CM Punk was Always Right...Cope

Author's note: I actually began writing this entry back in 2022, but life kept getting in the way and new developments expanded the collective understanding of these situations. While I doubt anyone would've predicted where the pro wrestling landscape is now, it has definitely been a wild ride...and none of the twists and turns have done anything but affirm my initial position on all of this. The following is just me making my case. Enjoy. 

It's no secret to anyone who has known me long enough that I'm a fan of professional wrestling. Yes, I know it's a performance. That's why I like it! But sometimes, things happen in the world of wrestling that aren't a part of the show. It's not meant to be in the overall presentation because something real slipped through the cracks...

On September 5th, 2022, the annual AEW (All Elite Wrestling, for the uninitiated) pay-per-view All Out aired. After the show, there was a press conference as is the usual at the end of a major event for wrestling promotions these days. The first person to be interviewed was the then-newly-crowned AEW World Champion, CM Punk.

Punk, (legally)aka Phillip Brooks, has had a fairly storied career in the wrestling industry. To many, he came to prominence during his time with the WWE in the mid-2000s to early 2010s where he infamously delivered a speech or promo known to many as "The Pipebomb." He so effectively blurred the lines between reality and fiction during this live segment that Punk practically talked his way into winning a world championship match against the WWE's poster boy and living saint John Cena. Now, having charisma and a talent for public speaking is one thing. But in pro wrestling, you have to be able to deliver in the realm staged combat and physical storytelling as well. And in a "put up or shut up" moment like few others, Punk and Cena turned in a classic. So, with an ever-growing fan base rallying behind him, you'd think this was the first major step on the way to major career highlights and overwhelming fame right then, right? Well...

"Jokes on you, pal!" - Extra points if you read that in his voice...

Long story short, Punk was eventually given a lengthy workhorse championship title reign where he was never actually featured as the main attraction (mainly due to the company building up to an event match-up between John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Couple this underappreciation (and underpayment in some respects) with mounting injuries and illness (for which he was given the wrong medication and little time to recover--and that includes a now-infamous claim of  STAPH INFECTION), being repeatedly positioned to lose high-profile matches against semi-retired talent, and he finally reached a breaking point and walked away from the industry for 7 years. Put a pin in that. It's important...

Flash-step to August 2021, and rumors that had been swelling about the possible return of CM Punk came to fruition as he debuted in his hometown of Chicago for the new upstart wrestling promotion AEW. This was huge. Grown men openly cried. Everyone was happy, and most notably Punk himself. A guy that left the business of professional wrestling over half a decade ago returned with a newfound (or rather rediscovered) love for the work he was excited to do. And once again, he delivered as a performer despite years away from the business. He was on track to challenge for the world championship in AEW within a year's time, and things were going well. Until...

The look a deeply disappointed older brother gives...

The world champ at that time, "Hangman" Adam Page, was and still is fairly popular among the AEW fan base. His long-term build-up to winning the title was years in the making since the very beginning of the promotion's existence, and fans were in his corner along for the ride. So, the match between Page and Punk was essentially going to be a contest between 2 fan favorites for the top championship of the company...until Hangman said...

Alright, I'm sure you didn't catch that. But that was kinda the point. What didn't you catch, you ask? Well, bear with me. Back in 2014 after CM Punk left the WWE, he went onto a podcast hosted by his then-friend Scott "Colt Cabana" Colton. This led to a few lawsuits and the falling out between the two friends because IT'S NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS!! IT'S NONE OF ANYONE'S BUSINESS WHY TWO PEOPLE STOP BEING FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER WHEN IT DOESN'T INVOLVE YOU!!! Though, for the record, it's because Colt Cabana hired his own separate lawyer and Punk stopped paying Cabana's legal fees...to which Cabana responded by suing Punk.

Yeah, that'll do it.

Before Punk even signed a contract with AEW, Colt Cabana was already a part of the roster. After a while though, he wasn't as prominently featured anymore. Colt Cabana is what's known as a "comedic wrestler," and that usually equates to a limited career trajectory since audiences rarely take comedic wrestlers seriously enough for them to reach main event status. So, after a while, Cabana had no momentum or stories to tell on a given broadcast. But once Punk arrived in the company, speculations started making the rounds that their collapsed friendship might be the cause. Then, apropos of nothing, Adam Page publicly says...

