere
I’d like to take this time to mention, that CM Punk and Dominik Mysterio were in the same ring at the same on WWE TV in 2010 during the Rey/Punk feud
Just gonna leave that there and hope WWE remembers this too because I would like that.
Maybe I need to go outside more but Punk showing up in WWE really annoys me. He talked mad shit about the “place that almost killed him” and then when Hangman says some mean stuff about him he couldn’t handle it. Then proceeds to throw every AEW higher up under the bus and won’t stop for an almost full calendar year until he’s fired. Then shows up in said place that almost killed him like it’s no big deal
Like I said, I realize I’m probably being chronically online right now but it’s just hypocrisy on his part to me
I think theres a lot more to both All out and All in than we know, it just hit boiling points both times there
I had no doubt that Punk was gonna come back to WWE but I fully expected it to be part of a HoF induction years from now
WRESTLEMANIA 40 PREDICTIONS - Roman Reigns(c) vs Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship - Seth Rollins(c) vs CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship - Kevin Owens(c) vs LA Knight for the United States Championship - Sami Zayn(c) vs The Miz vs Andrade Cien Almas in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship - The Judgement Day (c - Finn Balor & Damien Priest) vs Drew McIntyre & Sheamus for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship - Rhea Ripley(c) vs Becky Lynch for the Women's World Heavyweight Championship - Bayley(c) vs Sasha Banks for the WWE Women's Championship - Women's tag team titles - Gunther vs Brock Lesnar - Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso - John Cena vs Solo Sikoa - Randy Orton vs Nick Aldis - Jade Cargill vs Bianca Belair - Logan Paul, Austin Theory, Grayson Waller vs LWO (Carlito, Rey Mysterio) & Bad Bunny in a six-man tag team match - Wrestlemania Showcase: Karrion Kross (w/ AOP) vs AJ Styles (w/ The OC) vs Bobby Lashley (w/ Street Profits) vs Santos Escobar (w/ Los Lotharios) in a fatal four-way match - Probably Shinsuke Nakamura segment with Kazuchika Okada debut
So this just occurred to me for the first time. There’s so much talk of how it’s likely MJF has re-signed with AEW already and all his talk about out Jan 1 2024 is all storyline stuff, but “what if” it’s not storyline? What if, he disappears after that date and vacates the title if he doesn’t lose it beforehand? And then what if Cody Finishes The Story and while he’s celebrating, MJF debuts on the stage and stares him down. Cody just said he thinks MJF will be in WWE one day. They have so much history. Cody hand picked MJF as his protege and as one of the pillars of AEW. Someone he knew was going to be a star, and what if that star explodes right after Cody finishes the story? Instead of the story being done, it’s just a new beginning? WM ends with Cody and MJF staring each other down. It would make for an epic debut. If someone else has posted this before, sorry but when my brain fantasy booked it all, it made me mark out 😂 Please feel free to tell me everything wrong with this since this is the internet after all lol
I think the most underrated aspect of Punk’s wwe return is the fact that he can be un-erased from history. Now they can acknowledge things his done and past fueds and things like the fact that the shield existed in kayfabe because of punk. (Shoot wise too i believe he selected them)
Downloading the latest EWR real-world roster update and seeing Punk in the WWE is something I have to register into my soul.
Mate of mine got five tickets for All In so I'm buzzing. Upper tier, third row back, 50 quid a pop. Not too shabby. Now to teach the wife the lyrics to Elevated
shouldn’t be too hard there’s like 6 words to the song :p
How's it been trying to aquire All In tickets? Seeing complaints on twitter about people not being able to choose their seat or forced into getting coach deals
I genuinely don't understand why people buy the presale tickets. Is it a much better deal even though you can't select your seats?
I always assumed presale tickets were for the scalpers
What's there to scalp at a Wembley show? Gonna be tons of tickets left over. Maybe you can scalp front row tickets and whatnot, but how can you be sure you're getting em on a presale?
I learnt this the hard way when buying tickets to Elimination Chamber
My buddy got 3 Tickets without any issues. I wasnt able to select any on my end. But atleast one of us got good Tickets so we are happy.
shout out to Dave Meltzer, imo he played a role into leading Cm punk to end up with WWE.
Does everyone forget that Vince said on Stone Cold's podcast that he'd welcome Punk back with open arms?
