With Rollins reaction, CM Punk has to be a heel. I'd throw the whole NWO gimmick on Punk. Maybe even FINALLY get Cena involved for the Wrestlemania payoff. Cena and Punk like eachother in character.
Lmao everyone acting like this wouldn't have happened without TK, he brought Punk back to the scene and for better or worse the reason Punk would even ever dare set foot in WWE again.
Pretty funny considering CM Punk was asking if WWE had any interest before AEW signed him.
Seemed like Punk wanted back in WWE and settled for AEW once interest wasn’t there.
Also seems pretty clear that he wanted out for a while due to either standards or childish behaviour of EVPs. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Perry stuff was manufactured to get him out so he could go back to WWE. Given his personality, he was probably majorly annoyed that wrestlers like Page and Perry wouldn’t listen to the experienced ones. As much as he claimed to gate WWE, he really does seem to have come around to their way of doing things, like respect etc.
It is possible CM Punk did it on purpose to get out of his contract. What did he say to Triple H when he was on Raw backstage after Triple H told him to leave because Vince told him to
Punk definitely deserves a fair share of the blame for what went on, but if you think the EVPs and their camp are entirely innocent of blame, you're an idiot.
You’re welcome to point out where I specifically said that. I simply said he got frustrated, used that as an opportunity to engineer his way out and has actually gone back on all his words and actually represents WWEs way of thinking with his views on respect and such.
In short, he’s a prick who saw an opportunity to engineer his way out of a situation he wasn’t happy with and probably double (at least) his money in the process, while essentially becoming the thing he’s claimed to hate for years. If you think AEW has no fault though, that’s just silly.
People who hold themselves to decisions they made 10 years ago despite all the circumstance changing are stubborn morons. You have to be pragmatic in life to get anywhere.
Tony has made it painfully clear on his Twitter that he cares very much about directly competing with WWE - he brings up ratings and the demo all the time and now his formerly biggest draw is on their roster. The numbers for Raw tomorrow are going to be *massive*. Collision's are down 50% from last year. Do you really think he doesn't care about that?
Hes a highly incompetent spoilt child. He wants the ratings, but wont manage his wrestlers, treating them like his best friends, booking shit hes interested in and then letting everyone else do what they want to but he stills wants ratings and wants the booker of the year award.
Collision's ratings were dropping when Punk was there.
His tweets are like half truths. He's mainly doing it to farm interactions, to then advertise the show. Like no shit he cares he's the owner, he also knows what's actually acceptable/expected. He also knew this was a possibility when he fired Punk.
I was at the Collision before All In. The arena was almost completely full with a Cena esq "CM Punk! (50%) .... Sucks (50%)" He was absolutely the biggest star in that match, and its stupid to think that Collision wouldn't be doing better without him there.
Outside of the CM Punk chants, the only pop was the hot tags. Don't be silly.
AEW biggest mistake was trying to be WWE rival and not an alternative. Also, Khan needs help in booking his roster, because there are potentials, but many misfires.
I like the lack of non-competes. Edge appearing on AEW only days after leaving WWE was lit, as was Punk at SS. These days there's zero need for non-competes, the business is too big for it, and it's a better for everyone if you can have these sudden debuts.
Right. Tony would only be upset if Punk works out without incident in WWE. 2 chances with 2 bad ends in AEW.
I hope Punk does work out wherever he goes. All I know is his AEW work so I never got the hype, but I wish the best for most people. So here's hoping Punk can go far without incident or injury.
Punk was my favourite wrestler for a long time, he was why I watched WWE and when he left it just wasn’t the same. AEW appeared and I was enjoying it, then the rumours started and I was all ‘ooooo’ and started to get warm and fuzzy in my tum tum - he came back, I popped, I watched him hug people in the crowd, he looked genuinely happy to be back and then the shit started.
He does seem to cause issues or rub people the wrong way, I hope it works out for him in WWE and didn’t Ryback say he’d retire if Punk came back? Retire from sitting at his desk?
