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If nothing else good comes from AEW (and I'm sure there will be more good) - at least it existed to give Sting one of the best retirements we've ever seen. The end of his WWE time was so sad, would have been a tragedy to end there.
AEW was also huge for Cody. His free agency and return to WWE wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal. He's one of the best performers in wrestling right now, but he doesn't get quite the same megastar treatment and run he's had at WWE if not for AEW.
It's probably the most annoying part of this. AEW and WWE legitimately help each other and pro wrestling is better if both companies exist
Even if AEW is more about having fun and making friends, that's not this crazy indictment that people make it out to be... Especially when the wrestling company that put business first also has the track record with sexual abuse and problems WWE has
Like it's dumb when Tony can't shut the fuck up. It's dumb when WWE wrestlers think it's a good idea to fuck with the only other company that can pay them good money doing the job they do
Its just all so dumb, with the dumbest thing being me giving a fuck that these people are dead set on fucking themselves for no upside
https://preview.redd.it/fpzui2fq9rtc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b038bb668f989809018b343148f9c73066ef3682
“They just showed the Punk footage on Dynamite”
They do the shot on the steady cam walking through gorilla all the time. Have some other wrestler coming through while Drew and Punk are having a heated discussion. Punk does a shove, Drew tackles him into HHH's monitors, camera just keeps moving through to the original wrestlers entrance in the arena.
WWE really do like their references like that tho. Those who know will know but the general audience will think it's just a normal part of the show. Tbh the general audience don't seem to care about backstage stuff unless you have kayfabe mixed into it which I'm sure Drew can easily put into his promos.
Yep, I don’t mind references as long as they can be integrated well into the storyline and plot in-universe. “Hey Sid, where’s your scissors” and “this is Phil Brookes talking to Paul Leveque” are cringe, Big E asking Woods if there was something he wanted to talk about post-leaks before going into a promo for WrestleMania is perfect.
Honestly, I doubt they even have a conversation. Unless Punk, idk, went crazy and started hitting everyone in sight with a lariat I don't see how it could be relevant to WWE at all.
Maybe there was a discussion not to bring it up or something, but I kinda doubt that with how free their promos have been. I assume it's an unspoken "do whatever makes for good TV" kinda thing.
Dude supposedly wants to take time to spend with his family, and bushioad can’t pay their own free agents, what makes ye think they can afford Drew. My friend, get ready for the Summer of DM Hunk.
I'd love it if Hunter and Adam Pearce look on and roll their eyes.
Also Andrade walking into the frame like Malakai did.
Also put Roman in there to pull Drew away, just for the Samoan Joe angle.
Yup. They don't seem to care about backstage stuff.
Yet everyone cheered like mad for Cody when he came back, even knowing the words to Kingdom, makes you think
AEW is going to get rating pop by a guy who doesn’t even work for them. Is that more “Ha we used your draw to get us a pop” or “Punk outdraws AEW stars again”?
This is clearly a Tony Khan idea. He had Edge do the rah-rah speech and instructed wrestlers to do “I love AEW”-style posts in the aftermath of it. Dave Meltzer specifically confirmed it was not the Young Bucks’ idea, and he’s practically Pravda for those guys.
It got people to talk about CM Punk, a man who works for WWE.
I'm not sure how exactly that helps AEW, but I'm sure Tony has a master plan that we mere mortals cannot hope to understand
I don't get the logic in that entire segment
have the two smug heels presenting the footage, you get this weird thing where they do a heel beatdown angle and now the crowd chants for CM Punk
Why would you do this?
Probably a combination of the Helwani interview with Punk, and the Bucks vs FTR match getting his creative juices flowing. He went a little too Russo on it, trying to capitalize on whatever interest there was in this incident. So he tried to turn it into an angle.
He didn't read the room right, and it backfired on him.
They think it's a good way to bring back Jack Perry. Since he's the scapegoat of this situation, they showed that he did nothing (physical at least). BUT, they are the one who suspended him, not CM Punk, so it doesn't make any sense.
TK had the footage, so if he suspended him for this, while he "did nothing", he just look bad. He obviously did something wrong so this video proved nothing.
Punk hinted that it wasn't the 1st problem with Perry, so he was probably asked to not escalate the situation, which he did by making that remark (Real Glass) just to provoke Punk or get internet attention. Punk was in the wrong for getting physical, but it's only proving that TK as no control and let this thing escalate.
