CM Punk and Flip Flop Fans: A WeTooDeep Rant

I want to preface this post by saying that I will have an entire audio episode of my Podcast, Slapping Meat Wrestling Podcast, on this topic. You can watch on YouTube and listen anywhere you can get podcasts.

Let me set the scene it is late August, All Elite Wrestling just finished what would go down as the best grossing event they have ever done in London, England. However, during this event and really the whole weekend was a clusterfuck of events. This starts with the biggest draw in the company, CM Punk, arriving to London and not having anyone from the company there to pick him up leading to him having to take public transportation in a unknown country going to an unknown location. At the time I called out how unprofessional Tony Khan, The Young Bucks and anyone else involved with the decision making and travel plans were to seemingly forget about the money maker of the company. Well the Friends in All Friends Wrestling were able to get more unprofessional on the day of the event when Jungle Bitch… oh sorry Jungle Boy goes into business for himself and then allegedly leads to a backstage brawl between him and CM Punk. This leads to Punk being released in an ultimate shock and embarrassment for a company that really wants to promote itself as the top brand in the industry.

After this happened rumors spread from all over of CM Punk returning home to World Wrestling Entertainment. The ultimate time for this to happen would have been Survivor Series in CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago. The rumors were spreading and spreading. It seemed like everyone but myself was trying to convince everyone why this is the best thing for business. This is especially true in the Casual Wrestling Community. I would assume many in CWC did not watch Punk in AEW. It was far from spectacular. It is at this point that I want to add in that I have nothing to protect CM Punk for, in fact if anything I should be destroying this man as it was me coming out and giving an opinion on him holding a fan signed that was political in nature, that got me blackballed from the Internet Wrestling Community on TikTok. Anyways, Punk’s run was not great in AEW. Tony Khan forced the title on him and it was quite honestly not good at all. However, it was at this point that AEW fans during the Punk run would defend him with the full veracity of the coke induced, body odor laced force that is the AEW fanbase. This defense of Punk changed and ended when he came after the golden whores.. oh sorry the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. This is where the flip flop fan rant begins. No one in wrestling seems to know how to stand on business and everyone loves to flip opinions based on the narrative that is created by the “journalists” that cover the art form.

At this time WWE fans began telling everyone how this was the best thing in business and that Punk in WWE would be a nail in the coffin of AEW. I was cautious and even questioned the need for Punk on the roster. Look at the top of the card: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Judgement Day (mostly Mami and Dom Dom) and LA Knight and a growing heel in Drew McIntyre, there is simply no room for Punk on the roster. I asked a simple question: outside of a WrestleMania story, what does Punk do? I never quite got an answer. It was simple to me if he was going to be on the WWE roster he needed to be on a legend/part time schedule and really just spend the day to day being a trainer of the younger NXT talent. This was the reason he went to AEW to begin with, to train and help the younger stars get over and understand the business. However, against all my questioning I was assured it would be best for business that Punk returning and being a main stay on the roster.

Time travel to Survivor Series, the show is getting ready to end and no Punk, and the CWC and really the whole of the IWC was feeling some type of way. Then it hit! “Look in my eyes….” and the crowd and those watching at home lost its shit. I will admit I was hype, but I still had the same questions.

Now look at this past weekend at the Royal Rumble. CM enters, looks decent and then bam, torn tricep. For the third time in three years, CM Punk is injured. In the immediate aftermath I saw so many people complaining about how Punk looked. In complete ignorance that this is how his entire AEW run looked. He is stiff and not quite able to move.

So I ask again! Did we really need CM Punk??