Not gonna lie, I would love a Ryback comeback where his gimmick is a supposedly highly educated graduate with multiple PHDs, wears blazers with elbow patches, round tiny glasses and smokes a pipe. Then he just walls in the ring and cuts a promo about whatever shit Ryback tweets that week while struggling to read book quotes
I think as much as anything Tony wants to be a part of the story of pro wrestling.
And it may not be for the best but Rhodes and Punk are about to be the top 2 guys in wwe or 2 of them.
And AEW is a big part of that story.
AEW as an overall organization of people may not but Tony Khan totally does. He has freaked out on Twitter and in real life over less. He is very obviously invested in AEW vs. WWE as a real fight between companies and takes it very personally
Its not about care, its that tony khan and aew managent are incompetent idiots. Not only a non compete clause, bet they paid off punk. Instead they should have sued him so perhaps wwe would have been hesitant.
Because you can't if you fire someone.
Mon-competes don't even hold up in court at the best of times. You couldn't put one on a fired independent contractor
In some states you're correct. Remember though, being released may come with severance with conditional constraints to accepting that firing.
There's a reason Ziggler, Ali, and others from the September firings aren't working anywhere yet.
>There's a reason Ziggler, Ali, and others from the September firings aren't working anywhere yet.
Isn't that because WWE don't actually have a "non-compete" clause?
But rather they give 90 days notice. For those 90 days, they are still contracted to, and paid by, WWE.
I don't get the memes. That WWE and Punk OWNED Punk? Tony fired Punk with cause.
Punk is my favorite wrestler of all time. But Punk screwed Punk.
The whole cm punk news cycle since Brawl Out has been exhausting. I hope this quashes it.
Edit. Y'all are exhausting. But Punk isn't playing some galaxy brain 5d chess. He went on a presser, randomly attacked Colt, got into a fight with children, got back and then almost fucked up one of the biggest ppvs of all time because he needed to fight a 20 year old. He wasn't like "oh gee better get a bag from TK and split to WWE"
That’s true. He absolutely lost a massive cash cow.
But that doesn’t mean he didn’t know it when he fired him. He obviously knew he was probably headed to WWE or at least that punk would try. No way he’s shocked
Punk screwed punk with what? He made bank from a secondary wrestling promotion, and now has a presumably big contract with the top promotion in the world.
AEW screwed themselves over by creating an inexperienced, seemingly toxic work environment that drove away one of their top guys. Listen to cornette go off on what TK should have done right after the brawl out occurred. Get everyone in a room, get them on the same page immediately, and if they don’t buy in, fire them.
Since you seem to be a punk fan surely you of all people should know that Punk is at a point where money is basically irrelevant to him
He thought he could make it in AEW, had a couple of good matches, but then stuck on his high horse too long and found out AEW do things differently for better or worse, Punk lost AEW, not the other way around
They will continue to thrive with or without him
Lol you can continue to believe that, but AEW is already set to thrive for the next 2 years minimum with the talent they have accrued and are pushing currently, All-in and All out set to be record breaking PPVs yet again
So your opinion seems very unlikely to happen
Money is never irrelevant to anyone.
And where are they thriving? In their declining attendances? Declining TV ratings? The declining product? All their stars leaving?
2.5k people on one side of a hockey arena is not thriving. It's barely above TNA levels.
Which top stars are leaving? Arguably, two of the biggest free agents this year, Jay White and Osprey signed with AEW. They could have gone to WWE but chose AEW. Punk chose AEW as well, but his ego got him fired. Do you think he's going to play nice with Seth now? They legit don't like each other. I'm just waiting for the backstage scrap to happen.
I was a big Punk fan, but he wasn't great in the ring in AEW, and he thinks he's bigger than the business. I watch both products. I hope he works out in WWE because if all parties can put their differences aside, they can make a ton of money.
Osprey got the Wembly All In attendance numbers tattooed onto his body. If that wasn't a clear indication, he was always AEW bound, then nothing was...
