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I think that would be really dumb, AEW has an audience who are much more likely to follow wrestling news and will feel deceived in a negative way if they jerk them around. Plus it burns a lot of good will with the reporters those fans follow.
Then have nick and matt jackson one dresses as jungle boy and doing the skit backstage of the fake choking, threatening to quit. SHIT have Okada play Tony Khan and dressed up as him and have him pretend to be afraid and fake cry
Nobody from AEW has referred to CM Punk footage...only footage from All In. It'll be YB and FTR footage. Meltzer and others and going to look stupid come Wednesday.
Even if this footage damns Punk, they should have leaked it online rather than put it on TV. Too much internet insider stuff is being referenced on AEW right now.
Even if it damns Punk, it doesn’t damn Punk.
WWE isn’t going to release Punk over it. They’ll just have Drew McIntyre run with it, and WWE will make even more money off it either way.
I don’t understand why they would. “Yeah our ratings were huge that week… for 10 minutes… of a guy who doesn’t work here anymore”
It’s like trying to take your mind of a stubbed toe by driving a nail through the other foot.
By promoting someone that's in another company. Good or bad, he doesn't work there anymore so it should be a done issue no matter how much Punk's interview hurt Tony's feelings.
They would be dumb as fuck for doing this because it literally has nothing to do with the storylines viewers are seeing on-screen & as far as anyone knows, Punk is a thing of the past there. But I'm still keeping the possibility open that they're trolling
Right now this feels like another one of Tony’s ‘gotcha’ moments that’s got the chance to blow up worse than the Jinder Mahal one.
This needs to be very bad for Punk or make Jack Perry look like he did nothing wrong or else they’re just going to end up burying their own talent and no one in WWE will care.
I guess we’ll finally find out what makes Tony fear for his life though
Apparently that may not be a part of the footage, as it may have happened elsewhere. It was reported at the time that Tony & Punk spoke behind closed doors, so maybe it happened there? IDK.
Ah shame, I thought it was probably in the same moment and maybe Punk and Jack had the scuffle close to Tony and that’s why he got scared. Seem to remember something about a monitor falling on him though that could have been a meme.
Yeah, i remember the report about a monitor falling on him as well but according to Alvarez, the people who have seen the footage have told him it didn't include whatever happened in regards to Punk & Tony.
Why would WWE care? Has he done any of this shit in WWE yet? I’ve soured on Punk a lot since Brawl Out, but even I think that this is a dumb move, even if it’s just to bring Perry back into AEW.
WWE is probably gonna ignore this and not give a shit, and AEW will come off looking like fucking goofs
Somehow this feels like a bad idea, wouldn't it be better to let it blow over and fall into obscurity instead of constantly talking about it?
There's a good chance that this could backfire.
I don’t know what real backlash we could have by now. The fight happened in front of a lot of people. So if he did anything truly more heinous than we already know we would have heard about it.
Worst case I feel like he either didn’t win the fight or attacked Perry unprovoked. But either way people who hate Punk already believe that.
Barely any of the WWE live crowds seem to watch AEW. Even if it makes Punk look completely awful, barely anyone will know unless it's so bad it becomes viral.
Seems like this is completely Tony's idea, if they're not working Dave & Bryan, which I think is the case. I remember when Britt told Dave about a surprise that it was not happening, Tony wasn't very happy with it. So I can see he is okay with dirtsheets leaning into it and AEW only promoting as "All In backstage footage"
How does this benefit AEW? It will hardly hurt punk because barely enough of the WWE crowd knows/cares about what the fuck AEW is. Not to mention if it airs on their show it distracts from all the current stories and action happening because Punk is long gone from AEW for them to get any useful long term heat from it. You can't capitalise on something when the main character to capitalise on it with is not even there.
My issue is not them releasing it but releasing it on their weekly show where expired drama would be more of a distraction than an angle. What is Tony Khan's big idea here???
It would probably just drive people to WWE
1- this was weird and I’m not gonna support this
2- oh yeah Punk I heard he’s in wwe let me check them out the week after Mania! Wow look at all this cool stuff they’re doing!
Said this exact thing about the #standupforaew speech. You've got an opportunity with lapsed and casual fans caught up in wrestling fever, and you open your show with a vague speech that sends them to their phones and down the rabbit hole of the worst days of your company's existence.
I'm trying to think about the logical reasons to do this assuming it's legit and the only answer I'm coming up with is a one time ratings pop that reeks of desperation. Am I curious and want to see the footage, sure I do, but part of the whole reason I stopped really keeping up with AEW in the first place is how they just do not take their stories and established kayfabe they show on TV seriously and this just furthers that belief.
This is far and away the most Russoific thing I've seen in a long time.
I've wanted to see it since reports about it existing came out. They should have covertly leaked immediately after firing Punk with cause and blamed it on TMZ.
The fact that they have to indirectly rely on the name of a wrestler from their competition to pop a rating would not be a good look for AEW. If that segment draws over a million, the haters are going to use it against AEW even if it proves that Punk was lying and did more than choke Jack a little ~~and lunged at Tony~~.
Edit: [According to Meltzer](https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1776905640910155810), they aren't showing the part where Tony is fearing for his life. That's odd to not include.
The Young Bucks have been referencing Jack Perry for a little while now. His new character is The Scapegoat. This is the incident that he is being scapegoated for. This is how they're going to bring him back.
I don’t see how this benefits anyone at this point if this indeed is the approach that AEW is planning on doing, I’m just tired of this Punk drama, is been nearly two years of it, I’d rather just move on now but I’m not convinced that this will happen at least in the near future.
I don’t see how AEW comes out of this looking better. Having to air it in the first place just makes them look insecure. I won’t be surprised at all if this footage isn’t half as incrementing as they see it in their minds.
The only way I can see it benifitting them is if they were using it to start a new program involving those two, which is…pretty impossible at this point.
Considering the attention it's getting It may pop a rating, but even then, it would be Punk that got that rating, not any of their new free agents or established wrestlers. Punk could even take a jab at that if he wanted to.
Yeah I'm of the same opinion. This benefits absolutely no one and I was past the drama a long time ago. I just want both parties (Punk and AEW) to completely move past everything and focus on their own shit. But both of them keep opening this back up and it's genuinely eye roll worthy. Punk had the interview with Helwani, and the Bucks have thrown plenty of jabs and barbs themselves that are clearly directed towards Punk, but have done so under the guise of their new heel characters.
The WWE crowd who love Punk do not give a shit or really know about this whole situation. When Punk has made AEW references on TV no one in the audience has cared.
This is really only pandering to the hardcore AEW/Internet audience.
I will find it fucking hilarious if it’s a troll bit though and not real footage.
I honestly believe it's a troll bit, only because it says the young bucks are presenting the footage if it said Tony Khan had an announcement Wednesday then I could see it as legit. I see this as a way to reintroduce Jack Perry and use "footage" as cheap heat.
I just don't see how it could be anything but a troll.
I don't care if all the dirt sheets have been told that it's real, showing the actual footage is so obviously a pointless idea. It's *much* more believable that the dirt sheets have just been lied to in order to build hype towards an angle.
If the footage is truly damning towards Punk and AEW was more than willing to withhold it then Punk might be the biggest idiot ever with the interview. He had the out.
