The Wrestling Thread

[arnold_the_bartender]

Thank god Punk is going to be reinstated next week. Oops, did I just spoil next week's Raw which was already taped? Never really bothered to post in this thread but I've followed Punk for years and continue to follow him. He is the man. This may have been a work but it seemed to real damnit, I though it was a shoot. That's how good this guy is. He is what keeps me watching. Laurinaitis needs his ass carted out of the company if Vince knows what's good for him.

[Gamerforlife]

Here's a link to CM Punk's promo, one of the best shoot promos of all time! The video also shows Punk costing Cena the match and setting up Truth to put Cena through a table for the win

[sevin0seven]

Post-WWE Raw Happenings:

- Michael Cole announced to the Las Vegas crowd that CM Punk has been indefinitely suspended once Raw had gone off the air.

A major angle, or a shoot?

Here's a transcription of CM Punk's RAW promo tonight…

(Punk sits down at the top of the ramp wearing a Stone Cold T-Shirt)

John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me. I want you to digest this, because before I leave in three weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I wanna get off my chest.

I don't hate you, John. I don't even dislike you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate... this idea... that you're the best... because you're not. I'm the best. I'm the best in the world. There's one thing you're better at than I am, and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass. You're as good at kissing Vince's ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don't know if you're as good as Dwayne... he's a pretty good ass-kisser... always was and still is. Oops... I'm breaking the fourth wall. [Punk waves to the camera.] I am the best... wrestler... in the world. I've been the best ever since Day One when I walked into this company, and I've been vilified and hated since that day because Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. That's right, I'm a Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar... and he split, just like I'm splittin', but the biggest difference between me and Brock is that I'm going to leave with the WWE Championship.

I've grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahon's imaginary brass rings that it's finally dawned on me that they're just that. They're completely imaginary. The only thing that's real is me, and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I've proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, and even on commentary. Nobody can touch me. And yet, no matter how many times I prove it, I'm not on your lovely little collectors' cups, I'm not on the cover of the program, I'm barely promoted, I don't get to be in movies, I'm not on any crappy show on the USA Network, I'm not on the poster of WrestleMania, I'm not on the signature that's produced at the start of the show. I'm not on Conan O'Brian, I'm not on Jimmy Fallon, but the fact of the matter is I should be, and trust me, this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that "Dwayne" is in the main event of WrestleMania next year and I'm not makes me sick!

Oh hey, let me get something straight, those of you who are cheering me right now... you are just as big a part of me leaving as anyone else, because you're the ones sipping out of those collector cups right now, you're the ones that buy those programs that my face isn't on the cover of, and then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face thinking you can get an autograph and sell it on eBay because you're too lazy to get a real job.

I'm leaving with the WWE championship on July 17 and hell, who knows, maybe I'll go defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling... maybe I'll go back to Ring of Honor... [Punk waves to the camera again] hey, Colt Cabana, how you doing? The reason I'm leaving is you people because after I'm gone you're still going to pour money into this company -- I'm just a spoke on the wheel -- the wheel's gonna keep turning. And I understand that... that Vince McMahon's gonna make money despite himself... he's a millionaire who should be a billionaire... you know why he's not a billionaire? It's because he surrounds himself with glad-handing nonsensical [censored] yes-men like John Lauranitis, who's gonna tell him everything he wants to hear... and I'd like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince McMahon is dead, but the fact is it's gonna get taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.

Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon. You know we do this whole bully campaign...

(Microphone is cut off. Punk hits the mic a few times, says something inaudible, yells "I've been silenced", and we fade to black.)


- Steve Austin posted the following regarding CM Punk's promo last night…

@CMPunk just melted my 52 inch TV with a scorching hot promo...delivery, content, and attitude...one of the best promos I've ever seen.

[Gamerforlife]

I have one MINOR and I do mean MINOR nitpick with Punk's promo. He jokes about breaking the fourth wall in a moment of cleverness on his part. Problem is, there IS no fourth wall in professional wrestling. He wasn't using the term correctly. Also, I think everyone knows the Rock's real name. It's not a major reveal. I think that was a moment of Punk trying to appear a little smarter than he actually is. Save the English Lit/theatre jokes for someone else dude. Talk about what you know, which is wrestling

That said, I think he may have dropped the best shoot promo ever. I criticize it only because I loved it so much and that one little thing kept it from pure perfection

[Luke]

Problem is, there IS no fourth wall in professional wrestling.