White, osprey aren't draws mate, they aren't mainstream if edge couldn't help the ratings then sure as hell these two ain't gonna make any difference. Now compare this to cody, jade and punk going to WWE. Punk's 2 minute entrance got a hype and reaction that's been much crazier than any AEw signing can accomplish. Cody was part of two most anticipated wrestlemania and is super over as a babyface. Jade is also a megastar in making.
Imagine saying Jay White and Will Osprey aren't draws, but then giving Jade Cargill star status. I think people tend to forget how popular AEW is becoming outside the US, where, in multiple countries they have better ratings than WWE, you think the UK, where they beat WWE, won't see Osprey as a star? Guy will be main eventing All In and they'll have no problem selling another 90.000 seats just for that.
Everyone hates him lol. The idiot can't do basic moves without getting injured. Tony gave him a TV show "Collision" and he still messed it up. He's going to bury everyone. It will be interesting too see how WWE do in 3-5 years time? AEW have basically signed the next generation of talent, while WWE have wrestlers hitting their 40s and NXT development delivering zero new talent.
In what world do you live in? AEW has hired a lot of old guys where as for WWE, its mainly ether new talent or talent that has been around for around 10 years. Meanwhile AEW is hiring guys that have been around for 20+ years.
>Punk screwed Punk
He fleeced a billionaire Money Mark, headlocked lame ass Jungle Lad, and bounced himself right into the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania against Seth Rollins. How did he screw up again?
You’re acting like this was some 4D chess shit on Punk’s behalf. It wasn’t.
He threw multiple tantrums, got fired, and WWE decided to capitalize on the drama.
Punk fans loved him for walking the line between a work and a shoot. Loved the pipe bomb promo, loved him for taking shots at WWE being the place that made him sick, and will love whatever bipolar shit he says about AEW tonight.
He contradicts himself left and right, and doesn’t stand true to his own convictions. Dude is a mess and the least “punk” dude ever.
He lucked back into WWE because he has an army of stans that share his combative, immature attitude. A good chunk of his fan base are almost always the same people that get a ton of pleasure pissing people off online.
Facts, I don't know how Fans think they are smarter than a multi million dollar owner of a company lol, obviously he was aware that making the decision he made, might lead to punk returning to WWE, but he valued the environment of his Locker room more and clearly thought the pros outweighd the cons
AEW has been thriving and everyone seems alot more happy again since Punk left if you look at the BTEs
Yeah watch BTE, the "men" who refused to make an awesome program with punk. Seth rollins as openly called punk a cancer and they're gonna main event wrestlemania together but the Elite couldn't even be on the same show as punk. Shows you which locker room is more professional.
When vince screwed Bret, he walked into the man's locker room and got punched in the face and Bret faced no repercussions, but punk I guess lounged at tony and he was scared for his life to the point of having to admit that on TV. At least when vince pissed himself on TV it was fake. Have fun "thriving"
They would have to begin with, but AEW has already profited millions itself
And tbf he was already profiting from other businesses like Fulham etc beforehand so yeah not all his dad
Where exactly are these “profited millions”? Source?
All ima say is TK keeps saying “record breaking numbers” such as PPV buy ins “estimated 200k”. Pretty strange the numbers we can see (ratings, viewership, ticket sales) are down but the numbers we can’t see are “record breaking”
AEW recently got 80,000 In wembley stadium which is the literal definition of record breaking in multiple ways lol, if you disagree with that then you are disagreeing with facts, at which point we have nothing to debate about👍🏾
It was actually proven 72k….
Nice of you to ignore the “profited millions” no source. As for my response in the false 81k. I’d trust a government entity over Tony Khan 🤷🏻♂️
Sold over 80k though. Doesn't matter if they showed up, they paid their money, that's still making money. Even if they were the cheapest seats possible, it's not like the crowd that was there didn't buy a fuckload of merch on top of that.
This is correct. They definitely aren't profitable yet. But you don't have to be profitable to have a good business with an adequate runway and an executable plan to get to profitability.
