AEW Wrestling Discussion Thread

[tnvolfan16]

maybe part of the problem with AEW is when you have wrestlers who are potentially in line for pushes having idiot titles like EVP. It is a recipe for people to question anytime they do get a push whether they deserve it or did they just sit around with tony kahn and cook up a program to make them look good. punk may be a grumpy old man, but noting he has said or done puts him in the wrong light. you can say what you want about him, but he is the biggest star that AEW has ever had in terms of crowd response. i would bet that if you gave people who are at AEW events a survey that asked the one person you came to see most, it would be CM Punk first by a longshot. then probably a virtual tie between Moxley, MJF, and maybe Wardlow or one of the girls

[packman80]

Originally Posted by tnvolfan16

maybe part of the problem with AEW is when you have wrestlers who are potentially in line for pushes having idiot titles like EVP. It is a recipe for people to question anytime they do get a push whether they deserve it or did they just sit around with tony kahn and cook up a program to make them look good. punk may be a grumpy old man, but noting he has said or done puts him in the wrong light. you can say what you want about him, but he is the biggest star that AEW has ever had in terms of crowd response. i would bet that if you gave people who are at AEW events a survey that asked the one person you came to see most, it would be CM Punk first by a longshot. then probably a virtual tie between Moxley, MJF, and maybe Wardlow or one of the girls

Daniel Bryan could be bigger then Punk.

[1992UDFootball]

Originally Posted by packman80

Daniel Bryan could be bigger then Punk.

Absolutely, and he's more than likely one more concussion away from retirement again.

Would think TK would put a title on Bryan asap but it doesn't appear that Bryan is interested in titles. He just wants to wrestle and actually elevate younger folks.

As an aside, I followed Omega over from NJPW. I like the Bucks and Hangman, but if Omega were to leave AEW, especially over nonsense with historically toxic Punk, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch AEW anymore. Omega gave up more than anyone with taking a risk on AEW, Omega was at the tippy top of pro-wrestling with his work in NJPW.

AEW was built upon Omega, Jericho, Bucks, Cody, and Hangman; with Cody really having a lot to do with it along with money-mark, and life long wrestling fan, Tony Khan. CM Punk was not a part of that. CM Punk wanted nothing to do with that and kinda talked some nonsense when Cody/Khan were trying to get him in AEW originally. Once The Elite, Cody, Hangman, and everyone else made AEW a success, CM Punk wanted in. A year later that same old bitter, constantly the victim, egomaniac bag of #@#@#@#@ CM Punk finally showed up.

AEW doesn't need CM Punk or any of his garbage drama. He's not worth it.

[cdub6238]

Originally Posted by tnvolfan16

maybe part of the problem with AEW is when you have wrestlers who are potentially in line for pushes having idiot titles like EVP. It is a recipe for people to question anytime they do get a push whether they deserve it or did they just sit around with tony kahn and cook up a program to make them look good. punk may be a grumpy old man, but noting he has said or done puts him in the wrong light. you can say what you want about him, but he is the biggest star that AEW has ever had in terms of crowd response. i would bet that if you gave people who are at AEW events a survey that asked the one person you came to see most, it would be CM Punk first by a longshot. then probably a virtual tie between Moxley, MJF, and maybe Wardlow or one of the girls

I'm not taking up for the Elite/EVPs by any means...

There are plenty of stories out about how childish/petty/insecure they are/can be...and I agree most thought this would eventually be a problem with them as EVPs and "running" the company

That said...all Punk had to do was leave it be. He said what he said at the scrum...that could all be left and done...

The Elite went to his locker room to confront him about what he said....poor choice from a management level? Sure..but..everything I've read has said THEY kept it VERBAL...

PUNK was the one who started throwing punches which led to his buddy throwing a damn chair at Nick's face..

That could've gotten way more ugly than it did

Now, TK has himself in a real situation..

At the least Steel needs to be fired..

Does he fire Punk for getting physical and lose arguably the best draw he has? If Steel does get fired, how does that sit with Punk?

Does he do whatever to the Elite..and risk killing the relationship of the name of the company?

This situation is huge for the future of the company

[Gurds]

Originally Posted by cdub6238

I'm not taking up for the Elite/EVPs by any means...



There are plenty of stories out about how childish/petty/insecure they are/can be...and I agree most thought this would eventually be a problem with them as EVPs and "running" the company



That said...all Punk had to do was leave it be. He said what he said at the scrum...that could all be left and done...



The Elite went to his locker room to confront him about what he said....poor choice from a management level? Sure..but..everything I've read has said THEY kept it VERBAL...