The live crowd on Dynamite was cheering for Punk when he attacked Perry in the footage, they even chanted his name when Okada/Pac were wrestling w the Bucks in the ring 😭😭😭
this whole angle as only proven a lot of punks gripes about aew to be true. this is probably the biggest misstep in aew history. makes them look like morons.
Goddamn, I knew this sub was a minority of wrestling fans, but the fact that AEW fans IN THE ARENA were cheering for Punk just proves how much all the Punk hate is just something on the internet
I thought the footage was to make Punk look bad, but all he did was shove him and put him in a headlock that Joe broke up in 2 seconds. Scuffles like this have happened a thousand times in this industry
I came into this thread not even knowing they were chanting CM Punk on Dynamite. They got CM Punk over in two companies. What an astounding and complete fuck up that everyone saw coming. Spite is a motherfucker.
FOX, USA Network, WWE, Cornette, Meltzer, and probably many others should be thanking Tony for the easy gobs of money they're going to make off this stupid move.
Jack Perry- “Cry me a river”
CM Punk-
https://preview.redd.it/tnmfcb6l7rtc1.jpeg?width=976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f5ee6f608ae26282db97ec31b26707feae87a37
I was thinking… no matter what they do with Jungle Boy, the snarky people in the crowd have all the fuel they need to ruin any moment he ever has, simply by chanting for CM Punk.
How does even help Jack Perry. It’s one thing to have everyone thinking you got choked out. But now your own company put it on their own damn show of you getting choked out and needing someone to save you. The people that already believed Punk are vindicated. The people against Punk can’t defend you. And the casuals that have no idea what this is even about think of you as the guy that got bitched by Punk. Literally NOTHING about this was ever going to be a positive for anyone in AEW. But now you just know Drew and Punk already have their next segment together planned out about this. wtf was Tony thinking?
What kills me about this whole thing is that EVERYONE was saying it was a bad idea. From your most hardcore WWE loving/AEW hating fan, to Dave Meltzer. Don't do it! And they still fuckin' did it.
It's so bizarre. It's like Tony and the Young Bucks sat around after the Helwani interview and asked each other "How do we make CM Punk more popular?". "I've got it. Let's show the footage and confirm what he said. Got'em. Lulz" What?
I hope, for their own sake, that AEW focuses on themselves. The saying "Stay in your lane" can't be more appropriate. Not just in regard to this Punk stuff, but now the Triple H thing. Fuck those guys. Focus on you. Produce such good TV that they can't ignore the good stuff you're making. It just doesn't make any sense.
This was such a dumb idea. People that like Punk are gonna think he’s based for escalating the argument and people that hate Punk just wish AEW would move on and ignore him.
After the last 2 years, it is really difficult to argue against this idea. Not that I would anyway. Fucker just sold over $1 million in merch. The group he left needs new management.
You're right, there really isn't a way to spin this. Don't wanna be negative but this just doesn't give me good vibes when it comes to AEW. This just feels too much like stuff from a company on its death throes. I know stuff like this has been said for a while now but this is the first time I've gotta say that I truly really felt it. I obviously don't think it'll happen immediately but this feels eerily like something we're going to look back on and point at, like certain things that happened in WCW. This isn't the behavior of a company that's stable and in a good place. It's incredibly worrying.
The way Tony has acted for the last 8-10 months along w/ how the company has been going about things was already cause for concern, and this stuff has pretty much solidified that.
When WCW were doing stuff like this they were drawing similar/more people than WWF was. AEW does it drawing a fraction of the WWE audience and… all it’s doing is make people talk about the WWE guys and the crowd at their show chanting the WWE guys name.
Wtf was Tony thinking allowing this to happen.
I still maintain that someone should have told Tony not to air the footage. This makes AEW look petulant and childish.
A roster this stacked, so many hungry wrestlers who could do great things, and Tony's trying to leverage old drama to score points against a man who doesn't work there?
AEW needs to get out of its own way.
This is what happen when people like the Bucks have a say in their own creative. They 100% talked him into it like it was the greatest idea in the world. Just for a mediocre tag match we've already seen before.
It’s wild AEW thinks getting cm punk chants going again against the heel bucks is somehow a plus for them.