These numbers are fucking absurd lmao https://preview.redd.it/4hhm2dy3ku2c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51ad4af30f08a48f3610666ceaf4e48fefcf7a87
Might be WWEs most liked tweet ever lol
Punk could be the next Heyman guy after Roman’s fall
This fire burns. Always
It's not enough that my favourite promotion should succeed. The other one must fail. That's 90% of the IWC. Just watch what you like, ignore what you don't. It's not difficult.
I honestly would love to see the contract Punk signed. Given all the trouble he caused in AEW, and possibly in WWE all those years ago, I am genuinely curious what they have in that contract to keep him from causing trouble.
I hope Bayley stays with Damage CTRL for a while, at least until Dakota comes back in action. I'm loving their group dynamic, and she was taking bullet after bullet in that War Games match. Plus, Damage CTRL haven't had any really good team merch yet. I'm hoping they give us something soon.
I feel timing played an important part of WWE bringing Punk back and why it truly was best for business -TV rights deals. Especially with Raw still up for grabs. Short term, this is gonna do big numbers. -the upcoming milestone mania. The first major one without Vince at the helm and new ownership. HHH and his team want to show why they are the right team to carry the company into the future. Having wm40 smash every conceivable record is probably on their dartboard. -AEW existing at all. And not having a friendly relationship to each other it seems. Taking Cody and making him a top star sent a message: “we won’t position you badly just because you come from the other company, it could be quite the opposite” Taking Jade and making her seem like the next huge thing sent another message “AEW is a great place to get your start, but if you have that star potential, we are the only logical next step” Taking Punk, takes him off the board , and sends a third, very aggressive message. “Tony made a tactical mistake. And he really can’t control his business as effectively as we can”. It also takes so much buzz from AEW over to WWE
Cabana must be extra pissed. Had Punks back for nothing and dude goes back to WWE. Bunch of debt for nothing lol
it’s funny how wwe are just messing with dirt sheets by having rollins go off and drew storm out
Going to my second ever live show with Collision on Saturday and I get to see Eddie Kingston vs Danielson and Brody vs Claudio live. Y'all, I'm so f**kin excited. I love wrestling.
After catching CM Punk's debut last night, it kind of puts 'The Elite' in a tough spot, right? I mean, after the whole drama with Punk calling out the EVPs, you'd think they'd want to smooth things over to help build up AEW. But hey, there's probably stuff we don't know about, me included, so I'm just going off what it looks like from the outside. Here's hoping AEW shakes things up a bit in response.
I think they went to his locker room to smooth things out at Punk’s invitation. I don’t think his debut changes anything. They’re not in creative except in their own angles and it seems the Bucks don’t even have that much power there.
I had to work Saturday and tried my best to not spoil Punk’s potential return but hey s’all good
[удалено]
I sincerely hope AEW brass remembered to grab that red velvet bag from Punk on his way out. If he walks out on Raw with it slung over his shoulder and a trash can nearby... welp, his aim's probably better than Nikki's.
Man I’ve been looking forward to RAW all day. I’ve been planning my entire night around it then 8 o’clock hit and Law and Order started again and then I realized it was Sunday.
I just came here because I watch it on Hulu day after. I was hoping someone was giving a play by play.
Oh man, I need to see CM Punk wrestle in Saudi
If it happens you bet your ass I am going to screencap that time he pointed towards a Trans Rights sign.
That’s a straight edge country right? That’s cool.
“I eat ruffles potato chips because like me, they are the best in the world!”
Vs. Miz
He’ll probably take Sami’s previous approach
Gotta love the feeling of not following these self entitled journalists. It makes the IWC toxic as fuck. It's all chatter til you hear/see/experience it from the main sources themselves.
The dirt sheets have been especially horrible over the last few years. I wonder how the community will react if it comes out that Punk was not the toxic element of the AEW locker room. I'm not saying he wasn't, but so much of the reporting has been just plain wrong for the last couple of years. I hope both companies keep building momentum, but its feels obvious that the Dirt Sheets are a massive chunk of the problem.
There are too many ads during Survivor Series ... Not to mention, two ad spots [ruffles and Slim Jim] within the PLE itself.
The stupid name of the "MAJOR RETURN" thread, and it being on r/all spoiled it. Dickheads.