I'm a casual fan of wrestling these days, meaning if there isn't anything on Monday night I'll watch raw, but this is a great observation. There really isn't any 4th wall to break, and although the promo was nothing short of fascinating, G4Life makes a brilliant point.

[the King]

That promo was good, but not as good as this one,

[sevin0seven]

CM Punk promo effect:

- Numerous non-wrestling websites have covered the CM Punk promo from last night.

* Mick Foley: "I have no idea where this @cmpunk thing might go, but I know I'll be watching. Captivating stuff."

* Jim Ross: "Most compelling, controversial end of Raw in a long time. @cmpunk edgy, attitudinal & full of rage. Don't know what to think. Wow."

* Joey Styles: "Holy crap! I thought I was bad when I was shooting on Vince and the company. OMG! Holy crap!"

* Billy Corgan: "@CMPunk that may have been the GREATEST promo i have ever seen...to paraphrase Paul E, 'you sir, are f'n hardcore'..."

* Maryse: "@CMPunk for President of the United-States...."

....looks like it's working.

and for new youtube series: (episode 2 was release today)

[Gamerforlife]

CM Punk promo effect:

- Numerous non-wrestling websites have covered the CM Punk promo from last night.

* Mick Foley: "I have no idea where this @cmpunk thing might go, but I know I'll be watching. Captivating stuff."

* Jim Ross: "Most compelling, controversial end of Raw in a long time. @cmpunk edgy, attitudinal & full of rage. Don't know what to think. Wow."

* Joey Styles: "Holy crap! I thought I was bad when I was shooting on Vince and the company. OMG! Holy crap!"

* Billy Corgan: "@CMPunk that may have been the GREATEST promo i have ever seen...to paraphrase Paul E, 'you sir, are f'n hardcore'..."

* Maryse: "@CMPunk for President of the United-States...."

....looks like it's working.

and for new youtube series: (episode 2 was release today)

Nice, I've been listening to Colt Cabana's podcast where he interviewed Punk a while back(Punk seems naturally heelish in real life by the way as he talked about being annoyed by fans LOL). I also love Zack Ryder's youtube series, which is getting a LOT of attention from the wrestling community

I can't help but feel that Punk has some kind of leverage he's taking advantage of because some of that stuff he said.....wow. I have heard them say on the PWTorch podcast that Punk is known backstage for having bigger balls than other guys on the roster and I'm definitely a believer now

[BurningDoom]

Pretty dang awesome of CM Punk. If it wasn't real, then good job WWE! This is the best thing you've done in the last 6 years. If it was real, then CM Punk is freaking awesome!

[Rurouni_Fencer]

Nothing much that can really be said that hasn't already been said in the last 26 hours..

I've been a Punk supporter since day one mainly for the fact that he came out of ROH and into WWE. I knew he was going to cut awesome promos and be involved in killer angles back before he cut hair and recruited henchmen.. To say that the last year and a half of his WWE career was disappointing is a severe understatement..
The angle he shot last night was amazing on any level, (shoot or script..) The obscure name-dropping for wrestling nuts was pretty cool, but the fact that Punk had the balls to "break 4th walls" and cite some of wrestling's most controversial and hushed backstage politics, (Hogan/Vince beef, Rock/Cena's brASS-kissing, etc) was amazingly well-done! Punk calling out fans who "shove merch in his face to be signed" was icing on the cake!

Punk did what every superstar not just in WWE, but in the general industry should be doing - He recognized the consumer's thoughts and opinions about the product and addressed them! Even if you hated Punk's character, you sympathized with what he said and it made you feel like your complaints over the last 10-12 years were finally being recognized..

Personally, I hope this is all just a work, and that Vince gave Punk the green-light to speak his mind. Punk is a lot like Rock in that he doesn't perform from a script; he ad-libs his promos week after week. I'd love to see Punk stick around in the WWE for a few more years and get the monster push he deserves because of this, but from what I've read, he's pretty set in leaving the company.

Vince - you're sitting on gold with CM Punk! Don't F*** this up for the last time!