The Rise And Fall and Rise Again Of Cm punk
Intro
Real is a word that gets taken as a poisoned challice, in the world of Pro Wrestling, however, when you look at a character like Cm punk, the study is a fascinating look into the eyes of an underdog. His WWE exit would send shockwaves through the wrestling industry, and the aftershocks, are still felt, until this day.
Pettiness And hardship
In the following months that followed Punks exit from the WWE, would spell controversy and confusion, in the later days of 2014, he would appear on Colt Cobana's Art Of Wresatling Podcast. He reflected on his time in the company, whilst claiming this to be an honest talk, and not a shoot, this was a bare bones insight, into how a performer feels, when their back is being forced into a corner, but there was legal ramifications came with this, that would see the end of a friendship. Punk would label WWE medic Dr Amann, as imcompatent, from being made to work whilst hurt, this would lead to some nasty legal backfire. WWE tried to sue Punk and Cobana, and the pair counteracted this. Punk flipped the bill for this, and when he stopped. Cobana sued his friend. Punk counter sued, but this dropped, when details of Cobana's living situaion, became known. A friendship had dissolved, for the world to see. Their friendship never recovered.
UFC
In the later part of 2014, it was announced that Cm Punk had signed with the MMA giant, the. UFC. As a big UFC fan, his two fight stint, could only be described, as a colossal failure, his stock had plummeted, and his perception was made even worse, when after his defeat to Mickey Gill at UFC 202, he cut a wrestling style promo in the octagon, and this would alienate fans. Punks business ventures would cross into the world of comic books, he lend his talents to Marvels Shang-Chi. Drax, and. Thor series, and Vertigo's Strange Stories. This would be met with a varied amount of success.
The First Dance
The year was 2020, the world had been chucked into a state of panic, and chaos, as the global pandemic, had taken a solid grip on society, as the world was told by health experts, to stay at home, it was at this time, when Netflix unveiled The Last Dance Documentary Series, in which the 98 season of The Chicago Bulls NBA team was put under a compulsive microscope. One year before this would debut, a renegade wrestling company would debut. AEW. In October of 2019 their flagship tv show Dynamite would debut on TNT, and would go head to head with With WWE NXT, in the what would be called the Wednesday Night Wars, but as AEW's success within the first year of being on air, would see the a glance of positivity, that would turn into a ground swelling move, that the wrestling world hasn't seen before, and it was at this time, that sections of the internet, would ask the question. What if the voice of the voiceless, came back to the industry, that he grew to despise? This would become a reality. Aew throughout the month of June. July, and. August, of 2021, would lay out small Easter Eggs, as the motion of his return would start to take shape, and on the 20th of August. AEW Rampage, came live from The Allstate Arena in Chicago. Punk was back, he had returned to the industry, that had taken lots from him. The emotion, was written all over his face, as the fans embraced him, back into the family, but it was his new found family that would let him down.
AEB
Punk was back in wrestling, and the world was starting to get back to some sort of normality, however. AEW was hitting it's stride, and giving fans something new, that was satisfying on a new level, however backstage issues and politics, would air its nasty head. AEW was also the home of Scott Colton, aka. Colt Cabana, this in my opinion would act, as a catalyst for what was going to happen. In Punks debut year, he would go on to have feuds, with the likes of Eddie Kingston. Hangman Adam Page, and of course his legendary run with MJF. The MJF feud would turn Max into a Star, whilst Scott Colton, was relegated to Tony Khans newly purchased ROH promotion, this would cause confussion, and, crossed wires. On the 25th 2002 of may edition of Dynamite. Page would cut a promo on Punk, that would start a verbal fire, as issues from backstage, had started to play out in front of the world. Hangman had got his wires crossed, and thought that Scott had been let go. This was a marriage of misconduct, from all parties involved. Punk won their Championship, at that years Double Or Nothing, however he would injury his foot, during a trios match, when he was teaming with FTR. This would poor petrol on an already lit fire, when rumours about The Elite selling Stories adout him, would get leaked to the dirt sheets. I think this happened from day one, and if that's the case, then jealousy is a nasty thing. In his time off, due to injury. Punks anger would form, and when he returned in late August of that year, he let his feelings known, calling. Hangman Adam Page a Coward. Punk then entered a programme against Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Punk would win the belt in his home state of Chicago, at that years All Out PPV, and in the media scrum afterwards, he went all out scorched earth, as he verbally layed into The Elite, and the Company, this would start a fight, which is now known as Brawl Out. The Young Bucks, and. Kenny Omega kicked in Punks dressing room door, and a fight ensued, suspensions were handed out, and this left a blackeye on Tony Khans business. This is something that I feel could've been avoided, all involved were to blame in my opinion, and if Tony Khan had implented a better strategy, when it came to dealing with the media, things could have been sorted, but instead things got to the point were festering feelings, had become normality.
Firings And Fallouts
Nine months had passed since Brawl Out, and. AEW was getting ready to launch their new Saturday night show Collision. This. Was seen, as a big deal. Aew's tv deal with Time Warner was growing, and the impending return of a ice cream bar loving Chick Magnet, was on the horizon, however there were road blocks. Punk had told Tony Khan that he would only come back, if his friend Ace Steel could write his parts, clear deliberation then took place, and the head of Time Warner David Zaslof, and. Tony Khan, then put the wheels in motion, and. Punk would return for the first broadcast of the show, on the 17th of june 2023. This Summer was turn out to be an important turning for Tony Khan. AEW All In would be his company's first trip to these shores, and with Wembley Stadium being the destination, all of the wrestling worlds eyes would be looking at this show, with tribalistic fans, waiting for a sign, of a downfall, and, well they got it. The backstage situation during this time, was reported as toxic, and with a lack of leadership, things went array. Jack Perry wanted to do a stunt, in which he would plant his fist through a car window, using real glass, this got shot down, by agents, but then in came Cm punk, and things got worse. In my opinion, this had nothing to do with Punk, and he should've stayed out of it. Fast forward to the 27th of August. Wembley Stadium. Jack Perry did a spot in his match against Hook, in Which. Hook was planted back first onto a car widscreen, he then walked over to the camera, and uttered the words. It's real glass cry me a river. Punk, and Perry would get into a scuffle backstage, this would be see punk exit the company, as he and Perry would both be suspended. Punk was fired, as an air of confusion started to grow.
The Rise
Punk would stay quiet for at least 8 months, and by this point, he had already returned back to the WWE, at last years Survivor Series, which would cause the internet to suffer a meltdown, as tribalistic views continued to seep into the industries dna. Aew struggled to answer to this. The week of WrestleMania. Punk did an interview with Ariel Helwani, for his MMA hour podacst, and he laid bare what really happened at Wembley, he said that he shoved Perry a bit, and put him in a headlock, whilst saying that Tony Khan, was not a boss, just a nice guy. Adam copeland, then went out on Dynamite, just over 24 hours after, and gave his best version of a ra ra speach, in a vain hope to tell fans, don't worry everything's ok. AEW the following week would then show the footage, and. Tony Khan came off looking like a petchulant child. Punks recent match, at the time of writing, was when he faced Drew Mcintyre at Summerslam, in a match that's divided fans, personally I liked it, but I get why some fans are divided, his lack of ring time due to injuries, is concerning, but from my perspective, with age, comes worry, and with worry comes ring rust, we as fans can't possibley comprehend that, because with Cm Punk, there comes controversy, and with controversy, creates cash, never a truer word has ever been spoken.