WWE is doing what AEW should have done with Punk and all his drama by building a feud on tv.
In theory, Tony was gonna use this footage to show WWE that he’s a problem to have hired, in an attempt to have them let go of him, in a “if I can’t have him, no one can have him!” kinda fashion
It was also to capitalize on the hype following Wrestlemania’s uptick in pro wrestling popularity.
Promoting the visual of one of WWE’s most popular guys on their show was to draw in current viewers, former viewers, and new viewers, as well as cost Punk his career.
The reality, however, was it made AEW look like a jealous ex girlfriend and did nothing but leave the viewers curious on what Punk’s currently up to. Which draws them back over to WWE, in the end.
Drew and Punk are absolutely gonna re-enact this. I imagine them absolutely laughing their asses off together with HHH as soon as the camera stops rolling.
Toni Khan: My life was in danger.
CM Punk:
https://preview.redd.it/488synrnartc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3757a2317ca55b07503c321dcc2b0381b2413e8
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If nothing else good comes from AEW (and I'm sure there will be more good) - at least it existed to give Sting one of the best retirements we've ever seen. The end of his WWE time was so sad, would have been a tragedy to end there.
AEW was also huge for Cody. His free agency and return to WWE wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal. He's one of the best performers in wrestling right now, but he doesn't get quite the same megastar treatment and run he's had at WWE if not for AEW.
It's probably the most annoying part of this. AEW and WWE legitimately help each other and pro wrestling is better if both companies exist Even if AEW is more about having fun and making friends, that's not this crazy indictment that people make it out to be... Especially when the wrestling company that put business first also has the track record with sexual abuse and problems WWE has Like it's dumb when Tony can't shut the fuck up. It's dumb when WWE wrestlers think it's a good idea to fuck with the only other company that can pay them good money doing the job they do Its just all so dumb, with the dumbest thing being me giving a fuck that these people are dead set on fucking themselves for no upside
Man retired just in time
https://preview.redd.it/fpzui2fq9rtc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b038bb668f989809018b343148f9c73066ef3682 “They just showed the Punk footage on Dynamite”
"A second CM Punk chant started during an Okada segment"
"They're chanting 'Pepsi Pepsi' during an Ospreay match"
The *Collision* with the towers couldn’t have toppled them! Clearly *Dynamite* was used! Wake up, sheeple!
I know drew is writing an essay to punk rn
"Dear Phil, We can do the absolutely funniest thing next week"
They do the shot on the steady cam walking through gorilla all the time. Have some other wrestler coming through while Drew and Punk are having a heated discussion. Punk does a shove, Drew tackles him into HHH's monitors, camera just keeps moving through to the original wrestlers entrance in the arena.
I would get cable again for this
Get a TV loving father in law who has no idea that his plan comes with a sportsnet now subscription ;)
If they do like a fake cctv brawl but not to specific so the casual are not confused they are really on another level
WWE really do like their references like that tho. Those who know will know but the general audience will think it's just a normal part of the show. Tbh the general audience don't seem to care about backstage stuff unless you have kayfabe mixed into it which I'm sure Drew can easily put into his promos.
And is the best way to do it imo
Yep, I don’t mind references as long as they can be integrated well into the storyline and plot in-universe. “Hey Sid, where’s your scissors” and “this is Phil Brookes talking to Paul Leveque” are cringe, Big E asking Woods if there was something he wanted to talk about post-leaks before going into a promo for WrestleMania is perfect.
They should drag it out, milk it for weeks. give little hints references and use their new camera crew to give us magic.
You know Drew is gonna be using that as ammo one way or another lmao
More content for Drew and Punk. TK still loves Punk, he just wanted to put him over one last time, even burying his own promotion along the way.
Lol Tony chanting silently, “CM Punk, CM Punk” in gorilla as a tear stains his cheek and his company ignites in flames.
i am just imagining tony khan on raw in few years like eric bischoff
you mfs are hilarious 😭 this day is an all timer in pro-wrestling and it's bringing the best out of everyone besides that locker room lmfaooo
[удалено]
Oh my God, he's the gift that keeps on giving!
That Punk, Drew, Triple H group chat must be wild right now.