Did you catch it this time? Adam Page makes a remark about how Punk "talks a big game about worker's rights" (referring to this tweet in support of then-former WWE talents Trinty Fatu and Mercedes Varnado, who had decidedly left the company at the time) and how he's "shown the exact opposite" since coming to the promotion. Two things: This was not the agreed-upon substance of the segment and is a deliberate insinuation that Punk was the direct cause for Colt Cabana's demotion. Some people didn't notice this personal jab at the time, but like I said...that was the point. "Hangman" Adam Page was not saying these things publicly for the benefit of the crowd in attendance or any average fan watching TV.* He said it to exacerbate the rumors and tarnish the image of Phil Brooks, the man, in a public space where he would undoubtedly be celebrated for anything he said due to his existing popularity. And he said it as a nod to people who already decided that Punk was the villain of the story involving Cabana. He knew that wrestling fans were aware of the dissolution of the friendship between Brooks and Colton, as well as the drama and rumors circulating...because he is a friend of Scott Colton.

Please don't take this as a sign that Colt Cabana was a mastermind behind any of this. No one has ever implied that, and it would be damn near impossible to prove anyway. So, that's irrelevant. What is relevant is something I really shouldn't have to say: If your friend had a falling out with someone in their past that never involved you, you have no justifiable right to inject yourself into that conflict in any form or forum. It's actually very immature and spiteful to hold any animosity towards that person if they've done nothing to harm you, especially in a professional setting. And no, not being your friend's friend is not harming you.

It's really that simple. You would NEVER be in the right for doing anything of the kind because that person has done nothing to wrong you. And it pained me as a fan of Adam Page that he did this because it's a really shitty thing to do no matter the circumstances or reasoning. Even without context, it seemed like an unreasonable amount of anger directed at Punk to most everyone watching given the lead-up to that segment. You can watch the full segment for yourself and see how Punk repeatedly tries to steer things on track, but Hangman had a clear objective which he states from the start.

Yet...that's not what caused the wrestling community to whirl itself into a shit-storm. It's what CM Punk finally said on record about these issues that got a lot of people worked up...

If you only wanna see CM Punk's segment (with better audio) of the press conference, you can find it here. This was fresh after the main event match of the show just ended. Hence the blood, but it's easy to see that Punk had the intention to air his grievances over his experiences of late once he started. Punk suffered a freak injury to his foot shortly after the match with Page that sidelined him for quite some time (about 3 months, to be exact--Put a pin in that too), and he had only returned to active competition in AEW very recently in the lead-up to All Out. Though this event and the Hangman segment were months apart, the Cabana rumors (which had hounded him for years in different permutations) were still circulating and no apologies had seemingly been offered (as evidenced by Punk's word choices here as well as during the promo he did upon returning from the foot injury). So, what you're witnessing in this press conference is a man having reached his boiling point yet again. These issues had been bothering him for some time, and Punk hadn't spoken on any of these matters publicly until finally he did...and then EVERYBODY IN THE AMERICAN WRESTLING COMMUNITY LOST A DEATH MATCH AGAINST BASIC COMPREHENSION ALL AT ONCE!!!**

Almost the entire online wrestling community after that scrum was like...

Topping the list of weapons-grade bad takes would have to be the honestly ignorant framing of the press conference as being the first time that any of these matters were ever brought up. Maybe it's human nature to make such assumptions, but just because something is new to you doesn't actually make it new. And since we would be here for the length of a doctoral candidate's thesis if I went over everything Punk said, here are the main points:

