CM Punk often portrays himself as a martyr for professional wrestling, a notion that was reinforced in his hometown of Chicago on last night's edition of Dynamite when a tearful Punk told the fans in attendance that he loves the sport of professional wrestling and he loves them. The underrated "Crazy" Ace Steele, the trainer of CM Punk, showed up and made a passionate claim that Punk should remember who is he.
Isn't it ironic that CM Punk can stick to the script when the narrative is that he's the hometown hero that will get to reclaim the championship in Chicago?
First, we all know that by nature, the carny pro wrestling industry is based on deception and working the audience to believe in the presentation. That was point of the sport until the vast majority of the business was exposed, but the premise remains the same. The ability to sell a narrative to draw money is the key to success. As we've seen throughout the history of the industry political agendas and egos have toppled companies before with WCW and TNA as the top most known examples.
When the politics played on-screen start to effect the business a promotion can generate or the effectiveness of the organization to draw money in the future, there's a critical problem in the business model.
Make no mistake about it, CM Punk is quite possibly the biggest star on the All Elite roster and one of the competitors that can get fans that don't usually watch the product to tune into the show. You can see how much of a polished pro Punk is because there's a vast difference when his segments are compared to other wrestlers on the same show with less television experience. That said, CM Punk isn't a sympathetic figure and he's no martyr for professional wrestling. It's tough to sell the downtrodden baby face narrative for the pay-per-view when the same guy went off-script to bury Adam Page just two weeks ago. If CM Punk is such a proponent for the prosperity of the sport, why did he attempt to damage the drawing power of one of the young wrestlers that was supposed to be the future of the company before he got there? Keep in mind, it was Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho at the first All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view to determine the inaugural world champion a few years ago. When you take into account the rumors of hostility behind the scenes toward Punk, some of which was confirmed during interviews or comments posted on social media by other competitors in the company, the whole "woe is me" narrative just doesn't jive with the direction CM Punk has taken in his recent All Elite tenure.
In fact, considering that the speculation that Punk is difficult to work with followed him to AEW, as tough as it might be for some to admit, maybe Triple H had a point about him a decade ago. Punk appears to be content when the spotlight is on him, but when it's not the stories of him being difficult to deal with start to surface. Furthermore, it was also ironic that Ace Steele,who was referred to as Punk's best friend, was a key part of the promo that led to the set up for the rematch at All Out. Does anyone want to ask Colt Cabana how CM Punk treats his best friends? There are so many contraindications with this narrative that the underdog with a shot at the championship in his hometown just sounds too phony if Punk is in that role.
The other side of the equation is that Jon Moxley more or less has to lose to the championship to Punk in Chicago so unless MJF will be brought back into the fold to interfere, there's no productive way for the broadcast to end without Punk posing with the championship. So, Punk buried Adam Page in a promo ahead of the pay-per-view and then Jon Moxley will be an afterthought when he drops the title to him. Punk gets to have all the spotlight on Punk, and that gels with the real-life narrative that Punk is about Punk. Don't get me wrong, it's often an ego-driven industry, and on some levels when you consider that there's no pension plan or health care for independent contractors after they retire, you can understand why performers have to make it a priority to maximize their ability to make the most money possible, but at the same time, the chance to earn that cash is based on the agreement that everyone will do business to draw the money in the first place. As far as MJF's potential involvement, and that's just a total guess, I think the majority of the heat around that controversy has fizzled because there was no mention of him for the past few months. Even if MJF is the wild card in this scenario, what are the circumstances that would maximize his impact? Does he cost Punk the title to set up another match between the two? Will there be an angle that concludes with him winning the championship? The follow-up of something like that is key, which is why Wardlow is significant less important on the show now than he was prior to the match with MJF as an example of an angle that looked to have the potential to push a competitor before it fell flat.
This might sound too pessimistic, but even after the "emotional" Punk promo, is there really a buzz around the rematch? As I said prior to when the title match was on Dyanmite, once the match was in the ring on free television, it wouldn't have quite the same draw on pay-per-view. However, the much bigger problem to attempt to sell the match on a $50 PPV is that the nature of the original contest was such a letdown that it doesn't create much anticipation for the rematch. After a one-side bout that went about three minutes last week, does anyone think they must see another CM Punk/Jon Moxley match? I understand the logic that Tony Khan is going for with the angle, but again, the narrative of "woeful underdog" CM Punk doesn't gel with what he's done on television or the rumors of drama backstage.
Finally, while nobody expected CM Punk to go through the grind of a pro wrestling schedule for free, he's not working for table scrapes either. Punk seems to be passionate about the sport, at least when it revolves around him, but keep in mind, he walked in the door of AEW because he could be one of the highest paid talents on the roster.
Punk was more than willing to follow the script when the narrative was about CM Punk. As far as if Punk has done good business for AEW or if he's there for the prosperity of pro wrestling, here's something to take into account, All Elite Wrestling has boosted CM Punk's bank account, but Dynamite still averages the same one million viewers now as it did before he arrived last year.
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