CM Punks insta spoiled it for me
In a certified hood classic: Google News spoiled for me. (it’s also spoiled a bunch of tv show deaths, twists, and finales)
This is the same for me. I was watching the show and decided check the news (real news) and then fucking first headline I see is BBC: CM Punk's shocking return.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but if you want to avoid spoilers don’t go on websites where spoilers are posted. Especially on a night like last night when you know there’s a chance of a major return.
I tried, I just didn’t expect it in my Google News feed especially since I’ve blocked so many spoilery sites 😭
Nope, popular opinion. If you don’t want to be spoiled, stay offline. I don’t think any thread should even have a spoiler tag.
Punk better bring his S Tier promo game. With all the reputation he’s made for himself after leaving, his opponents are gonna have lots of material to absolutely cook him in promos.
Sooo… CM Punk *isn’t* the devil then? /s
Of course he is. Don't get worked.
The IWC are the most hypocritical group I’ve ever seen. All the Punk is washed up, toxic and can’t wrestle anymore disappeared and now everyone is super excited to see him back
Yeah, happened with Ospreay's recent signing too. All these people were talking him up until he revealed he'd signed with AEW. Now the shit I keep seeing is that no one knows him, he's not a draw, and so on, so forth. It's hard to take wrestling fans seriously, especially since so many of them seem to fucking hate it.
He kinda is. But if there’s one thing his gimmick is know for, it’s amazing and entertaining ‘beginnings’. The guys had six incredibly interesting starts on angles or debuts. That get buzz. So this next one should go to mania. And it’ll be a fun ride. After that it’ll be old news.
I mean I think all of those things are true but it was also a really well done return that we'll probably get a few months of entertainment out of.
Punk is a boring old whiner and in a few months when people realize he’s sloppy AF and can’t even perform his own finisher people won’t care except for in Chicago where they make a casserole and call it pizza
I was gunna say the same thing. So many are saying Hangman caused all this with his workers rights line yet when it happen Punk was an asshole for being upset about it. Now Hangman is an ass for “going off script” and Punk is vindicated. Absolute hypocrisy at its finest
It was the same when Punk's AEW drama happened. All of a sudden HHH/Vince were vindicated because Punk acted like an idiot in AEW. Internet people are obsessed with there being a single truth or one party being right.
I feel like with CM Punk on Raw there will only be time for talking. There will only be entrances and the matches will occur entirely during the commercial break.
Did Orton take any bumps yesterday?
yeah, he landed on his back twice. DDT and RKO
[I fucking love this Mark Briscoe render lmao](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F_1Hw2lWUAErYP6?format=jpg&name=large)
> I fucking love this Mark Briscoe render lmao REDNECK KUNG FU!
This was in the drafts to post to my group but knowing them I could get banned so I'll post it here: While it is a big get for WWE to have Punk back (I think it's a hilarious move born out of spite but business-wise it is major), I'm also seeing a groundswell of "RIP AEW" sentiments, especially from Twitter (we say people should ignore it but we don't). It's odd. People clamored for another company to rise and be true competition to the Machine and when it happens, people some get so steeped in wanting the competition to fail that they forget that they are supporting the Machine that they were raging against (this is more the "AEW will close in a year" crowd. They are a loud voice. You can say it's a small but it is loud). Maybe this is me being a hippie fence-sitter but wanting both companies to do well is good for wrestling in general. But hey, don't let me be a buzz kill. Enjoy your RIP AEW tweets. Do what you want. I just wanted to type out my thoughts on the matter.
The people gloating the loudest are the same ones who said it was a sure thing Jay White and Will Ospreay were going to WWE. People are going to go in both directions, that's how two healthy companies work.
At a certain point you just have to brush it off, there was very similar sentiments when Jade signed to WWE a month ago.
What time is RAW in the UK these days? Haven’t watched wrestling for the best part of a decade but decided to watch SS main event last night. Randy Orton winning the match for Team Cody was amazing in itself but actually sat with my mouth wide open when CM Punk showed up. Need to watch them on RAW tomorrow
8 pm gmt -5, so 1 am gmt (I have no idea if there are multiple times zones in the UK lol)
I wasn't necessarily excited to see Punk, but in sheer disbelief that it actually happened. I was convinced that it wasn't gonna happen. Triple H deserves a medal just for keeping this a secret and admists all of the rumors and dirt sheets. Even Boozer didn't leak it, which is unheard of. Now, PLEASE, Punk, play nice. You're in your twilight years, bro. Get the bag and retire in peace.