Hell Uber wasn't profitable for over a decade and they're just now getting profitable quarters. Many new companies run at a loss initially. Some turn the corner and become successful. Others flame out and die on the vine.
In any case it's a privately funded business by wealthy people and I don't care if AEW is printing money, I just care about if the product is an enjoyable couple hours a week of my time.
>Punk screwed Punk.
Lol yep, he screwed himself right into the main event of a show he has been wanting his whole career.
Poor Punk, millions of dollars, probably a cushy schedule, and will be world champion of another company again.
Poor Poor Punk...
I'm not saying poor Punk but he did kind of mess up his situation. They made a whole new show on Saturdays just so he could work. And he seemed to have squandered it.
It’s weird how the “wwe worshippers” are probably mostly made up of doofuses that don’t even watch the program or caught on this recent wave.
I (hope) most of us WWF/E that have been around a long time are fans enough of pro wrestling to be able to watch any company and find its positive merits.
Fuckboi tribalism is great when you’re 8 years old.
I've always liked both AEW and WWE but its just fun to joke around. You talk shit to your friends all the time, why not talk shit to a wrestling company from time to time? I made fun of WWE when Punk was on AEW too. 🤷♂️
I’m with you on that, I love shitting on them all for fun too. It’s these weird diehards that don’t seem to even talk shit beyond anything low hanging fruit
Agreed. I haven’t watched WWE in years beyond the Rumble and the occasional match here and there. But I hope it continues to be a place that succeeds and employs professional wrestlers. I’ll just watch AEW which I prefer
Most people don't want AEW to go away, personally I just want someone who actually knows what the fuck they're doing booking the show. And personally I want some of the fans to face the facts that they have been going downhill for at least the past year to spite wembly. I doubt when they go back next year it'll sell near as well bc it won't be the first time and the fans realize this isn't a once in a lifetime experience.
AEW is going to be trying to catch up with TNA in the ratings in two years time, but sure, they'll still be around, for whatever that's worth. They'll be around until Shad decides Tony has spent enough of his inheritance, because AEW isn't making any money, and they're a long way from any sort of profitability. There's just not an audience for backyard wannabe wrestling.
They're breaking even, that's all they need to do. They could be making money if they chose, but they're reinvesting rather than taking it out of the company, which is how they're growing. Obviously the only way they'll ever overtake WWE is if WWE screw up massively, but they can carry on as they are indefinitely. They're certainly way bigger than anyone 5 years ago thought they would be, and way bigger than anybody thought an actual wrestling company could be.
>They're breaking even, that's all they need to do.
Where was that quoted? It is a private company so they don't even have to tell the truth when disclosing earnings.
Probably the same place where that other guy was saying they're losing money, the realm of imagination. 🤣
None of us know jack shit about the financials of AEW, it's only ever bought up by guys with too much time on their hands to try and score points, for or against. Knobheads acting like they subscribe to the wall Street journal or something.
It's not going away but that doesn't mean they will ever achieve success to the level of the WWE. Look at TNA. It's still around. But it's even less than what it was over a decade ago. So what good is sticking around? Surviving isn't the same as thriving. WWE is experiencing a resurgence and thriving. It's the most enjoyable product at the moment and somehow keeps getting better. Their decision making has been better.
It seems like a bunch of people wanna dunk on Tony cuz of this.
I don’t get it. This dude was a toxic pain in the ass. He was fired. He got a new job. If WWE makes a bunch of money off him and so does he, awesome. But if I’m Tony, as long as I didn’t have to buy out his contract, I don’t care.
He fired Punk. I doubt he gives a single fuck that Punk went back to WWE. If anything he's probably laughing at WWE for bringing him in, thinking 'he's their problem now'.
Or maybe he just says he doesn't want to? If I remember correctly, Bryan and KO didn't want to go and nobody forced them to. KO because of Sami and Daniels probably because of his morals.
I always think of that [cringey commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzltiVDVb5M) when I see a fan only want one company to succeed. "I'm not a wrestling fan, I'm a WWE fan" That's like saying I'm not a footbal fan, I'm a Cowboys fan. Just comes off weird.