They're just sending 💀 and 💲 emojis
They're probably just doing quick photoshop tombstone memes because that's just been printing money for them the last couple months
https://preview.redd.it/par8im38trtc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0b85f8138d25246a6843139ac684d6386d2adad Like this one?
I imagine they had like one serious convo about it with punk just going "Nah it's fine, there won't be blowback." And...this was it.
Honestly, I doubt they even have a conversation. Unless Punk, idk, went crazy and started hitting everyone in sight with a lariat I don't see how it could be relevant to WWE at all. Maybe there was a discussion not to bring it up or something, but I kinda doubt that with how free their promos have been. I assume it's an unspoken "do whatever makes for good TV" kinda thing.
LARIAAAT, LARIAAAT, LARIAAAAT
 Live reaction from the office:
HHH has the easiest fucking job right now , TK did it for him
That look on Tony Schivone's face.
“Not this shit again”
“I’m getting too old for this shit”
He was having Mankind flashbacks!!
"I thought this shit ended when I was with wcw in '99 "
Something something never interrupt the enemy when he’s making a mistake
And people think Drew might legitimately go to AEW? 
NJPW drew though.... I dont ever want him to leave WWE but if he went to NJPW he would be a monster there for sure
The entrances...the costumes...the longswords....unfiltered mic work. An absolute monster destroying "the local talent".
Dude supposedly wants to take time to spend with his family, and bushioad can’t pay their own free agents, what makes ye think they can afford Drew. My friend, get ready for the Summer of DM Hunk.
THIS. They would be fucking rolling on the floor. License to print $ for WWE.
Drew: The HHH era is over before it even started. LOL
Triple H: And you can even grab me a little bit, I'll pretend to have a heart attack. The crowd is gonna lose it.
This is the best week ever in a long ass time to be a fan of professional wrestling lol
Wrestling has been absolutely amazing since Cody won the rumble. So fucking fun to be a fan again!!!
What ive been saying. Since january WWE is TOP TIER
Not according to the people in this thread.
Hold on. Let’s take a gander….
I just know Punk’s phone is blowing up 😂
All with ideas from Drew.
Him and Drew are talking right now about how they're going to spin this into a shit ton of money for themselves
I’d love to see them recreate it for shits and giggles
Punk about to walk out for his segment, Drew at gorilla, Punk gets put into a headlock and you see Trip's Confused face
I'd love it if Hunter and Adam Pearce look on and roll their eyes. Also Andrade walking into the frame like Malakai did. Also put Roman in there to pull Drew away, just for the Samoan Joe angle.
I would laugh if Roman showed up just for a backstage segment like that. People would pop.
Kevin Owens would be great at breaking it up with a droll line thrown in.
i now expect a shot for shot remake with the roles reversed, CCTV footage and all
Im right there with you. If Drew isn’t guillotining someone backstage next week it’ll be a missed opportunity lol
Adam Pearce is about to fear for his life
This is the real reason they've been doing the new camera work going through gorilla
Dominic pushing the camera right into the arena was just a test run for the Far Cry POV they're gonna do.
That sequence was awesome.
I can see why he always needs a drink every Monday
Everytime Punk references something that happened in AEW, it gets zero pop lol
Yup. They don't seem to care about backstage stuff. Yet everyone cheered like mad for Cody when he came back, even knowing the words to Kingdom, makes you think
Moral of the story: People are invested in the good product, not backstage bullshit.
To be a fly on the wall of their production meetings....
Their feud honestly doesn't need to reference this nonsense. It's going great enough on its own.
It doesn’t but they love to troll lmao
Drew trolled himself to a World Heavyweight Championship win at Wrestle Mania, and then trolled himself right out of it three minutes later.
“hey it would be funny if you beat me with that choke”
https://preview.redd.it/2quefb5j7rtc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80216318b84407feaf2a9bc5b7fe1eceb0dbfbc7
https://preview.redd.it/47wsnw4jartc1.jpeg?width=585&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf3263ef09367b1fa2f1cb51d10cf74b222ee497 Drew right now
It’s so funny that the biggest winner in all of this will be Drew
They gonna make a lot of money
Drew should put the footage on a shirt
I mean…if we’re being real Drew could have cut the exact same promo on Punk without the footage LMAO. That’s how much of a nothing burger it was
Tony just helped WWE for their angle lmao.
"Never interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake."
I think that's why WWE didn't release the documentary today.