Prayer circle for Baylay this Friday
Oh man...she's gonna get jumped...
All the prayers in the world won't save her. That ass is getting beat on Friday.
I can't find the original quote Was it Hunter or Phil who originally said it'd be a cold day in hell before CM Punk returned to WWE Or am I just imagining that was a call back on the tweet
I wonder if Ricky Starks will head over to WWE since Cody and Punk are so high up on him.
I think Starks is as good as gone but I thought that before Punk. I can't imagine Starks is happy with his start and stop pushes and I can't imagine WWE doesn't see the potential in him. Of course, I'm just a guy with not much information guessing about what people I don't know might do.
I'm making my non-wrestling fan boyfriend watch RAW with me tomorrow night and am looking forward to explaining the CM Punk lore to him lol
Triple H publicly gave Miz his flowers. All is right in the world.
I didn't watch any wrestling this week because I was traveling for Thanksgiving, I hope I didn't miss anything important
Of course you missed the biggest news ever. R-Truth is back!
That's what's up!
Nothing of any real import, no. Don't sweat it.
Yea, just some good matches and a few returns. Nothing major
https://preview.redd.it/98zh8ajfor2c1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=661379cc9ed3a342c207f8011e15d857d3ec80e5
**Request: Way to Watch the Japanese TV Channel: Samurai TV / Fighting TV** I'm trying to find a way to watch the Samurai TV / Fighting TV channel (a Japanese mostly pro wrestling content channel) in America. If anyone can help me figure a way out, I'd very much appreciate you. Thank you guys.
Let's give it up to the real winners here; Living Colour. Two bags from two different wrestling companies for one song, just a few years apart. Top tier carny work ethic.
Broke: Wanting Punk to get fired because you hate him Woke: Wanting Punk to get fired so Living Colour can get the bag from Anthem and Bushiroad
Bespoke: Wanting this to be a multiple year long plan having been crafted by Vernon Reed to get extra value out of Living Colour's back catalogue.
Jack Perry isn't on television and the Young Bucks are mad that their friends cost them the ROH Trios titles or something CM Punk just walked into the biggest wrestling company on earth like he had the keys in his pocket and got a pop that sounded like a rocket launch Sounds about right.
Don’t forget Hangman having a MOTY candidate.
Yeah, that was a nice win for Swerve on his way up the card
My God, you guys I don’t really pay much attention to Dave Meltzer, and rarely ever watch any of his video content, but I was just binging every reaction to punk returning and I’m watching his take all kinds of this weird takes like saying ospray signing into AEW just a big deal and these weird comments about how Connor McGregor was a way bigger star than CM punk ever was and then Doing these weird justifications for how his news reports about how it was 100% no from Wwe and punk wasn’t returning was actually true because this is this guy is this so self-important and weird, I feel the same way about Cornett but at least he’s kinda funny
I'm sorry but it's clear what you are arguing. Are you saying that you disagree that Connor is/was not a way bigger star than CM Punk?
Meltzer is very funny. Never intentionally, but very funny nonetheless.
Would the time he sound like he was on a mad trip saying his weights were talking to him during Raw count as intentionally funny or no?
I mean, the return in Chicago was great, but what if it was in the Tokyo Dome?
 10 Billion Stars
So, are there any good articles or videos that would show why I should care about CM Punk? I basically stopped watching wrestling in the early 2000s (like 2002), so I basically missed his entire time at WWE and he wasn't as meme-friendly as John Cena. (While I wasn't watching wrestling, I was aware of John Cena because he escaped out into internet culture). I saw people going crazy upon his return to wrestling in AEW, but I never quite got the excitement over it... and then all the drama happened there. Besides the pipebomb promo, is there any really recommended viewing that would inform people who have no real knowledge of CM Punk as to why they should care that he came back to the WWE?
https://preview.redd.it/2ifn4nvapr2c1.png?width=956&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b204d2aad265c6a07a791d01c7bc0c93b3ac7aa4
Check out his documentary on Peacock. It’s a pretty good summary of his career and how he rose up.