PUNK was the one who started throwing punches which led to his buddy throwing a damn chair at Nick's face..



That could've gotten way more ugly than it did



Now, TK has himself in a real situation..



At the least Steel needs to be fired..



Does he fire Punk for getting physical and lose arguably the best draw he has? If Steel does get fired, how does that sit with Punk?



Does he do whatever to the Elite..and risk killing the relationship of the name of the company?



This situation is huge for the future of the company

Fightful...

The latest on CM Punk, Ace Steel, Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.

It was confirmed to us that Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega, CM Punk threw punches, and a chair hit Nick Jackson in the eye. However, there are conflicting views on who started it. Some we spoke with believed that Punk should have expected to be confronted after the things he said. Another person said that Omega and Young Bucks aggressively approached the locker room in what Punk could have construed as a 3-on-1 attack. We're told that the situation went on for "about six minutes," with Brandon Cutler, Christopher Daniels and Pat Buck trying to diffuse the situation.

Thus far, none of the roster or media we've reached out to have admitted to hearing from Tony Khan since the melee happened. We were told by another person high up in the company to not expect to hear much officially in the day that followed due to possible legal issues. Fightful heard back from Hoffman Estates Police Department, who said "Hoffman States Police Department does not have any police reports, nor any documentation that police were requested, during AEW All Out event for anything that allegedly occurred backstage. The only police response at the event was regarding a family issue in the audience."

Almost unanimously, the talent that we've spoken to haven't been in favor of the way CM Punk handled things at all that evening. Even talent that typically would back Punk up either said that's not what they would have done, or haven't commented to us.

We have heard the rumors of Punk sustaining an injury during the melee. The rumor has been echoed as "heard of" from people in the company, but we've not confirmed this.

There are several wrestlers who are not sure of their creative for Wednesday's AEW Dynamite as a result of this. Several longtime AEW stars said they don't understand how Punk couldn't be let go after this.

After we spoke on the Fightful post show about talent taking issue in the past about Hangman Page for working stiff, several readers tried to tie the two situations. We haven't heard of any connection, and we were told last year that Arn Anderson spoke with Page and let him know to lighten up. Page, even then, was generally well liked outside of that situation that saw a couple of wrestlers end up injured. We're told that wasn't connected to this, and that most thought Hangman Page and CM Punk got along well until this Spring.

There is some sympathy as it relates to MJF's return for some, but everyone was generally left in the dark regarding MJF's status for months and said it mirrored that of Punk winning the title in Vegas, and Wardlow beating him, but everyone speaking about MJF. Those we spoke to had not heard of any heat between MJF and Punk prior to Punk basically mentioning MJF as one of the stubborn kids he had to work with.

[pjrussell]

Originally Posted by cdub6238

I'm not taking up for the Elite/EVPs by any means...

There are plenty of stories out about how childish/petty/insecure they are/can be...and I agree most thought this would eventually be a problem with them as EVPs and "running" the company

That said...all Punk had to do was leave it be. He said what he said at the scrum...that could all be left and done...

The Elite went to his locker room to confront him about what he said....poor choice from a management level? Sure..but..everything I've read has said THEY kept it VERBAL...

PUNK was the one who started throwing punches which led to his buddy throwing a damn chair at Nick's face..

That could've gotten way more ugly than it did

Now, TK has himself in a real situation..

At the least Steel needs to be fired..

Does he fire Punk for getting physical and lose arguably the best draw he has? If Steel does get fired, how does that sit with Punk?

Does he do whatever to the Elite..and risk killing the relationship of the name of the company?

This situation is huge for the future of the company

Well Meltzer and Alvarez both said they didn't get info from the Bucks. Maybe someone else did idk. And I'm pretty sure everyone's first thought was Colt's going to be released when Punk comes in, you would be pretty naive if you didn't. So I don't think the Bucks needed to "leak" anything. TK should have shut that sh!t down once Punk started. It's on him to get it fixed.

[no10pin]

[Seahawks fan]

Curious as to what Delirious is up to these days. He booked 500 great episodes of ROH, never put himself over when he was in charge of booking, helped half the AEW/WWE/NXT rosters get over, and never had any backstage heat. Book that man to do the Booking...Tony is his own worst enemy.

[Gurds]

https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/s...kAE75QwPg&s=19

https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/sta...6xl2Et2OQ&s=19

[pjrussell]

Originally Posted by Seahawks fan

Curious as to what Delirious is up to these days. He booked 500 great episodes of ROH, never put himself over when he was in charge of booking, helped half the AEW/WWE/NXT rosters get over, and never had any backstage heat. Book that man to do the Booking...Tony is his own worst enemy.