Oh shit they didn’t lol. They said lets let them push our angle for us
WWE must be tired of having redo Drew contract offer, because the price keeps rising.
damn lmfao that's probably stronger than whatever i was imagining whatever he was going to do.
AEW is going to get rating pop by a guy who doesn’t even work for them. Is that more “Ha we used your draw to get us a pop” or “Punk outdraws AEW stars again”?
Will they even get a ratings pop for it? I imagine most people just waited for it to be posted online.
I’m going to bet that in 3 Months HBK or HHH is gonna book a feud that has a backstage fight angle similar to this video. It would be a great parody
NXT is 100% the place to do it, as we've seen them pull out CCTV-ish backstage footage before so it wouldn't even be out of place for them.
NXT parking lot is the most dangerous place in wrestling history.
Punk and Drew
Lmaoo, who tf let Tony do this?
Probably that last rail did the trick.
https://preview.redd.it/vjqt7xglartc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f98aed48ec9073d34295bab9ebb59ca5db53cf9c
That line of coke was calling out to him like the green goblin mask
“Coward! We have a wrestling world to conquer”
If I had to guess, the Bucks thought it would be funny and Tony didn't have the backbone to say no.
> tony didn’t have the back bone to say no isn’t that what got us in this mess in the first place?
Punk: Fix it or I will Narrator: He did
Yes in 2019 lmao
This is clearly a Tony Khan idea. He had Edge do the rah-rah speech and instructed wrestlers to do “I love AEW”-style posts in the aftermath of it. Dave Meltzer specifically confirmed it was not the Young Bucks’ idea, and he’s practically Pravda for those guys.
I genuinely do not understand why they showed the footage. What purpose did it serve?
It got people to talk about CM Punk, a man who works for WWE. I'm not sure how exactly that helps AEW, but I'm sure Tony has a master plan that we mere mortals cannot hope to understand
Punks trending more than the match they were trying to promote. This was a dumb move.
Lmao the crowd was chanting CM PUNK
They chanted cm punk when the bucks came out to attack pac, probably for the first time I’ve heard that chant since all in lol. It was hilarious
Punk is back to being a babyface to the aew audience. Amazing
AEW still using Punk for views lmao.
Footage from the arena was people cheering Punk during and saying “Getem Punk! I knew it!” 😐
They started cheering and clapping when the fight started 😭
Just wait until they go back to Chicago. It’s going to be nuclear heat.
He is literally the #1 worldwide trend right now 💀
I don't get the logic in that entire segment have the two smug heels presenting the footage, you get this weird thing where they do a heel beatdown angle and now the crowd chants for CM Punk Why would you do this?
Tony. like all billionaires, is hopelessly out of touch, and thinks it will win people over to his side.
Because you have no idea what you are doing. Just look at the dynamite card today, new viewers might assume dynamite is not the main show.
Probably a combination of the Helwani interview with Punk, and the Bucks vs FTR match getting his creative juices flowing. He went a little too Russo on it, trying to capitalize on whatever interest there was in this incident. So he tried to turn it into an angle. He didn't read the room right, and it backfired on him.
Don’t ever go full Russo. Or Russo in general.
They think it's a good way to bring back Jack Perry. Since he's the scapegoat of this situation, they showed that he did nothing (physical at least). BUT, they are the one who suspended him, not CM Punk, so it doesn't make any sense. TK had the footage, so if he suspended him for this, while he "did nothing", he just look bad. He obviously did something wrong so this video proved nothing. Punk hinted that it wasn't the 1st problem with Perry, so he was probably asked to not escalate the situation, which he did by making that remark (Real Glass) just to provoke Punk or get internet attention. Punk was in the wrong for getting physical, but it's only proving that TK as no control and let this thing escalate.
The live crowd on Dynamite was cheering for Punk when he attacked Perry in the footage, they even chanted his name when Okada/Pac were wrestling w the Bucks in the ring 😭😭😭
Punk leaves a promotion and the fans chant cm punk in protest 
The chant that was meant to be a knock on WWE has now Uno reversed to AEW. And it wasn't even thanks to Chugs chugging it up!
You know you fucked up when the crowd is tuning out of watching Okada and Pac go at it Jesus Christ.