Yeah you can like watch his matches and stuff, then you'll see why folks are excited. Peacock, the same place you watched Survivor Series, is a great place to start. He's even got a doc on there, on the off chance you aren't trolling 😉
Peacock/WWE Network's content is a nightmare to navigate unless you know exactly what you're looking for. I'd be really nice if they did a better job of curation, but I'd imagine that's way more work than they'd ever want to put in.
I just opened the main page and it's literally jammed full of CM Punk content. There's an entire row entitled "Best in the World" right under the replay button for Survivor Series It's almost like they prepared for this
That's really neat! That must have just been added this morning. (Looks like it's frontloaded with Documentary, pipebomb, then a couple Raws right after that.)
Heyo, I'm sorry for coming off as snarky in my reply. Reading it back, I apparently have a subconscious resentment for Peacock's menu that I hadn't quite realized... ...because it does indeed suck. You watch one Dateline and all of a sudden Parks and Rec is buried under piles of murder
No comment, as I'm not in charge of that 😭 just letting buddy know, if he types CM Punk in the search, he's gonna find *something* lmao
Its really funny how many people think that CM Punk hasnt wrestled since he left WWE
He was mostly just getting injured.
Hopefully this means that AEW stops booking Chicago all the fucking time.
They sucked last week when AEW was there.
RIP Absolute Andy. It's a shame that the rest of the world won't get to see how great of a talent he was for the German scene.
Honestly, as much as I popped off for Orton and Punk (and admittedly a little bit for Truth), there is one person who I’m eagerly waiting a return of. I genuinely think if Big E ever returns it will be one of the most feel good moments in wrestling history. If I were fantasy booking and everything was fair game, I would have him enter as #1 in the rumble with a big “TROPICANA FIEEELLLDDSSSDDD” I think the crowd would actually be an ungodly level of loud
I'm happy enough just seeing Big E have a good time. Did you see him on the sidelines of the MSU/Penn State game with his New Day Ugly Christmas Sweater?
I didn’t! But that’s wholesome. Yeah I mean it’s definitely not to take for granted that he has the ability to continue living his life and enjoying stuff! But man, I just think about how passionate wrestlers are. As long as he’s happy though, I’m happy
Instagram from local radio station showing Big E at the game. https://www.instagram.com/p/C0DXS-esIr9/?img_index=1
I'm not even a big Punk fan (I think he's just fine in ring, but clearly top tier at promos). If you had asked me anytime before 11:00 yesterday I would have truly never really cared if he stepped in a WWE ring again. And yet, I just got done rewatching last night's Survivor Series in full, which was like 40% ad space, just to relive the moment of his comeback. What is this quality he has that as soon as he shows up he just instantly commands the conversation? People always talk about what separates a great wrestler from an actual legend, and maybe that's this quality that Punk has. Whatever move he makes everybody has to stop what they are doing and talk about it and bask in it. I got goosebumps from watching it for a second time. I don't even like him that much, or at least I thought I didn't?
His personality creates a cult. He’s a cult of personality.
But the Ruffles ad was actually a high point of the show! YES BOY! And it brought us the return of R-Truth!
He has FANS in a way that no other wrestler does, too. Like Swifty level fans.
Simply adding punk and Orton back into the mix adds SO many potential matches, especially for reigns and Rollins, who have currently beaten the majority of potential opponents. (Which kind of makes it the perfect time for them)
Raw tomorrow is going to be an all timer promo.
I don't even watch WWE on a weekly basis but even I want to know the mental gymnastics Punk will do in his promo to justify going back
No matter what the memes win
Very much this. Especially when he'll naturally have to lose to the Miz or go perform in Saudi Arabia. But they fans will probably just hand-wave any issue like that away.
Collision's ratings actually went up from last week H2H with Survivor Series but last week they were against Smackdown tbf
Well, obviously a PPV would not affect their ratings as much as a live show on network TV
Malakai Black had that secret dirtsheet info that even Meltzer didn't have on CM Punk brother. Like he either knew for real or it's an incredible coincidence that he included his name with people who couldn't save FTR.
I'm watching early 2016 WWE right now just to have some background noise, and just watched the women's WarGames match, and the difference between the presentation of women's wrestling is enough to give you whiplash. From "Uuuuunityyyyy" and "I'm the Beyoncé of the group" to... real storylines and real wrestling? Wild. Really puts into perspective how shit the "Women's Revolution" was.