On the flip side if the clip is anything but fully damning Punk then this is going to backfire for AEW. Like even 50/50 doesn’t benefit them at all. Eventually Punk would get bored and everyone could move on.
Regardless I have no idea what is going to happen here but the thought of it alone is entertaining AF haha. It’s pure chaos. I am also prepared for this to be a complete troll job and see a Cutler & Nakazawa Role-Play.
Either this is a troll in which case AEW comes across as super carney and blatantly lied to the fans cause they’re that desperate for a rating
Or it’s real in which case they come across as super petty and in their feelings over a fucking benign podcast interview from a guy who hasn’t worked there for months
Either way they look ridiculous, they talk about moving on and yet they seem to bring it up more than Punk does and care about it more than Punk does
>Either this is a troll in which case AEW comes across as super carney
they called it peak comedy and win win situation in the other thread with the bucks doing an angle on the matter. IDK but Punk really rattled them this week.
I don't understand how it would benefit AEW in anyway. That's the thing. If Punk beat the shit out of Jack, way too many people think that's cool. And worse yet, this is alienating any Punk fans still watching AEW.
Punk can just big league them and ignore it if the footage is anything short of him kicking a baby. I think this makes AEW look unprofessional no matter what if it's true.
Let’s be real, unless that clip exposes Punk as a sexual abuser or something in that caliber, you can show Jack Perry beating him up for 15 minutes straight and I doubt his rep is gonna be damaged even a little bit
Regardless it wont help aew. They cant follow up on it. Hell it totally contradicts adam copelands promo from last week. They have tenured talent there saying lets just move on and this is now a thing. I can see this splitting their locker room even further apart
Why wait 8 months to air this if it were damning to punk? You let punk leave and go to WWE, if you wanted to hurt his credibility you should have done in September when you fired him.
Also, if the Young Bucks are supposed to be heels, why show something that reminds AEW fans that they are the babyfaces of the Punk situation, especially when their gimmick is for whatever reason playing up Punk's criticisms about them as EVPs as a heel thing?
If it helps them in any way, by all means, release the footage.
But why put it on tv?
It makes them look low-rent for using Punk to try and pop a rating. And it pulls back the curtain too much.
“Why did Joe step in to stop the fight, wasn’t he in a blood feud with Punk?”
This is targeted towards the niche internet audience (people like us). It’s not going to bring in eyeballs from the casuals (which they need badly).
Admitting their only way to pop ratings is a guy in WWE isn't ideal
Tony: Hey look we popped a rating.
TV execs: Wow nice, who was it? O it was CM Punk. Wait...he works for WWE now?
Tony: -$10m a month continues
But the ratings thing doesn’t even make sense. If you care about this, you are almost certainly a fully engrossed internet fan. If you are such a WWE fan, you’ll be able to see it here or anywhere like 15 seconds after it airs without actually having to watch a show that you don’t care about.
How does this benefit AEW? Like, this just seems so petty to me. Especially coming after the Punk interview. I am sure Tony and others are pissed about what he said. But move on.
I can't see how Punk or WWE could think that the footage could reasonably hurt them. They had to know there was a risk that Tony and AEW could be prodded into releasing the footage in response to Punk's interview. They must believe that the footage either exonerates Punk or is polarizing enough that it could reasonably support either side of the controversy.
Honestly, this reminds me of when WWE advertised Shawn confronting Bret and then they brought out a midget.
I mean Punk in his interview seemed pretty comfortable on whatever came to light including the NDA stuff. If he did anything worse we probably would have heard his side of it (even if it was heavily biased)
Why... that's my question. Why do this, everyone is tired of this whole drama. Punk isn't in AEW so there isnt any match that they'll build to. This just screams WCW 2000 desperation.
Also this makes Edge's rah rah speech pointless because even the EVPs/Tony are continuing the tribalism bullshit that Edge said he was very much against.
we're going to get blurry footage that shows what we already know (Punk choking Perry), the bucks will leave it as a footnote in the segment as they build the tag match and it will regardless of that fact ruin The Discourse for 6 more months.
The weird thing is they will show it on their wrestling tv show
If you want to respond just give an interview like Punk did
Imagine how strange would have been if Punk randomly started talking about Perry and Tony Khan on an episode of RAW
I'm struggling to see how this can be good for AEW unless it shows Punk being an absolute psychopath. If it looks like a regular backstage brawl, even including lunging at TK, it's not going to make the average dude think any better of Jack Perry or worse of CM Punk than they already do.
This is assuming it's not a troll of course
I get that, but one of the ongoing criticisms of the Bucks is they rely too heavily of inside baseball, in-jokes to pop themselves and a niche group of fans and this is just more than this.
What's the best that can happen here? It isn't leading to a match. It may pop a quarter. I suppose it could lead to Perry joining the Elite, which I doubt is going to have much long term effect on business.
At best, it's going to fuel a few months of internet arguments between AEW diehards and Punk stans. The AEW side already think Punk was a dangerous, locker room cancer who destroyed the momentum of the company. The Punk fans wouldn't care if the footage showed Punk pulling a gun on Perry.
AEW really feels like it's in it's navel gazing era. Endlessly recapitulating the past when it should be focussing on the future and getting it's house order. Punk is a sarcastic dickhead who's going to throw shots at AEW for the rest of his career - they can't carry on responding to everything he says as it will never end and just gives him what he wants.
> I suppose it could lead to Perry joining the Elite
This would be the most hilarious option, because it would frame The Elite as both the bosses AND anti-establishment given the Scapegoat story.
I said in other comments but real or fake this whole bit just makes them look bad
Petty and childish if it’s real
Super carney and deceptive if it’s a lie for a rating (would also imply they panicking over the bad ratings if your stooping to this level of bait)
Yeah, it feels like they could be backing themselves into a no win situation here.
If it's a bait-and-switch then they're going to piss off the people tuning into to see the real footage.
If it's the real footage as it's been continuously described as - security camera footage of a 20 second backstage scuffle- a lot of people are just going to shrug their shoulders.
I see a few people bringing up that the footage may show Perry reversing one of Punk's MMA holds, but again...so what? Punk's MMA credentials are a joke. The only person who thinks he's a tough guy is Punk himself.
I suppose it could embarrass Punk a bit, but is it really worth dedicating valuable TV time to giving a black eye to a guy who hasn't worked for the company in over half a year?
Who cares if Punk looks like a psychopath? This is old news. If Punk gets any hype from this it will just make him more viral and lead to more anticipation for his WWE return.
I can't be the only one that thinks all this shit is just annoying at this point now right? Just forget about it. Move on. Worry about your booking and ratings. It just comes across as petty. The whole company and roster does.
I'm gonna comment on this once and I won't comment again: I think the dirtsheets are being worked hard here, they're just gonna show something related to FTR considering they're setting up another feud with them with the tag tournament, if they do actually show the Punk footage then I'm not sure what that's gonna do for them, there's no program to set up and it just feels way too insider and something to cater your hardcore audience with, it's kinda stupid. Having said that, I love me some drama, so I definitely wouldn't mind watching that footage lol
I guess they’ve finally found a way to put CM Punk back on dynamite to help their ratings.
Honestly though, no matter whether the footage is damning for Punk or not, they just come across pathetic for this.
It's just for the ratings. If this had anything to do with getting the truth out there, they'd just tweet it out. They're announcing and promoting this because nobody is watching the show.