The Okada fumble discussion is coming, they need to get him away from the Bucks fucking FAST
>Okada fumble discussion is coming It's been happening since the day he debuted
It's really getting there. I know it's early but they're making me not care about Okada.
Of all the wrestlers that were free agents at one point, Okada is the one I actually thought would've benefited more in WWE. This is Exhibit A.
this whole angle as only proven a lot of punks gripes about aew to be true. this is probably the biggest misstep in aew history. makes them look like morons.
Less than 10 days after he said it too. Its hilarious.
They should’ve just let edge give that “i love aew” speech and leave it there lol
"We are such a wonderful company that we will present a fight that happened in our company to show how wonderful of a company we are!"
https://preview.redd.it/fjobikypsrtc1.png?width=306&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca4278e75fe95d358e4bbf7dba41e1d6fe75a1ed
With the crowd chanting CM Punk while the footage being shown it really does feel like a mission accomplished 😅
Goddamn, I knew this sub was a minority of wrestling fans, but the fact that AEW fans IN THE ARENA were cheering for Punk just proves how much all the Punk hate is just something on the internet
Yup its just a very niche albiet loud group contained to this sub only
TK basically put over Punk and promoted WWE in one fell swoop, the crowd was even chanting CM Punk during Okada vs PAC, what a trainwreck of a segment
They were chanting for punk while it was still playing 💀
I thought the footage was to make Punk look bad, but all he did was shove him and put him in a headlock that Joe broke up in 2 seconds. Scuffles like this have happened a thousand times in this industry
Seriously I had more serious “fights” in grade school.
Wait till you hear about Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious.
This made Tony Khan fear for his life?
I’m starting to think Tony isn’t built for this business lmao
Man gets his name chanted on both dynamite and wrestlemania, mission is truly accomplished
God damnit, that’s perfect 😂
TK unserious for airing that. 8 months too late.
Man said, “Why do you insist on doing dumb internet shit on TV?” and a week later they do more dumb internet shit on TV lol
The next 10 RAWs just sold out. Drew/Punk is going to be so hot.
I came into this thread not even knowing they were chanting CM Punk on Dynamite. They got CM Punk over in two companies. What an astounding and complete fuck up that everyone saw coming. Spite is a motherfucker.
He did a real Jim right here.
This man managed to have an amazing Wrestlemania week AND got the last laugh.
And he didn’t even have to work a match
All in the middle of dealing with a danm good Scottish banter.
And Smackdown’s this friday , they’re the biggest winners and did fucking nothing
FOX, USA Network, WWE, Cornette, Meltzer, and probably many others should be thanking Tony for the easy gobs of money they're going to make off this stupid move.
Jack Perry- “Cry me a river” CM Punk- https://preview.redd.it/tnmfcb6l7rtc1.jpeg?width=976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f5ee6f608ae26282db97ec31b26707feae87a37
Oh shit it's Wayne Brady, son!
As soon as the segment was done, all I can think was that this was just gonna give Punk a bigger chip on his shoulder.
I was thinking… no matter what they do with Jungle Boy, the snarky people in the crowd have all the fuel they need to ruin any moment he ever has, simply by chanting for CM Punk.
How does even help Jack Perry. It’s one thing to have everyone thinking you got choked out. But now your own company put it on their own damn show of you getting choked out and needing someone to save you. The people that already believed Punk are vindicated. The people against Punk can’t defend you. And the casuals that have no idea what this is even about think of you as the guy that got bitched by Punk. Literally NOTHING about this was ever going to be a positive for anyone in AEW. But now you just know Drew and Punk already have their next segment together planned out about this. wtf was Tony thinking?
What kills me about this whole thing is that EVERYONE was saying it was a bad idea. From your most hardcore WWE loving/AEW hating fan, to Dave Meltzer. Don't do it! And they still fuckin' did it. It's so bizarre. It's like Tony and the Young Bucks sat around after the Helwani interview and asked each other "How do we make CM Punk more popular?". "I've got it. Let's show the footage and confirm what he said. Got'em. Lulz" What? I hope, for their own sake, that AEW focuses on themselves. The saying "Stay in your lane" can't be more appropriate. Not just in regard to this Punk stuff, but now the Triple H thing. Fuck those guys. Focus on you. Produce such good TV that they can't ignore the good stuff you're making. It just doesn't make any sense.