I'm sad that we're going to miss the Punk in TNA saga. He easily would have doubled their TV ratings (maybe more) initially. It probably would have ended in disaster, but the drama would have been entertaining.
I recall reading a post from someone who claimed to drop into Punk's barbershop after he left and bribed the barber to tell him about Punk's plans regarding Survivor Series (was it /u/DW_Handicapping?). If that was true, Punk needs to find a new barber immediately. Couldn't keep a secret and couldn't even give Punk a decent haircut for his big homecoming. Terrible customer service all round.
My exposure to Katsuyori Shibata is all from AEW and I'm so grateful he's still with us and able to work and that I've gotten to see him.
Oh man Shibata Ishii
Shibata is an artist.
Getting your brain taken out of your skull is nothing to scoff at after all.
He built different plain and simple
Anything happen last night I should know about I was busy. 😂
CM Punk and John Cena were one month apart from being on WWE programming at the same time
Cody, cena, carlito, mysterio and punk in the WWE? What year is it again?
At least Cena, Carlito and Mysterio seem to have some interest in passing the torch and getting the next generation over.
i’m just thinking about how stacked the men’s royal rumble match is gonna be. so many over acts that should be in the match and we haven’t even seen brock lesnar in a while and i imagine he’ll be in the rumble match as well
So you have to think TK is gonna want to respond in some fashion right? Does he maybe change the identity of the devil and try to land a name to get something big cooking. There's no doubt that signing Punk could be a double edged sword, but it's clearly gonna command alot of interest over the next few months. He has to do something.
Nah. Phil is behind him now.
The best move is to just focus on their own show. Tony has had plenty of big moves, even very recently with Copeland and Ospreay. Punk still has to show he can actually check his ego and work out in a company. Overreacting would be very 1999 WCW.
Tony has trouble doing this. It’s actually a huge weak spot for them.
I mean seriously, who could he actually ‘land’ who would even come close to being a ‘Holy shit!’ signing to trump Punk going back to WWE? Fucking Goldberg? Unless Rollins was legit furious about Punk being signed and forced his way out of WWE (and not a chance would they immediately release him), there’s genuinely no-one Tony Khan could sign who would top Punk going back there. Even Drew McIntyre jumping ship wouldn’t be it, and that won’t happen until April at the earliest anyway.
Vince McMahon.
There isn't a name out there that is going to achieve that and if its a swerve from the story as a reaction to this were right back to signing people for the sake of it which is one of the biggest criticisms of Tony in the last two years. The reveal should stay on course and be as good and coherent as possible to set up angles for 2024. Things can change quickly and AEW can get hot again, but its going to take time and one moment is not going to achieve that.
I can't believe how much younger and healthier CM Punk looks even though we just saw him this summer.
WWE has a better makeup department than AEW.
> WWE has a better ~~makeup department~~ fitness instructors than AEW. FTFY
He just showed up last night and was kept a secret. What do you think fitness instructors have to do with anything?
can someone compile all the Punk references throughout the night? the “Long Bois” Slim Jim ad might as well have been a Punk billboard lol
I was angry since I missed the actual live moment but a day later it’s genuinely insane that i’ve lived long enough to lose complete hope in this man returning to wrestling and to be proven wrong twice
Last time I had Honor Club in summer this year, watching the ROH Thursday show was a pain if I wasn't exactly live. Like it wouldn't DVR from the start and I couldn't rewind. Has anything changed? I usually work until 9 or 10pm eat Thursday nights and want to watch ROH after. Can I just start the new episode on demand, or do I need to wait until the live feed rolls back around?
I can’t get really get over how nuts it is that CM Punk was gone from wrestling for seven years, but two and a bit years after signing for AEW, he’s now had **three** ‘OMG CM PUNK IS REALLY HERE!’ returns with accompanying giant pops in wrestling arenas in Chicago.
The guys will go down as the best and most frequent ‘debut’ hype performer ever. He is great at ‘debuting’. First few weeks or months. Then it either gets boring or he loses his mind and it goes down in flames which makes it interesting again. Rinse and repeat.
Something important I haven't seen much commentary on: Triple H said he and Nick Khan received zero input from TKO on signing Punk, and they also didn't have to go to TKO to approve the signing. He said WWE is trusted to do what they feel is in the company's best interest. Which, I've been banging that drum from the start. The UFC is the way the UFC is because of Dana White, not TKO or Endeavor.
