By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer
“You think the grass is so greener on the other side? Be my guest. Go ahead. Leave. Main event night four of a buy-one-get-one-free extravaganza and then get released faster than you last in the sack. When you come back, I’ll still be here and that ass-kicking will be waiting for you.”
Eh … but … well … um …
That quote came from the mouth of CM Punk and it was directed at MJF when the former was still in AEW. MJF, as we all remember, was slotted in a story a few years ago that centered around the possibility of him leaving AEW for WWE. Max loved playing with the idea that he’d head North once his contract was up and Punk, who at that time had only recently stepped foot back into the wrestling world after being away for a long time, pledged his allegiance to AEW with a promo that featured the above lines.
It’s funny to think about those words now, considering how on Friday’s Smackdown, the latest development in the Punk vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins Triple Threat for WrestleMania was indeed the fact that the Punk vs. Reigns vs. Rollins Triple Threat will now headline one of the two nights of WrestleMania. Punk looked like he was going to cry when Paul Heyman assured him this would happen. It looked genuine. Then again, everything Punk does looks genuine.
I don’t blame Chicago’s favorite son for what he said in AEW a couple years ago. I also don’t blame him for being moved by landing his first WrestleMania main event. Things change. People change. Environments change. We are all hypocrites. Anyone throwing stones out of glass houses, making fun of Punk for saying what he said to MJF, and using it as a means to assassinate his character isn’t acting in good faith. Life is messy; no one is exempt from that.
It’s been almost 19 months to the day, though, that Punk was fired from AEW. As such, it feels like enough time has passed to view that debacle through a different pair of lenses – especially in light of Punk now finding himself at the center of a story based on how meaningful it is to him that he gets to main event a WrestleMania. Looking up that clip from Dynamite and watching it back to back with Friday night’s contract signing, it’s hard not to reconsider how things got to where they are today.
Just take a look at the premiere episode of Stephanie’s Places – a series during which Vince McMahon’s daughter sits down for a completely manufactured handful of minutes with some of “your favorite WWE Superstars.” The show debuted last week and first up was Punk, who was happy to take his smiles and amiability to the (not so) hot seat as he and Steph caught up like old friends who always knew they’d find their ways back to each other.
Punk’s appearance on the show highlighted what’s remarkable about his current status within the pro wrestling world. No longer is he the anti-authority figure, a punk rock savior dying to bring truth to power, hold people accountable and unsettle everyone in the process. In place of that is a guy who feels like a complete company man who now uses his wit, rage, and emotional fortitude to justify Tough Guy actions. He’s not just not the same CM Punk that stormed out of WWE more than a decade ago; he’s also not the same CM Punk that mocked WWE in an AEW ring a few years ago.
Again, this is fine. People have the right to change. But knowing where we are now makes me wonder about exactly how important AEW was (and is) to the evolution of CM Punk. The guy was away from the wrestling business for so long that you had to know coming back into it would never be turnkey. And, to the surprise of no one, it wasn’t. AEW deserves credit for luring him back out of the ether and into a pro wrestling ring. This much we know is true. What AEW actually deserves more credit for, however, is the reality that it also had to be the rebound for a partner who took years to digest his previous abusive relationship.
There were times Punk felt unhinged in AEW. Some of those post-PPV press conferences are fascinating to watch in the present day. He wept at the gratitude he felt for Tony Khan buying Ring Of Honor, thus preserving his legacy and keeping his history alive. He ate muffins and threw the entire company under the bus while covered in sweat and blood, looking like a guy who knew he was about to blow shit up the second he walked away from that table and microphone at a later press conference. Looking back on it now, Punk clearly had a lot of pent up stuff he needed to work out when it came to dealing with the pro wrestling business. AEW gave him the space to do just that and AEW loved him back even when his love for AEW felt bombastic yet nuanced, very sure, and yet sometimes not sure.
Seeing the way he presents himself in WWE now, I have to question if AEW ever even had a chance at being Punk’s long-term answer. I say this not only because Punk went back to WWE and has so clearly worked to become the Model Employee Of All Model Employees, but he also seems comfortable and natural in doing it. He smiles. He winks. He nods. He loses when they ask him to lose. He does Stephanie’s Places. He does Sheamus’s workout show. He puts on a tie and suit. He speaks glowingly of the backstage environment. He’s a natural at all of it.
As such, it’s easy to wonder: Where would all of this be if AEW never existed?
Punk was stubborn in his dismissal of WWE – and to a degree all of pro wrestling – for the longest time. Sure, Vince McMahon is no longer there, but would that simple fact have been enough to get him to go back to the place he once swore off? Or did he have to work a random TV match with Matt Sydal first before he even thought about considering WWE again? Without AEW being the lady that inspired Punk to return to the dating world, does he ever get the chance to work things out with his estranged wife in the first place?
It’s all to say that a year-and-a-half removed from Punk’s AEW dismissal, the history of the guy’s time in that company feels more imperative now than it did when that history was actually being made. It would have been a nice farewell if Punk and AEW worked out and Punk ultimately became that Punk Rock Hero so many thought he was and is, returning to wrestling only to stay with the startup company through thick and thin and never giving in to the temptation of the Big Machine again. But now that hindsight is clearer than it was 18 months ago, that was probably never supposed to happen anyway. CM Punk is a Big Time Talent and WWE is where Big Time Talents thrive most.
Still, for what it was, CM Punk needed AEW and AEW needed CM Punk. Both sides won and both sides lost. All these months later, I hope Punk reflects on his time in that company and realizes how essential it was to him now headlining a WrestleMania. I’m not so sure he’d be here now if he wasn’t there then. And where CM Punk is now feels like it’s always where CM Punk wanted to be.
Even if it is night four of a buy-one-get-one-free extravaganza.
Karma will come for Pepsi Phil one day.
For what? For beating the shit out of three little pussies who tried to ruin his career instead of being professionals?
I don’t think Punk lost anything.
Moral was bitterly low under McMahon. When you enjoy going to work, it makes a difference.
I want AEW to succeed, and I’m sure Punk did, too. But when, to reference the article, you find out your new girl is every bit as dysfunctional and toxic backstage as your ex, the honeymoon is over. Fooled again.
AEW ratings were high under Punk, and instead of rallying together, egos took it apart, from “It’ll be like Rocky,” to “Real glass.”