• Punk and Cabana not being friends anymore has NOTHING to do with Colt Cabana's employment status, and never will despite claims and reports from some wrestling media outlets...unless, of course, Tony Khan is lying. He'd only stated this himself on numerous occasions by then
• Punk had stayed quiet about the ending of that friendship (thus taking the blame for it in the eyes of many), but has valid reasons (including Cabana initiating a lawsuit against him) and *actual* receipts for ending it
• "Hangman" Adam Page sabotaging the segment with Punk was not okay with him for obvious reasons, and he never received any resolution (hence his saying things like "We're far beyond apologies"). That Page alluded to such a personal issue in the way he did also shines a light on the relationships of certain people backstage (ie. The people Hangman was likely really speaking to/for - other wrestlers who disliked or felt threatened by CM Punk's popularity/notoriety), and further illuminates Punk's reasoning for thinking that the Executive Vice Presidents ("EVPs") of the company were connected to all of this as they are good friends with both Page and Cabana while also being in management positions (thus making them somewhat responsible regardless)
• When asked about the knowledge base backstage in AEW, Punk remarks on Hangman saying in a recent interview at that time that he doesn't listen to advice from older wrestlers by highlighting the absurdity and arrogance of such a public statement. AEW employs many retired wrestlers as consultants (Punk, himself, was also under a consultant contract with AEW), mentors, etc. So, Punk's ire on this issue is directed at Page's myopia as a former world champion for the company in indirectly/accidently insulting fellow employees and their worth. Something Page himself seems aware of now
• Punk still sings the praises of the company and its talent (case in point: his glowing comments about the veterans' brilliance and wealth of knowledge)
• The main thrust of Punk saying all of this is to address irresponsibility and lack of accountability in the reckless reporting of wrestling media outlets as it has clearly been harmful to him and his reputation

His closing statement (read: NOT the last thing he said but rather the last statement connected to his larger point) was a reminder that "we're all human beings." That should be enough indication that this was all pushback against things that had been said and done prior as well as their effects. And yet, the chosen narrative of far too many wrestling fans has been to frame this entire situation as starting with this press conference. If you have no experience with abusive relationships and the tactics used, then you wouldn't recognize the problem. For those of us that know a little on the matter...Well...

What can I say but...

Rather than typing out the definition of "Gaslighting" so that friends of AEW's EVPs might actually understand it for once, you can follow the link and see how it oddly applies here (and NOT coming from CM Punk). Imagine having your name dragged through the mud publicly to rousing applause despite not having done any of the underhanded things you've been accused of...and *knowing* that THAT was the goal. Now, couple that with a perception that all of this is somehow YOUR fault. YOU are being labeled as egotistical, selfish, unprofessional, and even toxic to the business you loved so much that you came back from a 7+ year hiatus to this profession that promises almost nothing but physical injuries which you suffered during this time. Fans and coworkers alike all joining in to reframe the narrative here in order to paint YOU and ONLY you as the person in the wrong. And all of that's before the EVPs came straight to your locker room after that press conference with an entourage and the company's head of legal...

Pictured here: Punk in his locker room after All Out

What happened next is still unclear other than the fact that there was definitely a physical altercation involving Punk, the EVPs of AEW (wrestlers Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson), and Ace Steel (a mentor and personal friend of Punk). There are a wide range of reports of what ensued, but the things that have supposedly been confirmed are that Punk apparently threw the first punch, Ace's wife and Punk's small dog Larry were also in the room at the time, Larry somehow loss 2 teeth in the scuffle which didn't last too long, and Ace Steel at the least threw a chair which hit Nick Jackson. We'll never likely know the full details of what happened in that room due to Non-disclosure Agreements having been signed by all of the involved parties. That said...

Get you a friend who'll throw chairs and (allegedly) bite a dude for you!

At the time, Ace was employed at AEW as a producer (in wrestling, that's someone who helps plan the pace of the matches--not sure if that was before or after Punk was hired. Also don't care because he delivered one of AEW's best promos in their short history in his stint). After the locker room brawl, all involved parties were suspended except for Ace, whose contract was terminated. During the main event at All Out, it's speculated that Punk tore his left tricep early on. So, he needed to take time off to recover from yet another freak occurrence anyway. So, for months, the last thing CM Punk said publicly were the things he said during the presser. Despite his protestations about wrestling news media in that conference, further speculations and accusations persisted.***

I won't linger on all of that nonsense seeing as this entry is already long enough. I'll just highlight that among it all, Chris Jericho, another veteran wrestler in AEWs' roster, began taking his own shots at his coworker. Going as far as calling him a "cancer to the locker room" which doesn't even make any sense considering that Punk had his own locker room and was gone for fair amounts of time due to injury. Plus, Jericho would later say that he "loved" working with Punk in the months prior to his return to AEW. But I digress...