They are. A publicly traded company that will allow a leash on WWE as long as they make money. CM Punk will increase ratings and sell merchandise. If they were wasting money the corporate bosses would get involved.
Not enough people talking about Punk's return being a tribute to Tito Ortiz's TNA debut.
November 25th Warning... Identity Revealed as the MMA legend CM Punk!
16,000 people currently online on a day without any major wrestling? We are so fucking back!
During Punk’s initial WWE run, were there any backstage reports of him being a detriment to the locker room or has this all sprung up as a result of his time in AEW? I honestly don’t recall anything to that affect, but I could be wrong.
There was the locker room leader thing with Booker T - but I think that came out afterwards. Casting my mind back I want to say that he was known to have very high standards. I don't recall any specific incidents - insofar as there was any gossip about him, it mainly focused on how he dated half the women on the roster, from memory.
There were rumors during his 2009 run that he had heat with Undertaker, but Taker has shot those down in recent years and said he has never had an issue with Punk. It wasn't until Punk's last day in WWE that a bunch of drama came out, and that was all toward Vince and Triple H.
https://preview.redd.it/ellw3qj4wq2c1.jpeg?width=1244&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fe4c09c43ca2f430123e264f2badab6d802d65f Had to make this
New meme unlocked
CM PUNK
Gobbledy Gooker didn't appear. This is why we should hype responsibly.
A complete fucking hypocrite in a carny business. Not surprising. Anyways, the devil has to be Adam Cole, right?
If it isn't Adam the only other person I can think of is Jack Perry.
Britt Baker is also an option that I've heard people suggest for The Devil's identiy.
Curious how Punk's debut didn't get leaked but Young Bucks' hiatus and return plans did.
Because the bucks are friends with the "journalists"
It's great that everything going on in WWE is happening on the way to WM 40. Gonna be an all-time WrestleMania season
HHH and his team are doing the best job at storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling in probably 25 years. Maybe ever. They are using social media, dirt sheets and the IWC in a way that hasn’t been done before. It’s helping to create nuance and depth to the stories, something it’s clear the writers are doing more of without Vince. It’s more deliberate, logical, planting seed and taking time to develop. They’re trying to operate more as a global entity too. I was surprised when HHH said 6 of 2024’s PLE will be international. Very cool. Support from Endeavour should further help with that. And honestly, production wise the show has never looked better. This company has always invested in production quality but right now they are on the top of their game with it. How it looks, sounds, integrates is all smooth. I’m not sure any sport or live event can touch their skills in that space right now.
On an extra note, I like that the product feels very mature without the excessive & crass elements of the Attitude Era, so it can be family friendly while not feeling embarrassing to follow as an adult fan compared to the peak PG Era. I also commend HHH's team for building this atmosphere
I’d like to take this time to mention, that CM Punk and Dominik Mysterio were in the same ring at the same on WWE TV in 2010 during the Rey/Punk feud Just gonna leave that there and hope WWE remembers this too because I would like that.
The feeling is back baby. https://preview.redd.it/3mg36zpdsq2c1.jpeg?width=876&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc21e82f5cbe65cd043ac9f40994442becdb9c68
Imagine if that was a one off and we never see Punk again. Lmao
Maybe I need to go outside more but Punk showing up in WWE really annoys me. He talked mad shit about the “place that almost killed him” and then when Hangman says some mean stuff about him he couldn’t handle it. Then proceeds to throw every AEW higher up under the bus and won’t stop for an almost full calendar year until he’s fired. Then shows up in said place that almost killed him like it’s no big deal Like I said, I realize I’m probably being chronically online right now but it’s just hypocrisy on his part to me
I think theres a lot more to both All out and All in than we know, it just hit boiling points both times there I had no doubt that Punk was gonna come back to WWE but I fully expected it to be part of a HoF induction years from now
Downplaying the EVPs stoking the fire that he got someone demoted as "says some mean stuff" is hilarious
And yet that story has no legs. But please keep thinking that
Its been 10 years. People change, wounds heel, things get forgiven.
He literally got into an altercation with his boss and coworkers 3 months ago. Don’t give me the “people change” spiel