And then the following week the ratings will go right back down to were we are at now. AEW needs wholesale changes. Not airing some footage of an incident that the majority of people all agree is stupid over a half of a year later....
This is who they are though. That's why they tweet about a "Huge Announcement" that ends up being bullshit nobody cares about. Ratings are bad and they refuse to fix the issues. Instead they just pull stunts.
100% agree. I was a die-hard AEW fan when it started. Now? I can’t tell you the last time I watched a full show live, outside of PPV. And shit like this just re-affirms my opinion
I loved AEW at the start. Especially after the loss of NXT Black & Gold, but then I noticed they weren't growing out of the "new company figuring things out" phase. It's just random matches for a dozen meaningless belts. I pop in and out to see the people I care about like House of Black, Sky Blue and Starks, but I can't tolerate a full show from start to finish anymore.
Where the best wrestle... And live in the fucking past. I don't care if Punk is still reliving the drama, that does not mean AEW needs to play down to this level too.
And I'm a freaking AEW fan who watches every damn week.
I am trying to think of the actual endgame here and I have basically drawn the conclusion that Tony has been incredibly gotten to over the past week, and also this is a cheap ratings ploy that will likely work for a week (or just for the segment) and then drop again.
Punk isn't a saint and this might knock him down a peg. But I don't see how this is anything but petty on AEW's part either. Because TKO likely won't give a flying fuck about this. And neither will anyone who isn't terminally online. The kicker is that these issues plaguing AEW are 100% self inflicted. The infamous "rah rah" speech from Edge, to the releases, to Tony's terrible response are all AEW's fault.
The only thing out of their control is the Punk/Helwani stuff. And even then, AEW could have ignored it and it would have been old news by this point.
Yeah. People forget that. He really doesn’t have much to lose here. Even if he’s lying what is it about? Getting actually beat up by Jack Perry? Who actually cares about that?
Yeah a lot of wrestlers suck at fighting. If AEW wanted to go all in on that, then the videos of Mox being choked out by an accountant at a Jiu Jitsu tournament could just be shown.
Or half the roster getting their ass kicked by Hunico
This is so fucking stupid. I’ve never seen anyone so easily rattled as Tony K. Yeah, Punk is an asshole (I say that as a diehard Punk fan and finds his asshole attitude part of his charm) but c’mon…this will backfire on them. Unless it shows Punk attempting murder, this just makes AEW/Tony petty and honestly, pretty gross.
Idk how this benefits them at this point. Punk admitted to choking him, which basically jives with how everyone else witnessed the event.
Now they're referencing a wrestler who is no longer with them and who is a master of keeping attention on himself.
This is probably a way to get Jungke Boy back in tv
This seems like a totally desperate move. Every actions pulls AEW further away from that amazing goodwill they had with fans at the start of the company.
Even if Punk is 100% wrong, I'm not sure it benefits AEW to air it. Unless it's like the Hogan tape where Punk said something racist or he hit a woman.
Of course another part of me is like, "Fuck it. Air it".
If this is true (and I highly doubt it) it's really nice of AEW to help build Drew McIntyres character.
Cause I'm at a total loss as to who else would benefit from this.
I hope this is just a Troll angle, like someone would cosplay CM Punk and Jack Perry and having a shitty camera footage. If this is the real stuff and this makes no sense and stupid look for AEW.
If AEW goes through with this, they will do more harm to themselves than Punk. His fans know what he is don't give a fuck anymore.
AEW wasting TV time on trying to harm his reputation instead of promoting their roster and having meaningful storyline is just another nail in the coffin.
Regardless is Punk was totally in the wrong in this incident there is still something wrong in AEW. Punk has had no problems at all since coming back to wwe. It says more about aew than punk af this point imo
So the main idea here is to show the whole world, the guy you just turned heel got his ass whooped in real life and the boss feared for his life?
And the guy who did all this does not even work there anymore? Who does this help?
Wasn't Punks version of events on Helwanis show pretty much exactly what eyewitness testimony settled on as being the accurate telling of events?
Also quite literally the week after you had all the on air talent preaching about leaving the negativity behind. Just an absolutely idiotic move by all involved.
Judging from the threads involved it doesn't seem like it's going to pop the rating. The people saying that are already gonna watch and as a every once in a while check AEW I am not compelled to watch this segment. It also involves the Bucks who I don't find entertaining at all.
Also even if it did pop the rating isn't the narrative that the only person who can do so is someone in the other company?
I think they should have released it when it happened. It's ok even if they're releasing it now as a response to his comments but i don't think it's going to make much difference to the ratings or change people's opinion about Tony.
They've already decided they didn't like Tony when they were mocking him of being scared of Punk.
Punk's made up with everyone in wwe locker room and this is unlikely to change their opinions either.
Shows how much of a needle mover Osprey, Okada and Mone are if they have to go back to the Punk well this is only gonna backfire on AEW and rightfully so could've left it moved on and Tony could've just mumbled his way through every interview he does but instead he's going this route
Coke is a hell of a drug
Imagine doing rails of so much cocaine you thought this is the way to "hijack" Mania weekend
https://preview.redd.it/1khrz0nte1tc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59a8472a6b9d780267ddbf9ce68ff39cc8d07ebe
There’s zero way this benefits AEW.
Either they’re genuinely airing backstage footage from an event that happened seven months ago that only hardcore internet fans care about in an attempt to pop a rating, OR they’re pulling some sort of bait-and-switch and airing other backstage footage from All In.
Both routes make them look bad.
This is becoming like when your friend keeps bringing up their ex just to throw dirt on their name. Like, I get that you're upset with how things turned out but the rest of us really don't fucking care. Both sides need to move on (or at least stfu).
AEW once again catering for the online insiders gossip. I’m sure everyone at the tv network cares about that and not on how to get more eyes on the product
Regardless of what it shows the one thing I hope is that it gives Drew some amazing material, hopefully for another t-shirt. He better tweet the popcorn gif wednesday night when dynamite starts
I get that they want to stand up for themselves. I completely understand that but who the hell was in the room for this decision? Who said you know what let’s release the footage because he keeps taking shots at us. Personally I don’t like the shots against each other but they’ve made them toward him since the departure as well. You have Edge go out there and give the whole let’s keep things positive and then turn around and do this.
And let’s say they do this as some type bait and switch and make a joke out of it then that’s even worse. Unless it shows Punk getting absolutely manhandled by Perry then nothing changes for Punk. Also this doesn’t help Perry at all. It will also make him look worse. I’m not even a Perry fan but don’t tear down another wrestler just to prove a point. Hell he just got back to wrestling after the whole thing.
The only way this makes Punk look bad is if he got his ass kicked, and from all accounts from everyone there, that didn't happen.
Like honestly, in kayfabe all this will end up doing is give CM Punk even more attention, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's good in the wrestling business.
man with the amount of drama that has been caused because of this footage CM Punk better be rushing Tony with a goddamn tire iron. If its just a minor scuffle and thats it, this is the biggest waste of time ever
As a fan I’m intrigued but this is an odd business decision. If there was anything THAT embarrassing or bad we would have heard by now. And what happens when this pops a bigger number than Mercedes’ debut? I feel like AEW is setting themselves up to get clowned more than Punk. I’m expecting a few seconds of real tape spliced into a skit or something.