100% agree. I mean Tony can still be a booker but they need more than just him. Or maybe let a few others do it but it all goes through Tony in the end.

[asujbl]

Wrestling is so weird

[1992UDFootball]

What sort of conversation is Tony Khan having with Max Caster right now?

[Gurds]

More

Fightful Select has learned more about the fight that went down at AEW All Out, as being told to people close to the Ace Steel-CM Punk side of things.

Per the Punk/Steel side of things -- After the scrum, The Young Bucks approached Punk's locker room, and Punk wasn't answering the door after having been in a long match, bloodied, and finished with an emotional scrum. The Bucks were said to have pounded on the door, with claims that they "kicked the door down."

Ace Steel's wife was in the room, which is what Steel had told people set him off and made him go ballistic, throwing chairs and ending up biting someone. The claim made from him was that he was looking out for his wife above anything else.

From what we heard, Omega didn't seem nearly as upset initially, but things got out of hand and he ended up being bitten. We're told the fight was a "very long" altercation, and that the talk back and forth did not stop after the brawl.

There were rumors that CM Punk had injured his triceps during the fracas. However, those near him say that it happened during a dive that many noticed during the AEW All Out Main event. He could be seen icing it after the match during the scrum. We haven't been told of any severity, but were told Punk was "hurt" going into the backstage fight.

We need to point out, this is what we've heard as one side of the story, which we haven't heard much of until this point.

There are rumors running rampant that Steel and Punk are both done with AEW, but those close to them say they haven't been informed of that as of yet. Virtually all of the AEW roster we've spoken with believe that if Punk & Steel aren't let go, heavy amends will need to be made

[poomplavk]

Originally Posted by Gurds

More

Fightful Select has learned more about the fight that went down at AEW All Out, as being told to people close to the Ace Steel-CM Punk side of things.

Per the Punk/Steel side of things -- After the scrum, The Young Bucks approached Punk's locker room, and Punk wasn't answering the door after having been in a long match, bloodied, and finished with an emotional scrum. The Bucks were said to have pounded on the door, with claims that they "kicked the door down."

Ace Steel's wife was in the room, which is what Steel had told people set him off and made him go ballistic, throwing chairs and ending up biting someone. The claim made from him was that he was looking out for his wife above anything else.

From what we heard, Omega didn't seem nearly as upset initially, but things got out of hand and he ended up being bitten. We're told the fight was a "very long" altercation, and that the talk back and forth did not stop after the brawl.

There were rumors that CM Punk had injured his triceps during the fracas. However, those near him say that it happened during a dive that many noticed during the AEW All Out Main event. He could be seen icing it after the match during the scrum. We haven't been told of any severity, but were told Punk was "hurt" going into the backstage fight.

We need to point out, this is what we've heard as one side of the story, which we haven't heard much of until this point.

There are rumors running rampant that Steel and Punk are both done with AEW, but those close to them say they haven't been informed of that as of yet. Virtually all of the AEW roster we've spoken with believe that if Punk & Steel aren't let go, heavy amends will need to be made

Crazy...seems like whether they agree with Punk or not, that the majority of the support is with Young Bucks/Omega.

It seems like, at the very least, Steel is likely done. If most of the roster is against Punk, it should be an easy choice for Khan to let Punk go as well but will be actually do it?

The guy didn't even have enough courage to say anything when Punk kept shutting him up and basically just rolling up in a ball when Punk spoke so I have my doubts whether anything will be done to Punk. May not have a choice anymore, the way these reports are coming in.

[hxcmilkshake]

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[packman80]

Originally Posted by poomplavk

Crazy...seems like whether they agree with Punk or not, that the majority of the support is with Young Bucks/Omega.

It seems like, at the very least, Steel is likely done. If most of the roster is against Punk, it should be an easy choice for Khan to let Punk go as well but will be actually do it?

The guy didn't even have enough courage to say anything when Punk kept shutting him up and basically just rolling up in a ball when Punk spoke so I have my doubts whether anything will be done to Punk. May not have a choice anymore, the way these reports are coming in.

Khan seems nothing but a fanboy. Right now he marks out over Punk. Only way I see anything done with Punk is if Khan has to face the choice punish Punk or lose the locker room.

[packman80]

If Punk Witch gets fired I can't see WWE wanting him. This guy is a cancer who if he does not get everything he wants seems to be willing to throw a fit and take his ball and go home. He did it in WWE and now is ready to do it in AEW. Why would WWE want to deal with that again?

