The CM Punk pipebomb sucked me back into wwe after not really watching for 2 years. Yea, I realize it was 100% work, but wasnt subscribed to Meltzer or keeping tabs online so have a few quickies, predominantly on the timeline of the whole situation. ..
- did anyone report when he actually signed his new contract? He said on Bill Simmons podcast that it was literally the night if MITB. I find this VERY hard to believe.
- its assumed by most that he wasnt under any type obligation to resign with WWE, even under a handshake agreement, at the time of the pipebomb. Why would Vince even put Punk in a top headlining feud if he was unsure of his future status? Hes buried better for less.
- has anyone said what the planned MITB finish would have been if Punk never agreed to a deal?
- I respect the fuck outta Punk for having the guts to walk out on wwe if thats what he thought was best, but the dude was a mult time world champ, and in him high profile feuds...wa
Work or Shoot... if Punk's not signing, we get a "true" Montreal II. Not Vince's piss-poor imitations over the years.
ReplyDeleteTruly should have been the moment that ushered in a new era.
ReplyDeleteWhich would've meant nothing in the long-run.
ReplyDeletePunk didnt have creative control though, he might have been stubborn but considering hes always talked about retiring early, I bet he would have gone out there and joined the kiss my ass club if it kept him from a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that.
ReplyDeleteI think there was a legally binding contract in place long before they started the promotion for the PPV and the pipebomb promo.
ReplyDeleteAnd as much as i like Punk, there was no way it could have been Austin levels again IMO.
'It was just one of those magic zeitgeist things that lasted about 3 seconds before they brought back punk after only a week and then got hhh and nash involved'
ReplyDeleteftfy
Pushing Alberto Del Rio ruined that.
ReplyDeletePunk wasn't the champion going into MITB, so it's not like they needed a screwjob to get the title off him.
ReplyDeleteActually, ADR would have worked as a proper coroprate champion deal.
ReplyDeleteHave him beat Cena in their PPV matches ( Instead of swapping the belt with him) and Punk beating him would have meant more.
Anyone else notice Punk getting better pops now than when he was champ as a face? (counting MITB and the month or so after)
ReplyDeleteDear e-mailer, if you haven't seen the fantastic Punk WWE doc "Best in the World", go on Netflix (or use a buddy's account if you don't have Netflix) and watch ASAP. Your questions are basically answered, but the quick and dirty answer was yes, the glass ceiling. He felt that he deserved to be a top-of-the-card guy and did everything to deserve it, but always seemed to be overlooked; he was bitter that The Miz was given the WWE title and headlined WrestleMania over him because he felt he deserved a shot, and although he was World Champ a couple of times, he was still always in the middle of cards and never given the top feuds and main events, something Michael Hayes and HHH cop to in the film. Hayes says that they had feuds bigger than the title (HBK/Jericho for instance) and HHH said that even he knew that they gave Punk a prop ("You're going to be the champion, but not really") and that frustrated Punk. They offered him money and Punk wanted to stay in the company, but felt that he was disrespected enough times that he didn't care. Then before that fateful pipebomb RAW, they told him to just go out and air his grievances and the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteIt was me David, It was me along! I wrote it, was going to watch the documentary but saw it was like 2.5 hours.
ReplyDeleteWorth it, actually. The match from OVW on the set is a really good angle, as well.
ReplyDeleteYou mean HHH ruined it by injecting himself and Nash. One of the few times when ANY of the half baked fantasy booking ideas on this blog would be better than what we got. For instance, we can quibble over how many months Punk should have stayed off TV, but any of those ideas are better than coming back the next week and feuding with Nash over a text message.
ReplyDeleteYeah saw it on Netflix a few weeks ago. It was pretty good but he does come across as a bit whiny sometimes.
ReplyDelete"It was just one of those magic zeitgeist things that we'll likely never see again."
ReplyDeleteAnd they managed to kill it within 2 months.
Yup. He has refined his face character. Less pandering, more vigilante Wolverine (it's not just the mutton chops!)
ReplyDeleteIt's the face he should have always been. He found his niche. It also stands in contrast to every other face on the roster.
It's actually one of the bet face characters in recent memory. A cerebral Austin with a different talk/violence ratio
(Edited my post since I meant NOT counting MITB and right after. Meant more Survivor Series ---> Heel turn)
ReplyDeleteAgree
completely as to the reasons. After the pipebomb it seems they were
obsessed with him using his mic time to "get one over" on his opponent
by making fun of them.
Now he's just kicking ass, and even when
he's on the short end he goes down fighting. They copied the
Brock-Punk beatdown formula w/ Ryback/Axel last week (Punk starts with
upper hand, gets knocked around, glimmer of hope, only to finally fall
to the odds) and it worked beautifully.
Absolutely worth it; I had put it for a long while too, but when I finally got to it, I was annoyed at myself for not having watched it sooner. Better use of your time than RAW or something =P
ReplyDeleteAt least he admits as much. He sometimes reminds of Walter in Big Lebowski, "You're not wrong, you're just an asshole!"
ReplyDeleteThe mutton chops do help, though.
ReplyDeleteYea, its even on youtube. Ill have to dabble
ReplyDeleteThat "pipebomb" really was an amazing moment - not just in and of itself, but for the way it basically transformed Punk into an overnight sensation.
ReplyDeleteEverybody knew that Punk had the talent, he had earned tons of praise for his "SES" work and feud with Jeff, and he had actually been treated relatively well during his time with the company up to that point. However, I think a lot of people forget exactly what he was doing basically moments before cutting that promo: he was teaming with Mason Ryan (usually in losing efforts), and leading a group that consisted of Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga.
Just night and day.
Technically, Money in the Bank ended up being the REVERSE Montreal.
ReplyDeleteHe's also a lot more flawed. Or rather, his flaws are way more intentional. His whole family issue and endless attempts to get something that's impossible give his character much more depth and sympathetic value than Austin ever had (besides 2001).
ReplyDeleteHell, even Jesse would've come up with something better.
ReplyDeletePsh, I'm just kidding, I couldn't even type that with a straight face.
"Treated relatively well during his time with the company..." I guess it depends on how you define relatively well, but they were burying him for a large chunk of his WWE career up until that point. Even as WHC he was losing a ton.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I said "relatively" - he was a featured mid-carder for pretty much his entire run up until that point, which is more than a lot of guys get.
ReplyDeleteSure, he wasn't being used to his full potential, but he also wasn't kept off TV, either.
Fair enough. I was looking at the other side of the coin that says he's being underutilized cannon fodder for Orton, Show, etc. But I see your point.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. He had a chance to be a decent corporate guy in that storyline.
ReplyDelete