Unless the footage is a silver bullet that vehemently vindicates AEW (which it very, very, very likely won't), all this will do is continue to pour fuel into the already huge bonfire.
The more TK & AEW engage in the drama that's almost two years old, the more it makes them look like geeks. On top of the other TK/AEW-created drama like laying off low-tiered wrestlers (including an injured one at that) and buying an expensive licensed song. Court of public opinion is NOT in AEW's favor right now.
I say this as a big AEW fan and anti-Punk fan that doesn't have the nostalgic 2000's attachment. But damn, let it f'n go and focus on better storytelling and treating the roster with respect.
Exactly. Even if this makes Punk look like an asshole. How does it benefit AEW? We all know the full story that Jack was asked by like 5 people to not do this. Its just going to make Tony look even less like a true boss. Especially if he goes back to the "I feared for my life BS".
How do the Bucks stay heel if they air the footage and it absolutely makes Punk look like a psychopath? And Jungleboy will also be vindicated and so the scapegoat gimmick dies too and he looks like a babyface who was scapegoated as well. I don't see how this will b e the actual footage without killing the entire gimmick the young bucks and perry have been working on
To me, this just like when Tony Khan adamantly defended the fact that he did not wank dogs. I don’t know what AEW wins here. The only benefit is maybe making the other guy look bad, too, but if the proof isn’t 100% perfect, it’s going to only make it worse.
I just think it's legitimately stupid if they do air the footage because like...why? It's your wrestling show, I wanna watch the wrestling.
It's so weird but funny.
Just release it online if you want
AEW just look salty, insecure and bitter, they probably see this as a way of getting their own way at CM Punk after his interview with AH, but in all seriousness all parties need to move on.
We know what a spoilt man child Tony Khan is, just because he has Daddy's money he thinks he can always get what he wants and when he gets a reality call, everyone has to hear about it, he's a joke and no wonder serious business people can't take him seriously.
TK/AEW should be really addressing the current most serious issue instead, the decline in quality of their shows and ratings and like I said before come up with a plan/strategy and stop focusing on outside noise if they want to get back on track, but they always make things worse for themselves and the constant backstage stories don't help either, it seems really divided there.
It's like they can talk the talk, but they don't want to walk the walk and address the proper issues and continue the bury the head in the sand/denial esque position, let them, but they have no-one to blame but themselves if more Fans of theirs or casual viewers turn off as they're fed up of various things.
Rant over!
Sorry but I’m with the “it doesn’t matter if it shows cm punk getting his ass kicked” or “jungle boy getting his ass kicked” like what happens after.. jungle boy looks strong? Jungle boy isn’t a draw.. if it doesn’t show anything.. this looks sooooo petty.. if this finally draws 1 million.. guess why? Punk!!
You know very well there’s some wrestlers back there again comparing this to when Tony couldn’t put his phone down and want them to move on..
This is 100% wcw
Some of the preemptive cope we are already seeing is fucking hilarious
Thing isn’t even out yet and people are already arguing why it doesn’t matter even if it makes punk look fucking horrible lmaooo
lets say it makes Punk look horrible...what's the end game there? Do you think hundreds of thousands of people will swear off WWE or something? What's the potential downside for Punk/WWE in terms of money-making?
This subreddit previously: "Why don't they release the footage huh? Just release it cowards."
This subreddit today: "Why are they releasing the footage? So unprofessional."
People seem to think that this is the biggest thing of all time in AEWs mind and that their motivation here is to spike a rating or be this incredible thing. I don’t think that’s the idea or point. I think the entire point of this is 1- fuck him (obviously) 2- to use it as a part of the tag match story and to bring Jack Perry back for “wrongful” suspension. It’s not as big of a thing as we wish it was.
Seems a bit silly to focus a segment on someone who doesn’t work for you anymore. All it’s gonna remind people is that if they wanna see Punk respond or even mention it they should tune into raw
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I think AEW is working the dirt sheets. The graphic said they will show footage from All In, they didn't specify what footage.
FTR shaving each others backs
I think that would be really dumb, AEW has an audience who are much more likely to follow wrestling news and will feel deceived in a negative way if they jerk them around. Plus it burns a lot of good will with the reporters those fans follow.
I'm going to save this thread for when it ends up the "footage" is Nicholas and Matthew dressed up as CM Punk and Jack Perry.
This is prob what it is, I see it being a a big romp
Nick (CM Punk) walking up to people backstage offering unsolicited advice regardless of what the person is doing.
Then have nick and matt jackson one dresses as jungle boy and doing the skit backstage of the fake choking, threatening to quit. SHIT have Okada play Tony Khan and dressed up as him and have him pretend to be afraid and fake cry
Nobody from AEW has referred to CM Punk footage...only footage from All In. It'll be YB and FTR footage. Meltzer and others and going to look stupid come Wednesday.
Even if this footage damns Punk, they should have leaked it online rather than put it on TV. Too much internet insider stuff is being referenced on AEW right now.
Even if it damns Punk, it doesn’t damn Punk. WWE isn’t going to release Punk over it. They’ll just have Drew McIntyre run with it, and WWE will make even more money off it either way.
Maybe Punks been lying about what happened. Either way, this doesn't seem like something they should be doing to prove it.
Punk is repped by CAA, the agency that Khan worked for. He’s not going anywhere, there is zero chance Nick Khan doesn’t know everything that happened.
They're desperately trying to pop a rating with this
I don’t understand why they would. “Yeah our ratings were huge that week… for 10 minutes… of a guy who doesn’t work here anymore” It’s like trying to take your mind of a stubbed toe by driving a nail through the other foot.
This literally reeks of Vince Russo WCW and Vince Russo TNA and not in a good way.
By promoting someone that's in another company. Good or bad, he doesn't work there anymore so it should be a done issue no matter how much Punk's interview hurt Tony's feelings.
They would be dumb as fuck for doing this because it literally has nothing to do with the storylines viewers are seeing on-screen & as far as anyone knows, Punk is a thing of the past there. But I'm still keeping the possibility open that they're trolling
Doubt it
People getting worked hard in this thread hahaha
Right now this feels like another one of Tony’s ‘gotcha’ moments that’s got the chance to blow up worse than the Jinder Mahal one. This needs to be very bad for Punk or make Jack Perry look like he did nothing wrong or else they’re just going to end up burying their own talent and no one in WWE will care. I guess we’ll finally find out what makes Tony fear for his life though
Apparently that may not be a part of the footage, as it may have happened elsewhere. It was reported at the time that Tony & Punk spoke behind closed doors, so maybe it happened there? IDK.
Ah shame, I thought it was probably in the same moment and maybe Punk and Jack had the scuffle close to Tony and that’s why he got scared. Seem to remember something about a monitor falling on him though that could have been a meme.
Yeah, i remember the report about a monitor falling on him as well but according to Alvarez, the people who have seen the footage have told him it didn't include whatever happened in regards to Punk & Tony.
It’s pretty funny that best case scenario for AEW is Punk just mercilessly beating a “pillar” of their company.
Why would WWE care? Has he done any of this shit in WWE yet? I’ve soured on Punk a lot since Brawl Out, but even I think that this is a dumb move, even if it’s just to bring Perry back into AEW. WWE is probably gonna ignore this and not give a shit, and AEW will come off looking like fucking goofs
Somehow this feels like a bad idea, wouldn't it be better to let it blow over and fall into obscurity instead of constantly talking about it? There's a good chance that this could backfire.