[tnvolfan16]

Originally Posted by packman80

If Punk Witch gets fired I can't see WWE wanting him. This guy is a cancer who if he does not get everything he wants seems to be willing to throw a fit and take his ball and go home. He did it in WWE and now is ready to do it in AEW. Why would WWE want to deal with that again?

is punk hard to deal with? it seems like he may be. but sometimes a person becomes hard to deal with because of the people they have to deal with. while i have never met the young bucks or omega, they seem exactly like the type of people who would make life difficult for someone who is not in their clique. is the locker room siding with the evp's? sure they are. are they going to side with the office or the loner. they know which side can get them farther and anyone with designs on a top spot is benefited by punk being painted bad and benefits even more with him gone. tony kahn has the first genuine tough decision to make that he has had, if someone has to go, who is it? i am pretty sure if its the evp's, the fans could care less. if it is punk who goes, TK may have another serious problem on his hands with fans and possibly advertisers. good luck to him

[poomplavk]

Originally Posted by tnvolfan16

is punk hard to deal with? it seems like he may be. but sometimes a person becomes hard to deal with because of the people they have to deal with. while i have never met the young bucks or omega, they seem exactly like the type of people who would make life difficult for someone who is not in their clique. is the locker room siding with the evp's? sure they are. are they going to side with the office or the loner. they know which side can get them farther and anyone with designs on a top spot is benefited by punk being painted bad and benefits even more with him gone. tony kahn has the first genuine tough decision to make that he has had, if someone has to go, who is it? i am pretty sure if its the evp's, the fans could care less. if it is punk who goes, TK may have another serious problem on his hands with fans and possibly advertisers. good luck to him

Yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of fault all around. Thing with Punk is, drama follows him everywhere he goes. Now, a lot of can be jealousy but when most people say the same thing about Punk and his personality, it's one of those where it's like when everyone has trouble with you...you might be the problem.

Punk has always been in a wierd position. He was the first (to my knowledge) real Indy guy to make it big so naturally you're gonna get jealous people from the environment you left and people that don't want to see you succeed in your new environment. I was a huge fan of Punk...still am but not as much...back when he made the transition to WWE and everytime I read the dirt sheets that he was in the doghouse, I always sided with him because I felt he had legitimate gripes with how he was being booked.

The thing about Punk is he has legit concerns and I don't think anyone can genuinely say he is a liar...I just feel he always lacks execution in voicing his opinion and that's where he rubs everyone the wrong way. He is thin skinned and takes everything personally. The guy was mad at pretty much everyone from WWE just for being there lol. I remember Jericho getting asked how his relationship was with Punk not long after he left WWE and Jericho said something along the lines of he doesn't know...he called him once after he was gone and Punk didn't answer because he felt Jericho had an agenda for calling him. I think he was/is also mad at Kofi for never calling him.

So Punk gets mad when people don't call and gets mad when people call...like many have said for years, the guy acts very bi-polar. Very similar scenario that just happened...says if people have a problem with him...to come to him...Bucks/Omega go to him...all hell breaks loose.

Sometimes people just don't wanna deal with people that have that attitude.

[oplum29]

Originally Posted by packman80

I think you are going to see a lot ot AEW talent go to WWE when their contracts are up since AEW is a dumpster fire and HHH has shown early he's up to changing a lot of stuff Vince has done.

WWE isn't any better wrestling wise than AEW right now. AEW has given wrestlers main events, spots, and lets their characters develop. problem is, they have too many wrestlers, Kahn is more of a fan boy, and the egos of these dudes have taken over.

i love AEW, hope everything works out okay.

[Gurds]

https://www.si.com/wrestling/2022/09...nk-kenny-omega

[packman80]

Originally Posted by Gurds

https://www.si.com/wrestling/2022/09...nk-kenny-omega

I won't be shocked if Punk threatens to take his ball and go home if they will suspend him thus him getting fired then. Also would not be shocked to see him walk if they threaten to fire Steel since they are close friends.

But Punk being gone might be best thing for company. Put the title on MJF and then have him and Danielson go at it.

[JustinVerlander07]

You are seeing the beginning of the end of AEW.

[Gurds]

https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/s...hTEWt8KeQ&s=19

https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/s...dKFolWVpg&s=19

[Gurds]

Originally Posted by JustinVerlander07

You are seeing the beginning of the end of AEW.

Doubtful. Things will get worked out and this will be something to learn from.