Ugh. Huge bummer to lose one of the best, most entertaining guys in the company.
This would help explain why Punk hasn't won a match in weeks. He also stopped regularly Tweeting. His Tweets were always entertaining. He never failed to insult anyone who pissed him off.
I need a drink.
(edited by John Orquiola on 26.4.11 0753) @BackoftheHead
The article quotes a WWE source who says Punk isn't getting prominent spots lately. I disagree. He dominated SmackDown with his SES. He worked a commentator spot when he got hurt. He took over the Nexus. He's the top heel on RAW behind Miz. If he goes to SmackDown, he becomes the top heel automatically. He was just in the RAW main event last night, on the winning team no less.
He's the overall best performer they got. He can talk, he can go, he can play both sides, and he has a distinctive look.
I can't poo-poo any degree of burnout he might feel because he's worked his straight-edge ass off since he showed up on ECW. He's always on when the cameras are rolling, and he makes any match interesting with his reversals and selling (Blocking an RKO by kicking Orton in the head from behind? Hokey smoke.)
I've often advocated for rotating timeoff for performers, and maybe that's what he's asking for. If he walks, I hope he gets the Jericho open-door offer.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
There is so much that they could do with punk, they just don't I would be upset to, look at what he has done in wwe. World Champion, Won money in the bank twice, lead two groups in the span of a few months, and is mad over with the crowd. yet he is still pushed to the back for other guys with half his skills.
Dont say its not worth it, when you can sleep with no fear, that kind of time is worth any thing.- FFX
It would disappointing, but I am not sure if it would be a huge loss. Raw is now packed with Miz, ADR, R-Truth and other heels. He would get lost in the shuffle of a long time champion, a soon to be big star and a mid-card driving his stock up. The real problem is the sickening amount of time they give Michael Cole. Punk is caught in this weird place where the WWE is so high on Miz and ADR that they seem to being ignoring other heels. The person who needed to go to Smackdown last night was probably Punk not Orton. I also don't blame him if he wasn't get away. WWE's schedule is archaic and has done more harm then good.
Originally posted by lotjxIt would disappointing, but I am not sure if it would be a huge loss. Raw is now packed with Miz, ADR, R-Truth and other heels. He would get lost in the shuffle of a long time champion, a soon to be big star and a mid-card driving his stock up. The real problem is the sickening amount of time they give Michael Cole. Punk is caught in this weird place where the WWE is so high on Miz and ADR that they seem to being ignoring other heels. The person who needed to go to Smackdown last night was probably Punk not Orton. I also don't blame him if he wasn't get away. WWE's schedule is archaic and has done more harm then good.
I think his best choice is to stay put. ROH would treat him like a god, but what's he gonna do there. I've heard he's not a fan of TNA (who can blame him?), and even if he went, I don't see them doing any more with him than they are doing with Samoa Joe.
Originally posted by ScottyflamingoI think his best choice is to stay put. ROH would treat him like a god, but what's he gonna do there. I've heard he's not a fan of TNA (who can blame him?), and even if he went, I don't see them doing any more with him than they are doing with Samoa Joe.
Ugh. I love Samoa Joe but I'm tired of CM Punk/Samoa Joe comparisons. I realize Punk and Joe were both indy stars at the same time, they left at the same time and they went to the two biggest North American promotions but that is where the comparison ends. When Joe went to TNA he was an indy star with a nice little following. If Punk went to TNA now he'd going as a 3 time World Champion, 1 time tag champion, 1 time Intercontinental Champion and two time Money in the Bank winner in the WWE. He is watched by millions (...and millions) of people every week. He's as entertaining as anybody in the WWE for the past six years.
When Joe went to TNA the biggest programs he had worked were what? AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels? Punk has worked with the Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and so on.
Do I trust TNA to handle anybody correctly? No, but it wouldn't be a "Samoa Joe situation". TNA would put CM Punk at the top immediately. They did it with Christian, they did it with Hardy, they did it with RVD, they did it with Mr. Anderson. Punk has a better WWE career than any one of those guys and TNA loves using the established WWE guys. Punk would probably be in the World Title match in under three months.
That being said, I hope he never steps in a TNA ring again.
I think it probably says a lot about the WWE environment that they can't seem to keep a top star for anything these days. They tried to keep Jeff Hardy, he left (probably for the best all things considered). Batista takes off for a complete long shot of having a few low-level MMA fights (that's dead now). Jericho leaves seemingly at will. Shawn and Edge retire which WWE had no say in, but Shawn is probably physically able to keep going even now and they couldn't stop him from hanging it up. Matt Hardy, Low Ki, MVP all just decided, fuck it, I'd rather just not be here. This is probably best for all the people involved, granted, but even as recently as five years ago I never would have imagined this many people turning down Vince's money without having their hand forced through injury. If Punk leaves before Jericho's return I really think it's going to be a major blow because the other top heels (Miz/ADR) still can't touch his work either in the ring or on the mic.
And despite this, they still really haven't made anyone properly since the Cena/Batista/Orton days. They're trying with Miz, but it'll be at least another year of him being treated as a serious top hand before that sticks. If they'd stuck to their guns on Kofi and Seamus from their initial pushes, I think things would seem a lot less bleak right now.
(edited by Hogan's My Dad on 26.4.11 1851) Quiet, Or Papa Spank!