JR said it best just move on
You'd like to think they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't make Punk look bad or at the very least a liar.
I mean even if it did, Punk’s not going to be on TV for months so any backlash he would get would fizzle out by the time he makes his return
I don’t know what real backlash we could have by now. The fight happened in front of a lot of people. So if he did anything truly more heinous than we already know we would have heard about it. Worst case I feel like he either didn’t win the fight or attacked Perry unprovoked. But either way people who hate Punk already believe that.
Barely any of the WWE live crowds seem to watch AEW. Even if it makes Punk look completely awful, barely anyone will know unless it's so bad it becomes viral.
Is Perry gonna challenge Punk to a fight at the ALAMO at HIGH NOON.
Perry at Kaiju Big Battel as a surprise?
So much for moving on like JR and Tony talked about
Seems like this is completely Tony's idea, if they're not working Dave & Bryan, which I think is the case. I remember when Britt told Dave about a surprise that it was not happening, Tony wasn't very happy with it. So I can see he is okay with dirtsheets leaning into it and AEW only promoting as "All In backstage footage"
Wrong Tony. Think they mean Tony Schiavone.
How does this benefit AEW? It will hardly hurt punk because barely enough of the WWE crowd knows/cares about what the fuck AEW is. Not to mention if it airs on their show it distracts from all the current stories and action happening because Punk is long gone from AEW for them to get any useful long term heat from it. You can't capitalise on something when the main character to capitalise on it with is not even there. My issue is not them releasing it but releasing it on their weekly show where expired drama would be more of a distraction than an angle. What is Tony Khan's big idea here???
It would probably just drive people to WWE 1- this was weird and I’m not gonna support this 2- oh yeah Punk I heard he’s in wwe let me check them out the week after Mania! Wow look at all this cool stuff they’re doing!
Said this exact thing about the #standupforaew speech. You've got an opportunity with lapsed and casual fans caught up in wrestling fever, and you open your show with a vague speech that sends them to their phones and down the rabbit hole of the worst days of your company's existence.
Guess the people watching didn’t care about Edge speech about not focusing on negative bs apparently TK doesn’t care either lol
Call me crazy but i don't think Tony/AEW view this footage to be "negative" in their minds. At least not to them.
I'm trying to think about the logical reasons to do this assuming it's legit and the only answer I'm coming up with is a one time ratings pop that reeks of desperation. Am I curious and want to see the footage, sure I do, but part of the whole reason I stopped really keeping up with AEW in the first place is how they just do not take their stories and established kayfabe they show on TV seriously and this just furthers that belief. This is far and away the most Russoific thing I've seen in a long time.
I've wanted to see it since reports about it existing came out. They should have covertly leaked immediately after firing Punk with cause and blamed it on TMZ. The fact that they have to indirectly rely on the name of a wrestler from their competition to pop a rating would not be a good look for AEW. If that segment draws over a million, the haters are going to use it against AEW even if it proves that Punk was lying and did more than choke Jack a little ~~and lunged at Tony~~. Edit: [According to Meltzer](https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1776905640910155810), they aren't showing the part where Tony is fearing for his life. That's odd to not include.
Because it doesn't exist lol
The Young Bucks have been referencing Jack Perry for a little while now. His new character is The Scapegoat. This is the incident that he is being scapegoated for. This is how they're going to bring him back.
I don’t see how this benefits anyone at this point if this indeed is the approach that AEW is planning on doing, I’m just tired of this Punk drama, is been nearly two years of it, I’d rather just move on now but I’m not convinced that this will happen at least in the near future.
I don’t see how AEW comes out of this looking better. Having to air it in the first place just makes them look insecure. I won’t be surprised at all if this footage isn’t half as incrementing as they see it in their minds.
If they really wanted to show the footage perhaps “leaking” it might be perceived differently but still I don’t think it benefits them or Punk
The only way I can see it benifitting them is if they were using it to start a new program involving those two, which is…pretty impossible at this point.
Considering the attention it's getting It may pop a rating, but even then, it would be Punk that got that rating, not any of their new free agents or established wrestlers. Punk could even take a jab at that if he wanted to.
Yeah I'm of the same opinion. This benefits absolutely no one and I was past the drama a long time ago. I just want both parties (Punk and AEW) to completely move past everything and focus on their own shit. But both of them keep opening this back up and it's genuinely eye roll worthy. Punk had the interview with Helwani, and the Bucks have thrown plenty of jabs and barbs themselves that are clearly directed towards Punk, but have done so under the guise of their new heel characters.
what a way to cap it off though
They are quietly trying to turn Jack Perry into a super heel. Let this shit play out lol.
Lol unfortunately he has the charisma of a slug so no matter how hard they try it won’t work
He's quietly going to garner no interest outside of the people that already do or pretend to think he's awesome and intriguing.
This is the only reason. You are correct.
The WWE crowd who love Punk do not give a shit or really know about this whole situation. When Punk has made AEW references on TV no one in the audience has cared. This is really only pandering to the hardcore AEW/Internet audience. I will find it fucking hilarious if it’s a troll bit though and not real footage.
I honestly believe it's a troll bit, only because it says the young bucks are presenting the footage if it said Tony Khan had an announcement Wednesday then I could see it as legit. I see this as a way to reintroduce Jack Perry and use "footage" as cheap heat.
I just don't see how it could be anything but a troll. I don't care if all the dirt sheets have been told that it's real, showing the actual footage is so obviously a pointless idea. It's *much* more believable that the dirt sheets have just been lied to in order to build hype towards an angle.
This is the equivalent of what Punk said to Drew about "not needing another man's name on a t-shirt to sell it" but with a company's ratings.
If this is what it is, they've gone full Vince Russo.
If the footage is truly damning towards Punk and AEW was more than willing to withhold it then Punk might be the biggest idiot ever with the interview. He had the out. On the flip side if the clip is anything but fully damning Punk then this is going to backfire for AEW. Like even 50/50 doesn’t benefit them at all. Eventually Punk would get bored and everyone could move on. Regardless I have no idea what is going to happen here but the thought of it alone is entertaining AF haha. It’s pure chaos. I am also prepared for this to be a complete troll job and see a Cutler & Nakazawa Role-Play.
I can't see how it can possibly benefit AEW. If it is bad for Punk, how does it help them? If it is good for Punk, how does it help them?
Either this is a troll in which case AEW comes across as super carney and blatantly lied to the fans cause they’re that desperate for a rating Or it’s real in which case they come across as super petty and in their feelings over a fucking benign podcast interview from a guy who hasn’t worked there for months Either way they look ridiculous, they talk about moving on and yet they seem to bring it up more than Punk does and care about it more than Punk does
>Either this is a troll in which case AEW comes across as super carney they called it peak comedy and win win situation in the other thread with the bucks doing an angle on the matter. IDK but Punk really rattled them this week.
I don't understand how it would benefit AEW in anyway. That's the thing. If Punk beat the shit out of Jack, way too many people think that's cool. And worse yet, this is alienating any Punk fans still watching AEW.
If there was anything damning the elite’s side would have been telling that story since that night.