For months on end, reports from all over the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC from here on) speculated about the relationship between CM Punk and AEW with a particular emphasis on framing Punk as either overwhelmingly hated or genuinely liked and respected in the locker room. Then we all heard about a new show coming to Saturday nights that would come to be known as Collision.

A Saturday show in its own right isn't that noteworthy, but when it's constructed for the purpose of separating talent due to backstage tensions...That's right. As it is widely-known, AEW Collision was put together with CM Punk largely at the helm as a means of splitting the locker rooms. Keeping CM Punk and the talent willing to work with him featured on Saturday nights while Matt and Nick Jackson, Adam Page, and those close to them would still heavily feature on Wednesday nights on AEW Dynamite. As Punk recently revealed in an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, he thought this was a bad idea but went along at the behest of Tony Khan. And it was...but for a while, AEW Collision was by most accounts the best pro wrestling content in the market. It turns out that the punk kid from Chicago who started out as a backyard wrestler really applied himself and learned from everyone he worked with like a sponge. CM Punk could arguably be trusted to effectively and efficiently run a wrestling show regularly based on the results of his run at the head of Collision. But as the saying goes about all good things...

Listen, I liked "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry when I first started watching AEW in much the same way as I liked Adam Page. I thought "Here's a young wrestler with loads of potential for growth who just needs opportunities to grow and challenge himself." But I forgot who his friends are...

The Young Bucks' current gimmick: 4 toddlers in 2 suits

So, at a taping for Collision, Jack Perry was set to film a short segment for the show where he wanted to smash the glass window of a rental car with a pipe. Now, for the handful of people who don't immediately recognize this as a thunderously stupid idea, allow me to clarify. First, damaging a rental car doesn't do the wrestling promotion or any wrestler a favor as that ruins any trust the rental company might have towards wrestlers broadly and you know who travels a lot? Wrestlers. Second, glass particles get everywhere when broken. The risk of injury greatly increases in ways most people wouldn't immediately consider, and none of what I've just said was news to the people backstage at Collision. Jack Perry was strongly advised against this by several members of staff backstage (including the doctor), and he didn't like that. He reportedly shouted at all of them until finally CM Punk was asked to step in. For a number of reasons, Punk also told Jack "no" and that was that...seemingly.

As per usual with backstage drama in AEW, word eventually (inevitably) got out about this incident via the usual channels in pro wrestling journalism. So, by the time of AEW's next major event All In at Wembley Stadium in London which was boasting record-setting attendance numbers, the IWC was well aware of the situation. And since Jack Perry was in the first match of the event, he saw fit to find a point to say this directly into the camera.

It should be noted that Jack Perry was not wrestling CM Punk at All In. He had no valid reason to reference the interaction he had with Punk outside of a shallow attention grab. Which means that yet again a co-worker at AEW was using a live broadcast to air their personal issue with CM Punk. Well, CM Punk had had enough. Since his match was the next in the event, he was near the entrance/exit when Jack Perry returned from his match and he confronted Jack about--What am I doing!? You can just listen to Punk tell you exactly what happened during his time in AEW now! Especially seeing as Tony Khan thought it was a great idea to release the security cam footage that proves CM Punk was telling the truth. Although, I won't post that here because most of the uploads have been stricken for copyright and deleted. But the point is that is how Punk's time in AEW ended. Yet another coworker grasping at internet clout by taking jabs at him without facing repercussions from management for those actions (until this instance where Jack Perry actually got suspended indefinitely), and CM Punk was fired "with cause" after retaliating.

