By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer
The setting was the latest in the phony baloney post-PPV or post-PLE or post-whatever press conferences these wrestling companies organize these days. Half-questions were met with half-answers. Jokes were had. A happy birthday message was relayed multiple times by multiple people to Naomi. Some entrances were met with applause.
There they sat. Four of the five members of the winning team at Saturday night’s men’s War Games match. Jimmy Uso. Jey Uso. Sami Zayn. And then … CM Punk. After Punk no-commented a question about Roman Reigns, the subject of baked goods came up. Those who knew what that meant – and at this point, it’s increasingly hard to think there’s anybody left who doesn’t know, casual fan or not – smirked, rolled eyes, maybe even full-on laughed. Punk’s history with baked goods at press conferences will get a full chapter whenever The Book On Pro Wrestling is officially written.
The visual got me thinking of something we’ve all probably thought by now, but never quite admitted out loud: The WWE/CM Punk reconciliation must be hell for AEW. And perhaps even worse for AEW, it looks more and more each day like the Punk/WWE union really is mutually beneficial to both parties in ways some of us didn’t see coming.
Make no mistake about it: WWE doesn’t need anybody. I mean anybody. If the powers that be gave Vince McMahon his walking papers, rest assured anyone and everyone else is fair game. Plus, the machine is too big to fail at this point. If aliens fell from the skies and abducted Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, WWE wouldn’t miss a step. This is a company that will continue to thrive with or without CM Punk. But you can’t tell me that there aren’t some within WWE’s walls who are getting a kick out of having The Best In The World on their roster as they leak stories about how Punk has been a model citizen.
If you’re WWE, consider …
Hey, we’re the big leagues! We’re so much the big leagues that we can keep people in check whereas all you piddly small companies – cough, AEW, cough – can’t keep your house in order. CM Punk is one of the most popular professional wrestlers on the planet. You know what that means? That means you make business work with the guy. We can make that happen. You small-minded children (his words; not ours!) can’t get out of your own way. The more Punk thrives here, the more silly it makes you look (kind of like hiring Urban Meyer to be an NFL head coach!). We’re a real business; over there at AEW, you’re all hobbyists. “Best for business” is more than just a gimmick, morons.
Now, if you’re CM Punk, consider …
Told you! Told you I wasn’t a problem child! Told you I grew up! Told you I tried to make it work with AEW, but nope. I, the cancer in that locker room, am now gone, and that company still has reported personnel issues. Not only did I prove that I’m not the asshole you painted me to be, but I was even mature enough to go back to this company I once swore off forever. And you know what? I’ll take the hit from anyone who wants to claim I sold out – selling out to prove AEW wrong and save my reputation means more than some arbitrary moral code that contradicts itself with each tweet. Pound sand, ass hats. Grow up. I’m not the monster you say I am.
OK, so all that was probably harsher than it needed to be, but you get the point. The more successful CM Punk is in WWE, the more mutually beneficial the fruits of that partnership become. In a lot of ways, it’s CM Punk reversing the roles that he championed for so long. Despite all those years he thwarted The Man, raged against the machine and maintained his punk rock ethos in a corporate world where it’s not easy to do that, CM Punk has now become The Man (or the machine, depending on which metaphor you choose). Or, if that doesn’t sit well, at the very least, he’s working side by side with The Man to … prove a point? Save face? Stand up for himself? Any one of those are probably accurate.
As such, his role in WWE has become sort of fascinating to watch. There’s an element of plasticity to it and yet at the same time, it feels entirely genuine. Maybe that’s because his actions are driven primarily by spite at this point or maybe it’s because he really does just want to settle into a role in the wrestling business that isn’t filled with drama, has structure and is also – just so happens to be – at the biggest pro wrestling company in the world. Maybe it’s a combination of all those things. Maybe I’m completely off base.
Whatever it is, there’s no denying what actually makes this an imperative story to watch, and that’s the reality that we all know the bottom can fall out at any moment. I don’t even say that as a pessimist; it’s just what it is. I hope it doesn’t – the older I get, the less excitement I get out of watching things blow up – but we’d be irresponsible to not consider the fact that this guy has the ability to turn on a dime and justify it to both himself and his fan base. WWE is, after all, The Machine, so if the Bat Signal ever does go up and Punk decides that he doesn’t want to deal with the corporate nonsense anymore, he’ll have his legion of fans that support him and agree with him. Shoot, maybe even some of those AEW die-hards would open their arms for a welcome back party.
OK, probably not.
Anyways, my point is that while I want to believe in the harmony that WWE and CM Punk are enjoying right now, I can’t help but consider how much both of their personal interests come into play as I watch this work. The influence of that is so heavy that I’m willing to believe Punk rides into the sunset with a WWE polo on and in the interim, not even a sliver of controversy surrounds him. On the other hand, he did just face-palm Big Bronson Reed out of nowhere and Jacob Fatu almost immediately jumped through a cage to attack the guy, so maybe Punk just can’t help himself.
Then again, not knowing where this is headed on an interpersonal basis between man and company makes it all the more fun. Divided, the two fell under the guidance of a crooked regime that abused power and took pride in making its employees uncomfortable. United, WWE and CM Punk can prove the most lasting point a competitor could ever prove about AEW: It will never grow into the company it wants to become because it simply refuses to mature into a stable operation that is willing to move away from being committed to a set of ethos that isn’t always what’s best for business. In other words, book solely for the sickos and watch as the venue sizes continue to decrease.
Or, in the case of CM Punk, allow a locker room to be divided as you sit and wonder about which New Japan talent you want to sign next. Such is the thesis of this discussion: I’m not here to say CM Punk was a model employee in AEW; I’m only here to question why so many people never seemed to give him a chance to be one while he was there. With the way Punk is presented today in WWE, both on camera and in the news reports on the websites, it feels like the objective, above all else, is to prove that CM Punk isn’t a locker room cancer while cementing the fact that WWE is a place that doesn’t allow for locker room cancers to develop.
It all adds up to one big lesson that AEW can learn from if it wants to (even though I’m fairly certain it doesn’t really want to). In the meantime, we sit and we watch as Punk gets straight A’s and the company he works for gets another tool in its toolbox when it comes to proving to the world that it’s not nearly as toxic as it once was – “Because look who’s back! He wouldn’t be here if we were still toxic!” How long does it last? Only time will tell.
But if the answer to that question turns out to be “forever,” at this point, I would hardly be surprised.
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