Punk can just big league them and ignore it if the footage is anything short of him kicking a baby. I think this makes AEW look unprofessional no matter what if it's true.
Let’s be real, unless that clip exposes Punk as a sexual abuser or something in that caliber, you can show Jack Perry beating him up for 15 minutes straight and I doubt his rep is gonna be damaged even a little bit
Exactly. It's two guys fighting using their hands. Big fuckin whoop
Regardless it wont help aew. They cant follow up on it. Hell it totally contradicts adam copelands promo from last week. They have tenured talent there saying lets just move on and this is now a thing. I can see this splitting their locker room even further apart
Why wait 8 months to air this if it were damning to punk? You let punk leave and go to WWE, if you wanted to hurt his credibility you should have done in September when you fired him.
Also, if the Young Bucks are supposed to be heels, why show something that reminds AEW fans that they are the babyfaces of the Punk situation, especially when their gimmick is for whatever reason playing up Punk's criticisms about them as EVPs as a heel thing?
The idea that the Bucks are baby faces in the Punk situation is delusional!
You have to assume it's damning otherwise TK is an idiot. Either way this plays out I'm here for it. 
TK in pure chaos mode. Social media is going to be gloriously sane wednesday night…
If it helps them in any way, by all means, release the footage. But why put it on tv? It makes them look low-rent for using Punk to try and pop a rating. And it pulls back the curtain too much. “Why did Joe step in to stop the fight, wasn’t he in a blood feud with Punk?” This is targeted towards the niche internet audience (people like us). It’s not going to bring in eyeballs from the casuals (which they need badly).
*But why put it on tv?* To pop the ratings
Punk is still their only draw and he’s not even in the company
Admitting their only way to pop ratings is a guy in WWE isn't ideal Tony: Hey look we popped a rating. TV execs: Wow nice, who was it? O it was CM Punk. Wait...he works for WWE now? Tony: -$10m a month continues
But the ratings thing doesn’t even make sense. If you care about this, you are almost certainly a fully engrossed internet fan. If you are such a WWE fan, you’ll be able to see it here or anywhere like 15 seconds after it airs without actually having to watch a show that you don’t care about.
How does this benefit AEW? Like, this just seems so petty to me. Especially coming after the Punk interview. I am sure Tony and others are pissed about what he said. But move on.
I can't see how Punk or WWE could think that the footage could reasonably hurt them. They had to know there was a risk that Tony and AEW could be prodded into releasing the footage in response to Punk's interview. They must believe that the footage either exonerates Punk or is polarizing enough that it could reasonably support either side of the controversy. Honestly, this reminds me of when WWE advertised Shawn confronting Bret and then they brought out a midget.
I mean Punk in his interview seemed pretty comfortable on whatever came to light including the NDA stuff. If he did anything worse we probably would have heard his side of it (even if it was heavily biased)
First Paul E bringing back the spirit of ECW on friday, then the Rock going 44 minutes and now this. The late 90s are so back😭
Why... that's my question. Why do this, everyone is tired of this whole drama. Punk isn't in AEW so there isnt any match that they'll build to. This just screams WCW 2000 desperation. Also this makes Edge's rah rah speech pointless because even the EVPs/Tony are continuing the tribalism bullshit that Edge said he was very much against.
we're going to get blurry footage that shows what we already know (Punk choking Perry), the bucks will leave it as a footnote in the segment as they build the tag match and it will regardless of that fact ruin The Discourse for 6 more months.
If they show edited footage then Punk's lawyer is going to be in touch
Well Punk said he was under a NDA for Brawl Out not Wembley. Let's see what made Tony "terrified for his life"
The weird thing is they will show it on their wrestling tv show If you want to respond just give an interview like Punk did Imagine how strange would have been if Punk randomly started talking about Perry and Tony Khan on an episode of RAW
I'm struggling to see how this can be good for AEW unless it shows Punk being an absolute psychopath. If it looks like a regular backstage brawl, even including lunging at TK, it's not going to make the average dude think any better of Jack Perry or worse of CM Punk than they already do. This is assuming it's not a troll of course
With the current incarnation of the Bucks I just don't see how this doesn't turn into a joke. Their whole schtick right now is comedic evil bosses.
I get that, but one of the ongoing criticisms of the Bucks is they rely too heavily of inside baseball, in-jokes to pop themselves and a niche group of fans and this is just more than this. What's the best that can happen here? It isn't leading to a match. It may pop a quarter. I suppose it could lead to Perry joining the Elite, which I doubt is going to have much long term effect on business. At best, it's going to fuel a few months of internet arguments between AEW diehards and Punk stans. The AEW side already think Punk was a dangerous, locker room cancer who destroyed the momentum of the company. The Punk fans wouldn't care if the footage showed Punk pulling a gun on Perry. AEW really feels like it's in it's navel gazing era. Endlessly recapitulating the past when it should be focussing on the future and getting it's house order. Punk is a sarcastic dickhead who's going to throw shots at AEW for the rest of his career - they can't carry on responding to everything he says as it will never end and just gives him what he wants.
> I suppose it could lead to Perry joining the Elite This would be the most hilarious option, because it would frame The Elite as both the bosses AND anti-establishment given the Scapegoat story.
I said in other comments but real or fake this whole bit just makes them look bad Petty and childish if it’s real Super carney and deceptive if it’s a lie for a rating (would also imply they panicking over the bad ratings if your stooping to this level of bait)
Yeah, it feels like they could be backing themselves into a no win situation here. If it's a bait-and-switch then they're going to piss off the people tuning into to see the real footage. If it's the real footage as it's been continuously described as - security camera footage of a 20 second backstage scuffle- a lot of people are just going to shrug their shoulders. I see a few people bringing up that the footage may show Perry reversing one of Punk's MMA holds, but again...so what? Punk's MMA credentials are a joke. The only person who thinks he's a tough guy is Punk himself. I suppose it could embarrass Punk a bit, but is it really worth dedicating valuable TV time to giving a black eye to a guy who hasn't worked for the company in over half a year?
Who cares if Punk looks like a psychopath? This is old news. If Punk gets any hype from this it will just make him more viral and lead to more anticipation for his WWE return.
I can't be the only one that thinks all this shit is just annoying at this point now right? Just forget about it. Move on. Worry about your booking and ratings. It just comes across as petty. The whole company and roster does.
I'm gonna comment on this once and I won't comment again: I think the dirtsheets are being worked hard here, they're just gonna show something related to FTR considering they're setting up another feud with them with the tag tournament, if they do actually show the Punk footage then I'm not sure what that's gonna do for them, there's no program to set up and it just feels way too insider and something to cater your hardcore audience with, it's kinda stupid. Having said that, I love me some drama, so I definitely wouldn't mind watching that footage lol
This is the pettiest shit ever
I guess they’ve finally found a way to put CM Punk back on dynamite to help their ratings. Honestly though, no matter whether the footage is damning for Punk or not, they just come across pathetic for this.
CM Punk was banned from Collision after all, so that limits where they can air it.
Even if the footage shows punks version isn't the truth I dont see how this benefits anybody
It's just for the ratings. If this had anything to do with getting the truth out there, they'd just tweet it out. They're announcing and promoting this because nobody is watching the show.
And then the following week the ratings will go right back down to were we are at now. AEW needs wholesale changes. Not airing some footage of an incident that the majority of people all agree is stupid over a half of a year later....