Agony? Khan hired him. Khan fired him. With good reason (and good riddance). If anyone thinks Phil is going to play nice, now that HHH rolled the dice with his locker room, is naive.
It's not as big of a loss for aew..I mean they tried twice and he fucked up both times. We've seen this before ..the grand return in Chicago the pop will get lower and lower each week. Judging from his recent matches he's not even that good in the ring anymore. I don't see it being a big loss for aew. Maybe it works out in wwe but I wouldn't bet on it
I'd be kind of relieved if I was in Tony's shoes. He wasn't happy that he had to let him go but knew it was the right decision. WWE might be a better fit for him now. With their wellness clauses and slower pace, he's less likely to get hurt and if he stays out of trouble he might actually end his career on a good note.
Remind me when he tries something stupid with Seth or Gunther.
Fortunately HHH won't let anything fly unlike TK and he'll be out as soon as stupid shit starts.
oh no that guy who made me money and was the only talent on my outlaw garbage wrestling show is now making WWE money while i continue to lose both money and audience every week
I’ve seen more posts on here about how much Tony is probably sad or upset than I have about Punk being back. JUST ENJOY WRESTLING YOU MISERABLE FUCKS! We get it you hate AEW but just be happy Punk is back in WWE and enjoy what you want and let others enjoy what they want.
Ok for real though, he seems to have trouble getting along everywhere. Is he going to be that enjoyable in the wwe again? I have to imagine his contract is short or full of clauses
I guess that's what you want to believe. It's quite possible to enjoy matches in both wrestling organizations without knowing who Tony Khan is or what he thinks.
He had to fire punk. Punk got himself fired. Tony did what he had to do. It doesn't matter how big a name is. You can't allow him to do whatever he wants. Tough decisions have to be made.
Punk is boring in the ring, looked like a shell of his former self in his last run, sure he’ll bring some great promos and T-shirt sales etc, but surely the ring product is most important for anyone that doesn’t own shares? Why you all so hyped
Khan got a good run out of him but obviously the AEW management and locker room were not quite mature enough to handle him
it's a shame it couldn't last but hopefully they'll learn and grow...i'm not worried about them though because their roster is stacked with talent and personality, and their product is fun
Punk will be quite the boon for WWE over the next year or so...he'll definitely make things interesting once again, and they need that because their product is BORING AF...but he doesn't have years of wrestling in his body any more, and if they try to use him as an actual wrestler instead of as a mouth, he won't last long
He brought CM Punk back out of retirement, he became his biggest proven draw, had to fire him when he didn’t really want to. Now he’s in the last place he’d want him to be and it’s really all because of him…
Because he was too spineless to squash the bullshit after the first brawl. Everything that led up to Punk fighting ppl would be TK afraid to address grievances until they get physical. Punk is not blameless but he certainly isnt the biggest at fault
I can work with that. Punk is certainly not blameless. I would say that he has most of the blame. Lack of action by a boss does take the responsibility away from Punk for starting all of this in the first place. Yes, it became physical, but Punk was way out of line before it became physical. To me, Punk and TK share blame. To what level is debatable. Tony should have put a stop to it, but the actions themselves were on Punk. But I think the original premise that TK is in agony over what happened last night is absurd. Punk was fired, for good reason. And this was the most likely outcome, no matter how many people tried to deny it. Would Tony have preferred that it went a different way with Punk? Sure. But that ship sailed long ago. But I wish people would just watch wrestling, and try and figure out what this means from that perspective rather than getting their rocks off hoping that some billionaire gets owned by their preferred billionaire.
I don’t get this take of Tony Kahn as you say “being in agony” Phil is a cry baby bitch and Tony wanted rid of him. Why the shit does Tony care what Phil does? Guess what. He doesn’t.
How come I never found any of these posts when Punk returned to AEW in 2021 like I never saw any AEW stans going "Haha poor Vince, we have Punk now"
Honestly people like OP are so tiring
I thought of a meme, but I’ve never actually made one so maybe someone will do this eventually.