So, why write all of this? Is it in defense of a man attacking a coworker? No, not really. While I understand the frustration that led to it because I've been in a fight before in my life, I can't honestly say that that was the right thing to do and nor could or DID Punk. But the question that many a fan of AEW fail to honestly ask is why did any of this happen in the first place? And the reason why they won't ask that question is because that would implicate the management of their chosen saviors of pro wrestling.

All of this falls at *your* feet...

I say this as a fan of Kenny Omega and former fan of Adam Page and the Young Bucks: Matt and Nick Massie nor Tony Khan should be solely in charge of a wrestling promotion, and so many of their actions bear that out in plain view for everyone. If you can recall, CM Punk was not the first former roster member to critique things about AEW. Aerial "Big Swole" Hull was an "AEW Original" who made some light criticisms of how the women's division was underserved during her time in the company (in her opinion) in an interview shortly after her contract expired. How did Tony Khan choose to respond?

Maybe listen to the context before reflexively listing your Black employees...

I don't see how it was necessary or justified to insult her efforts for simply sharing an opinion, and that's only ONE aspect of that tweet that made me cringe! The recent (failed) ratings grab attempt by showing the backstage fight between Punk and Perry was done in response to the interview that Punk gave with Helwani in an attempt to denigrate Punk. It failed spectacularly, but the sentiment was still a petty and childish swipe at a former employee for daring to speak honestly about their experience. The irony to me is that so many in the IWC falsely label CM Punk as being "thin-skinned" or "fragile" while so much evidence shows that applying to his detractors and haters. And while I'm on that tangent, I gotta tell y'all that your arguments and claims are embarrassing showcases of your ignorance. Such as...

• "Oh, it's only ok for PUNK to go off-script/He can dish it out but can't take it" - This defense of "Hangman" Adam Page is stupid on 2 levels. First, it doesn't amount to a valid excuse for betraying a fellow wrestler's trust. If you go over what you're going to do in a performance beforehand, and then the other person decides to ad-lib without notice, THEY have fucked up the show. Period. Second, you idiots actually still think the "Pipebomb" promo wasn't approved when Triple H's remark on being called a "doofus" has been documented!? Not to mention this! Please take to heart the meaning of the term "worked shoot" since so many in the IWC love freely using insider terms...
• "Nobody knew what Hangman was talking about until Punk made a big deal about it!" - Just because a room full of people don't know that I insulted you because of how I phrased it doesn't mean it's okay for me to insult you, does it?
• "Punk buried the whole company in the scrum!" - It really helps when you cry about it. Also, he very much did not. Citing specific transgressions is not a burial when he literally praises talent in the next breath. Pay attention to EVERYTHING he said, not just the parts that make you salty. Besides, too many people in the IWC misuse that term anyway. Don't be one of them.
• "Well, Punk said The Elite could come see him if they had a problem..." - This is a problem of paraphrasing. He *actually* said "If you have a problem with me, take it up with me." That is NOT an invitation to a fight. It's an invitation to hash out an issue directly...something Adam Page should've done before airing imagined grievances during a live broadcast like a coward. And yes, that is coward shit.
• "Punk is a problem everywhere he goes" - Now, we're just flinging baseless and insincere accusations for the hell of it. This also deliberately ignores the involvement of other parties in all of these situations, which seems to be the point...

Look, I could do this all day but the fact of the matter is I'm not gonna change any hater's mind about these things or this man. If nothing else, this entire entry is just meant to show that there are an overabundance of receipts to show that nothing that occurred during CM Punk's AEW run was something he initiated. As the saying goes, "Don't start no shit, won't be no shit." If that much isn't clear to you because of your personal biases, just know that you're acting like a jackass and no one should value or respect your take on these matters. I certainly don't. 

Either way, all of this led us here...