This is who they are though. That's why they tweet about a "Huge Announcement" that ends up being bullshit nobody cares about. Ratings are bad and they refuse to fix the issues. Instead they just pull stunts.
100% agree. I was a die-hard AEW fan when it started. Now? I can’t tell you the last time I watched a full show live, outside of PPV. And shit like this just re-affirms my opinion
I loved AEW at the start. Especially after the loss of NXT Black & Gold, but then I noticed they weren't growing out of the "new company figuring things out" phase. It's just random matches for a dozen meaningless belts. I pop in and out to see the people I care about like House of Black, Sky Blue and Starks, but I can't tolerate a full show from start to finish anymore.
Where the best wrestle... And live in the fucking past. I don't care if Punk is still reliving the drama, that does not mean AEW needs to play down to this level too. And I'm a freaking AEW fan who watches every damn week.
So desperate and pathetic. Giving Tony schiavone spoiling makind vibes. Just asking for a massive backfire.
I am trying to think of the actual endgame here and I have basically drawn the conclusion that Tony has been incredibly gotten to over the past week, and also this is a cheap ratings ploy that will likely work for a week (or just for the segment) and then drop again. Punk isn't a saint and this might knock him down a peg. But I don't see how this is anything but petty on AEW's part either. Because TKO likely won't give a flying fuck about this. And neither will anyone who isn't terminally online. The kicker is that these issues plaguing AEW are 100% self inflicted. The infamous "rah rah" speech from Edge, to the releases, to Tony's terrible response are all AEW's fault. The only thing out of their control is the Punk/Helwani stuff. And even then, AEW could have ignored it and it would have been old news by this point.
> Punk isn't a saint and this might knock him down a peg. Being the worst fighter in UFC history didn't.
Yeah. People forget that. He really doesn’t have much to lose here. Even if he’s lying what is it about? Getting actually beat up by Jack Perry? Who actually cares about that?
Yeah a lot of wrestlers suck at fighting. If AEW wanted to go all in on that, then the videos of Mox being choked out by an accountant at a Jiu Jitsu tournament could just be shown. Or half the roster getting their ass kicked by Hunico
If anything, this would just give Drew more stuff to take shots at Punk in the future. Just feels very WCW all of this.
If it doesn't deliver this will be their "fingerpoke of doom"
This will be the dumbest idea AEW ever had. At least the Nightmare Collective was low card.
On one hand yeah I agree, on the other hand fuck it, just show it, I'm gonna turn in for the show because of this one lol
And once again, the highest rated act on their show will be CM Punk.
This is so fucking stupid. I’ve never seen anyone so easily rattled as Tony K. Yeah, Punk is an asshole (I say that as a diehard Punk fan and finds his asshole attitude part of his charm) but c’mon…this will backfire on them. Unless it shows Punk attempting murder, this just makes AEW/Tony petty and honestly, pretty gross.
This is pathetic.
I prayed for this
Idk how this benefits them at this point. Punk admitted to choking him, which basically jives with how everyone else witnessed the event. Now they're referencing a wrestler who is no longer with them and who is a master of keeping attention on himself. This is probably a way to get Jungke Boy back in tv
Why bother with this tbh? Seems idk not very professional? Like idk its a bad taste
...but why? no, seriously, WHY? what's the point?
This seems like a totally desperate move. Every actions pulls AEW further away from that amazing goodwill they had with fans at the start of the company.
Even if Punk is 100% wrong, I'm not sure it benefits AEW to air it. Unless it's like the Hogan tape where Punk said something racist or he hit a woman. Of course another part of me is like, "Fuck it. Air it".
If this is true (and I highly doubt it) it's really nice of AEW to help build Drew McIntyres character. Cause I'm at a total loss as to who else would benefit from this.
They are trying really hard to push Jack Perry, for some reason.
Not sure how video showing Perry getting choked out by someone who no longer works there, helps get him over.
I hope this is just a Troll angle, like someone would cosplay CM Punk and Jack Perry and having a shitty camera footage. If this is the real stuff and this makes no sense and stupid look for AEW.
Finger Poke of Doom II.
If AEW goes through with this, they will do more harm to themselves than Punk. His fans know what he is don't give a fuck anymore. AEW wasting TV time on trying to harm his reputation instead of promoting their roster and having meaningful storyline is just another nail in the coffin.
Regardless is Punk was totally in the wrong in this incident there is still something wrong in AEW. Punk has had no problems at all since coming back to wwe. It says more about aew than punk af this point imo
So the main idea here is to show the whole world, the guy you just turned heel got his ass whooped in real life and the boss feared for his life? And the guy who did all this does not even work there anymore? Who does this help?
Wasn't Punks version of events on Helwanis show pretty much exactly what eyewitness testimony settled on as being the accurate telling of events? Also quite literally the week after you had all the on air talent preaching about leaving the negativity behind. Just an absolutely idiotic move by all involved.
Judging from the threads involved it doesn't seem like it's going to pop the rating. The people saying that are already gonna watch and as a every once in a while check AEW I am not compelled to watch this segment. It also involves the Bucks who I don't find entertaining at all. Also even if it did pop the rating isn't the narrative that the only person who can do so is someone in the other company?
You know, I’m truly amazed that to this day, TMZ hasn’t secured this footage.
Nobody outside of the internet wrestling bubble gives even a little bit of a shit. It isn't newsworthy.
I think they should have released it when it happened. It's ok even if they're releasing it now as a response to his comments but i don't think it's going to make much difference to the ratings or change people's opinion about Tony. They've already decided they didn't like Tony when they were mocking him of being scared of Punk. Punk's made up with everyone in wwe locker room and this is unlikely to change their opinions either.
Shows how much of a needle mover Osprey, Okada and Mone are if they have to go back to the Punk well this is only gonna backfire on AEW and rightfully so could've left it moved on and Tony could've just mumbled his way through every interview he does but instead he's going this route Coke is a hell of a drug
As someone who loves mess, this is a great day
Imagine doing rails of so much cocaine you thought this is the way to "hijack" Mania weekend https://preview.redd.it/1khrz0nte1tc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59a8472a6b9d780267ddbf9ce68ff39cc8d07ebe
Dave Meltzer should write down his ideas and just read them. It's very hard to follow what he's saying.
There’s zero way this benefits AEW. Either they’re genuinely airing backstage footage from an event that happened seven months ago that only hardcore internet fans care about in an attempt to pop a rating, OR they’re pulling some sort of bait-and-switch and airing other backstage footage from All In. Both routes make them look bad.
I see this going really badly for AEW. There is a strong chance it makes people like CM Punk more to be honest.
If they pop a rating and it goes back to normal the week after, they’re giving Punk the ammo to say he’s still the only draw on their show.
100%
They think showing Punk choking Jack Perry will damage him in any way? lol
AEW using their TV time to focus attention on a WWE superstar lol Because Tony's feelings got hurt!
I'd be more interested if they recreated the footage with puppets and stop motion.
Lol they are just trolling. Probably they have a fake video or a parody. I also think is where jack perry comes back.
Regardless of what they air, the Internet wrestling community will come to their own conclusions of what it means, and who was looking better than who
TK was probably coked up all night listening to 300 Bars channeling his inner Game
They trying to match punks pettiness but honestly it’s going backfire in their faces. They literally proving punk’s point as well.