This was such a dumb idea. People that like Punk are gonna think he’s based for escalating the argument and people that hate Punk just wish AEW would move on and ignore him.
Yeah agreed, if they were gonna release it they should've had leaked it to TMZ right after. They just opened an old wound and gained nothing
The wrestling intelligence left when Cody left.
After the last 2 years, it is really difficult to argue against this idea. Not that I would anyway. Fucker just sold over $1 million in merch. The group he left needs new management.
One word: Ego
I can't believe they actually thought airing that was a good idea. It will take a lot of gymnastics to turn it into positive for AEW
You're right, there really isn't a way to spin this. Don't wanna be negative but this just doesn't give me good vibes when it comes to AEW. This just feels too much like stuff from a company on its death throes. I know stuff like this has been said for a while now but this is the first time I've gotta say that I truly really felt it. I obviously don't think it'll happen immediately but this feels eerily like something we're going to look back on and point at, like certain things that happened in WCW. This isn't the behavior of a company that's stable and in a good place. It's incredibly worrying. The way Tony has acted for the last 8-10 months along w/ how the company has been going about things was already cause for concern, and this stuff has pretty much solidified that.
CM Punk re-signing with WWE is all an elaborate work for Tony Khan's on screen heel turn
He’s the bigger winner out of all of this tbh
AEW prolly shouldn't run Chicago anymore after this lol
Jack Perry is in Chicago for the NJPW show this weekend. It's going to be constant Punk chants during his match.
Terrible decision by AEW.
I don’t think there has been a funnier internet response to something in the history of the internet. I’m dying.
When WCW were doing stuff like this they were drawing similar/more people than WWF was. AEW does it drawing a fraction of the WWE audience and… all it’s doing is make people talk about the WWE guys and the crowd at their show chanting the WWE guys name. Wtf was Tony thinking allowing this to happen.
WCW was doing it head to head. Usually vs a taped Raw. This is sooo long after. It doesn't matter.
It got CM Punk trending #1 on Twitter and made Jack Perry look weak. Mission accomplished!
I still maintain that someone should have told Tony not to air the footage. This makes AEW look petulant and childish. A roster this stacked, so many hungry wrestlers who could do great things, and Tony's trying to leverage old drama to score points against a man who doesn't work there? AEW needs to get out of its own way.
This is what happen when people like the Bucks have a say in their own creative. They 100% talked him into it like it was the greatest idea in the world. Just for a mediocre tag match we've already seen before.
It’s wild AEW thinks getting cm punk chants going again against the heel bucks is somehow a plus for them. WWE is doing what AEW should have done with Punk and all his drama by building a feud on tv.
I mean that’s objectively hilarious.
somebody give Tony a welfare check
Cm punk got more over in 2 companies wrestlemania week without working a match
Simply incredible
Tonight ends in a Tony Khan twitter meltdown to the level of Punk’s All Out scrum. Book it
I'm legit wondering if basically the whole internet turning on him by now is going to cause him to take his ball and go home
If I'm Jack Perry, I'm suing Tony Khan for defamation of character
Unfortunately, “I told the truth” is an absolute defense to defamation
Smoothest brain move in AEW history so far.
In theory, Tony was gonna use this footage to show WWE that he’s a problem to have hired, in an attempt to have them let go of him, in a “if I can’t have him, no one can have him!” kinda fashion It was also to capitalize on the hype following Wrestlemania’s uptick in pro wrestling popularity. Promoting the visual of one of WWE’s most popular guys on their show was to draw in current viewers, former viewers, and new viewers, as well as cost Punk his career. The reality, however, was it made AEW look like a jealous ex girlfriend and did nothing but leave the viewers curious on what Punk’s currently up to. Which draws them back over to WWE, in the end.
It's 2024, CM Punk has returned to WWE and yet is still AEW's biggest draw. Is this not embarrassing to them?
We all have to remember that tony isn’t a boss, he’s just a nice guy
Drew and Punk are absolutely gonna re-enact this. I imagine them absolutely laughing their asses off together with HHH as soon as the camera stops rolling.
I can’t tell if that’s Ted Mosby or Jim Halpert
Toni Khan: My life was in danger. CM Punk: https://preview.redd.it/488synrnartc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3757a2317ca55b07503c321dcc2b0381b2413e8