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadShawn and Edge retire which WWE had no say in,
You can't use Edge as an example in that way. WWE had every say in Edge retiring. He has a physical condition that could potentially leave him paralyzed or God forbid kill him if he continued working or even landed badly on a bump. WWE will never clear him to compete again. And that's a good thing for Edge.
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadShawn and Edge retire which WWE had no say in,
You can't use Edge as an example in that way. WWE had every say in Edge retiring. He has a physical condition that could potentially leave him paralyzed or God forbid kill him if he continued working or even landed badly on a bump. WWE will never clear him to compete again. And that's a good thing for Edge.
What other possible choice could they have had other than to not medically clear him? Sounds like he was entering Dynamite Kid territory. I'm not trying to be cynical and say they don't care about Edge, I'm just saying given the information they were handed, there was one logical choice (the one they made).
(edited by Hogan's My Dad on 26.4.11 1931) Quiet, Or Papa Spank!
Originally posted by Hogan's My Dad>What other possible choice could they have had other than to not medically clear him? Sounds like he was entering Dynamite Kid territory. I'm not trying to be cynical and say they don't care about Edge, I'm just saying given the information they were handed, there was one logical choice (the one they made).
All I'm saying is, those other guys you named who aren't Edge walked away from WWE for reasons other than, "Holy shit! If I get back in that ring, I could die!" . My greater point is that a big change has happened in the mentality of the generation that guys like Jericho are from, mainly the guys who started in the 90's (though HBK counts even if he started in 86): this generation understands that WWE in particular and the wrestling business as a whole isn't the end all or be all of life. If they're smart and stay relatively healthy and are lucky, there is a greater world with opportunities outside of WWE.
I think someone like Flair is a cautionary example; he'll be routinely called one of, if not the, greatest ever, but no one wants to end up like him - unable to leave the business and still lacing up the boots and bleeding all over the ring in his late 60's because he mismanaged his life outside the ring where he has half a dozen ex-wives to pay off and no money he can retire on but still "styles and profiles" like the Nature Boy.
The generation that began in the 90s who are in their 30s and 40s are just generally smarter about their lives, their money, the world, and what opportunites could be out there for them besides WWE. And a guy like Jericho proved that you don't have to burn your bridge and you can be welcomed back.
(edited by John Orquiola on 26.4.11 1945) @BackoftheHead
This has gone on longer than just the past few years. They couldn't keep the Rock, even on a part-time schedule until this year. Austin seemingly left on a career ending injury, but now says he has two years left if he really needed the money. Mick Foley walked away multiple times.
I've always believed that a big part of Rock's leaving was that he was tired of dealing with the politics. It was fine when it was just the Clique and he was a bigger draw. But once Triple H married Stephanie, the writing was on the wall.
Jericho's books doesn't paint a super flattering picture of Trips. Pair that with all the shoot interviews detailing Shawn and his antics, and I could totally see those guys thinking, "I dealt with this asshole as a co-worker, no way I'm dealing with him as a boss."
Originally posted by ScottyflamingoThis has gone on longer than just the past few years. They couldn't keep the Rock, even on a part-time schedule until this year. Austin seemingly left on a career ending injury, but now says he has two years left if he really needed the money. Mick Foley walked away multiple times.
I've always believed that a big part of Rock's leaving was that he was tired of dealing with the politics. It was fine when it was just the Clique and he was a bigger draw. But once Triple H married Stephanie, the writing was on the wall.
Jericho's books doesn't paint a super flattering picture of Trips. Pair that with all the shoot interviews detailing Shawn and his antics, and I could totally see those guys thinking, "I dealt with this asshole as a co-worker, no way I'm dealing with him as a boss."
Your last sentence is what I think is happening - especally with Rock and Jericho. I think they both saw HHH as the boss and knew they would never get a fair shake - especially jericho. So they left on good terms, knowing full well that they would be welcomed back. And good for them. Rock has a nice acting gig going and Jericho is proving to be a very versitile performer who is one big break away in Hollywood from saying good bye to the WWE for good.
When we had a "future endeavor" thread in here, I mentioned CM Punk would be one of the one's let go. Not tooting my own horn, but my reasoning is that it wouldn't be cost effective to keep Punk by having to pay him top billing money. Punk would immediately be in the title picture for TNA and draw good money also.
Originally posted by shawnpatrickWhen we had a "future endeavor" thread in here, I mentioned CM Punk would be one of the one's let go. Not tooting my own horn, but my reasoning is that it wouldn't be cost effective to keep Punk by having to pay him top billing money. Punk would immediately be in the title picture for TNA and draw good money also.
Yeah but. How is WWE firing CM Punk the same as CM Punk rejecting WWE's attempts to re-sign him?
From what little news we know about the situation, it seems that Punk is burned out on WWE specifically, not on wrestling as a whole, so TNA isn't totally out of the question. But, you'd have to think that Punk would have enough sense to stay out of Orlando if he wants to return to WWE someday. Or, just enough sense to stay away from TNA since the company is a joke.
It would legitimately depressing to see Punk (arguably the most all-around talented guy in the company) leave out of sheer frustration.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
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I know they are not accurate very often, but I read on 411 that the Raw preview on some digital cable menu guides say "Ric Flair unviels his new version of Raw; Stonecold sees action.