No one really predicted this turn of events, but here we are. After walking away from professional wrestling altogether, lawsuits, attempting MMA competition in his late-30s, acting roles, and a return to wrestling that was nearly derailed by unexpected negativity, CM Punk is back in the WWE. But here's the thing: I don't think that means he ever wants AEW to collapse. You can just do a search for any interview he did around 2021 to see that as well as *actually listen to everything he has said in interviews and even the infamous media scrum.* Nevermind the fact that friends of his are still active members of the AEW roster, we're still talking about a guy who sincerely loves professional wrestling. This isn't a profession that you pursue just for money, and that's something I don't think enough people think through. What also gets overlooked is the fact that the name "CM Punk" comes from his teenage days as a backyard wrestler. Phil Brooks has loved wrestling for longer than many fans have even been alive at this point, but he is also demonstrably knowledgeable. That means he sees the value in AEW existing aside from the outlook that we have as fans...but that's another thing that gets overlooked often...

Time to address the *actual* cancer of wrestling

If you're a fan of professional wrestling, you're a "mark" and you know what that means.  Unfortunately, what a lot of people don't seem to know is their place in all of this. You don't likely have the insider insight into the inner workings of the business you think you do. You don't know more or better than wrestlers or promoters or producers. Your job and life are not nearly as comparable to that of a wrestler's as so many fans often assume. These men and women LITERALLY throw each other and themselves at the floor for a living. You ain't about that life! In this equation, you're the customer that those people are all selling to, but the customer isn't "always right." That quote is incomplete anyway. The actual quote is "The customer is always right in matters of taste." That means no one can tell you as a customer what you are right to prefer. If you're a fan of Ryback, I can't tell you you're wrong. I'll just instinctively side-eye everything you say as nature intended. 

He looks like if a 'roided-up chipmunk somehow ate a bear

And all of this comes back to the opinions that float around anything related to CM Punk to this day because so many of them range from stupid as hell ("You can't go around fighting coworkers" - THAT'S LITERALLY A PART OF THE JOB!!) to completely delusional (*insert unimaginative UFC joke here because y'all can't think up anything else* - Hate to break it to ya, but...a guy who trained to compete in the UFC is still a trained fighter even if he didn't win). But things get bizarrely distorted because of how far back the curtain is often pulled in wrestling. Long and short of it: Just because we know this is a performance art doesn't mean we know everything about everything in wrestling. And frankly, we shouldn't know everything. No, I will not explain why.

And what...?

I know there's zero chance that wrestling fans will ever stop poppin' off at the mouth about things they don't really know. It's practically a defining trait that makes many of us look and sound incredibly stupid. But since so many of you like drawing comparisons, I'll ask you some simple questions that will make things make sense. If one of your coworkers disrespected several other members of staff, then went on weeks later to publicly disrespect you for the crime of holding him accountable for his misbehavior in an effort to gain favor with other people who disrespect you, does that guy not deserve to face further negative consequences for his actions?

If you and I have a live performance coming up soon, is it not a professional courtesy for us to work out a plan for the performance together beforehand? IF we did that, would you trust me in the slightest if I waited until the performance to completely change EVERYTHING I did knowing that you would have to ad-lib something in context on the spot in order to make the performance work? Did I not waste your time and insult you in the process by yanking the rug from under you like that? Would any excuse justify my actions? Doesn't that make me an untrustworthy asshole regardless of the reasoning?

"Hailing from El Passive Aggressive, Texas..."

In what world would suing someone endear them to you? If a friend of yours brought a lawsuit against you, would you still consider that person your friend? Would you even trust that the friendship you had was ever genuine on their part considering the effort it takes to go through with the preliminary steps of suing someone? If you reached out to them to drop the lawsuit, and they still went forward with it for as far as they could, do they ever deserve to be readily forgiven? Who actually burned that bridge?

Until or unless you reconstruct that bridge ENTIRELY, it's "Fuck you" until my dying breath...

Now, final round of questions: Did you honestly ask yourself any of these questions over the past couple of years? If so, can you really blame Phil Brooks for his reactions to these infringements? If you can or do, the problem isn't CM Punk. It's you.

*--Not that that would make it okay to blindside someone with a personal attack anyway.

**--Which is goddamn embarrassing seeing as he spoke in clear English. The US is cooked...
***--Particularly from the Wrestling Observer News' Dave Meltzer (who Matt and Nick Jackson are on such good terms with that they named a move after him) and Brian Alvarez...