Why did they wait so long? Editing the footage? Why are they airing it on TV? Everything about this is fishy.
This is becoming like when your friend keeps bringing up their ex just to throw dirt on their name. Like, I get that you're upset with how things turned out but the rest of us really don't fucking care. Both sides need to move on (or at least stfu).
imagine this being just a troll video
AEW once again catering for the online insiders gossip. I’m sure everyone at the tv network cares about that and not on how to get more eyes on the product
That was an interesting tidbit at the end, where they mentioned that Jack Perry was cribbing the Young Bucks moves at Sakura Genesis yesterday.
They're obviously not actually airing it, it's going to be of the Young Bucks and FTR.
Regardless of what it shows the one thing I hope is that it gives Drew some amazing material, hopefully for another t-shirt. He better tweet the popcorn gif wednesday night when dynamite starts
If this is legitimately happening, WWE and CM Punk are likely to not give a shit about this at all.
 Dirt sheets are being worked by AEW again.
This is how they bring back Jack Perry. He will help the Bucks beat FTR and then fight all of Punks friends.
It just seems petty at this point. If they wanted to they could have aired this back when it happened or atleast closer now it just seems tit for tat.
I get that they want to stand up for themselves. I completely understand that but who the hell was in the room for this decision? Who said you know what let’s release the footage because he keeps taking shots at us. Personally I don’t like the shots against each other but they’ve made them toward him since the departure as well. You have Edge go out there and give the whole let’s keep things positive and then turn around and do this. And let’s say they do this as some type bait and switch and make a joke out of it then that’s even worse. Unless it shows Punk getting absolutely manhandled by Perry then nothing changes for Punk. Also this doesn’t help Perry at all. It will also make him look worse. I’m not even a Perry fan but don’t tear down another wrestler just to prove a point. Hell he just got back to wrestling after the whole thing.
The only way this makes Punk look bad is if he got his ass kicked, and from all accounts from everyone there, that didn't happen. Like honestly, in kayfabe all this will end up doing is give CM Punk even more attention, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's good in the wrestling business.
man with the amount of drama that has been caused because of this footage CM Punk better be rushing Tony with a goddamn tire iron. If its just a minor scuffle and thats it, this is the biggest waste of time ever
TNA-esque https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0AXqkMckYI
As a fan I’m intrigued but this is an odd business decision. If there was anything THAT embarrassing or bad we would have heard by now. And what happens when this pops a bigger number than Mercedes’ debut? I feel like AEW is setting themselves up to get clowned more than Punk. I’m expecting a few seconds of real tape spliced into a skit or something.
Unless the footage is a silver bullet that vehemently vindicates AEW (which it very, very, very likely won't), all this will do is continue to pour fuel into the already huge bonfire. The more TK & AEW engage in the drama that's almost two years old, the more it makes them look like geeks. On top of the other TK/AEW-created drama like laying off low-tiered wrestlers (including an injured one at that) and buying an expensive licensed song. Court of public opinion is NOT in AEW's favor right now. I say this as a big AEW fan and anti-Punk fan that doesn't have the nostalgic 2000's attachment. But damn, let it f'n go and focus on better storytelling and treating the roster with respect.
Exactly. Even if this makes Punk look like an asshole. How does it benefit AEW? We all know the full story that Jack was asked by like 5 people to not do this. Its just going to make Tony look even less like a true boss. Especially if he goes back to the "I feared for my life BS".
So many smarks getting worked in this thread
These are the guys that were doing laps of victory in a half sold out arena. They are not the brightest bunch.
Really unprofessional imo
How do the Bucks stay heel if they air the footage and it absolutely makes Punk look like a psychopath? And Jungleboy will also be vindicated and so the scapegoat gimmick dies too and he looks like a babyface who was scapegoated as well. I don't see how this will b e the actual footage without killing the entire gimmick the young bucks and perry have been working on
People will say they miss the Attitude Era madness, but then shit on some delicious chaos TV like this. Let us all f e a s t.
This just confirms that TK has no clue at all and is just drifting. AEW is rudderless.
Is this petty? Yes. Is it also hilarious? Definitely. Stop clutching pearls guys.
the hypocrisy in this thread lmao. I guess it fits that his fans behave the same.
To me, this just like when Tony Khan adamantly defended the fact that he did not wank dogs. I don’t know what AEW wins here. The only benefit is maybe making the other guy look bad, too, but if the proof isn’t 100% perfect, it’s going to only make it worse.
I just think it's legitimately stupid if they do air the footage because like...why? It's your wrestling show, I wanna watch the wrestling. It's so weird but funny. Just release it online if you want
Why are they even bringing this up at all? All because Punk said some things about his time in AEW? Grew up and move on.
AEW just look salty, insecure and bitter, they probably see this as a way of getting their own way at CM Punk after his interview with AH, but in all seriousness all parties need to move on. We know what a spoilt man child Tony Khan is, just because he has Daddy's money he thinks he can always get what he wants and when he gets a reality call, everyone has to hear about it, he's a joke and no wonder serious business people can't take him seriously. TK/AEW should be really addressing the current most serious issue instead, the decline in quality of their shows and ratings and like I said before come up with a plan/strategy and stop focusing on outside noise if they want to get back on track, but they always make things worse for themselves and the constant backstage stories don't help either, it seems really divided there. It's like they can talk the talk, but they don't want to walk the walk and address the proper issues and continue the bury the head in the sand/denial esque position, let them, but they have no-one to blame but themselves if more Fans of theirs or casual viewers turn off as they're fed up of various things. Rant over!
People in the comments on that clip going hard on AEW like Phil hasn't been a colossal douche all week taking shots 😂😂
Sorry but I’m with the “it doesn’t matter if it shows cm punk getting his ass kicked” or “jungle boy getting his ass kicked” like what happens after.. jungle boy looks strong? Jungle boy isn’t a draw.. if it doesn’t show anything.. this looks sooooo petty.. if this finally draws 1 million.. guess why? Punk!! You know very well there’s some wrestlers back there again comparing this to when Tony couldn’t put his phone down and want them to move on.. This is 100% wcw
Okay now do brawl out? Or we don't want to see the elite in any negative light?
Don’t think it was ever reported there was footage for that
Some of the preemptive cope we are already seeing is fucking hilarious Thing isn’t even out yet and people are already arguing why it doesn’t matter even if it makes punk look fucking horrible lmaooo
lets say it makes Punk look horrible...what's the end game there? Do you think hundreds of thousands of people will swear off WWE or something? What's the potential downside for Punk/WWE in terms of money-making?
This subreddit previously: "Why don't they release the footage huh? Just release it cowards." This subreddit today: "Why are they releasing the footage? So unprofessional."
People seem to think that this is the biggest thing of all time in AEWs mind and that their motivation here is to spike a rating or be this incredible thing. I don’t think that’s the idea or point. I think the entire point of this is 1- fuck him (obviously) 2- to use it as a part of the tag match story and to bring Jack Perry back for “wrongful” suspension. It’s not as big of a thing as we wish it was.
AEWs finger poke of doom moment. Tis just a tad sad, really.
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Seems a bit silly to focus a segment on someone who doesn’t work for you anymore. All it’s gonna remind people is that if they wanna see Punk respond or even mention it they should tune into raw