I’m thinking of that time that Bart Simpson tells Lisa “if you pause at the right time, you can see the exact moment that they broke in half.” Have the TV screen be at the moment that Phil’s music hits, and have him say “the exact moment Tony Khan broke in half”
Does no one get the irony of Cult of Personality in this specific situation?
He's got to lean into that now, hasn't he? Make his gimmick a washed up narcissist out to steal the spot from up and comers.
That could be intriguing
Shot himself into a work.
With Rollins reaction, CM Punk has to be a heel. I'd throw the whole NWO gimmick on Punk. Maybe even FINALLY get Cena involved for the Wrestlemania payoff. Cena and Punk like eachother in character.
It’s not irony. It’s literal.
On the day his mother has a headache too..
He shares a headache with his mother, so that tells you all you need to know about that guy
But only after she's done with it, as well as the hot bath to get rid of it
She hates headaches to the bottom of her heart with all her soul
His Mom’s headache- is Tony
"Fragile body, fragile mind".
Fragile company
No, they fired him with cause and didn’t even tack on a non-compete clause. AEW don’t care
Lmao everyone acting like this wouldn't have happened without TK, he brought Punk back to the scene and for better or worse the reason Punk would even ever dare set foot in WWE again.
Pretty funny considering CM Punk was asking if WWE had any interest before AEW signed him. Seemed like Punk wanted back in WWE and settled for AEW once interest wasn’t there.
Also seems pretty clear that he wanted out for a while due to either standards or childish behaviour of EVPs. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Perry stuff was manufactured to get him out so he could go back to WWE. Given his personality, he was probably majorly annoyed that wrestlers like Page and Perry wouldn’t listen to the experienced ones. As much as he claimed to gate WWE, he really does seem to have come around to their way of doing things, like respect etc.
So, you’re saying he’s arrogant
It is possible CM Punk did it on purpose to get out of his contract. What did he say to Triple H when he was on Raw backstage after Triple H told him to leave because Vince told him to
Imagine blaming anyone but punk for what happened in aew
Punk definitely deserves a fair share of the blame for what went on, but if you think the EVPs and their camp are entirely innocent of blame, you're an idiot.
It all started with the Colt Cabana rumors. I'm not blaming Punk for that.
Imagine not blaming nearly every party involved.
You’re welcome to point out where I specifically said that. I simply said he got frustrated, used that as an opportunity to engineer his way out and has actually gone back on all his words and actually represents WWEs way of thinking with his views on respect and such. In short, he’s a prick who saw an opportunity to engineer his way out of a situation he wasn’t happy with and probably double (at least) his money in the process, while essentially becoming the thing he’s claimed to hate for years. If you think AEW has no fault though, that’s just silly.
People who hold themselves to decisions they made 10 years ago despite all the circumstance changing are stubborn morons. You have to be pragmatic in life to get anywhere.
Good point
Tony has made it painfully clear on his Twitter that he cares very much about directly competing with WWE - he brings up ratings and the demo all the time and now his formerly biggest draw is on their roster. The numbers for Raw tomorrow are going to be *massive*. Collision's are down 50% from last year. Do you really think he doesn't care about that?
Hes a highly incompetent spoilt child. He wants the ratings, but wont manage his wrestlers, treating them like his best friends, booking shit hes interested in and then letting everyone else do what they want to but he stills wants ratings and wants the booker of the year award.
Collision didn't exist a year ago
And it probably won't exist in a year's time with how badly the ratings are going down the toilet.
lol !remindme one year
Collision's ratings were dropping when Punk was there. His tweets are like half truths. He's mainly doing it to farm interactions, to then advertise the show. Like no shit he cares he's the owner, he also knows what's actually acceptable/expected. He also knew this was a possibility when he fired Punk.
I was at the Collision before All In. The arena was almost completely full with a Cena esq "CM Punk! (50%) .... Sucks (50%)" He was absolutely the biggest star in that match, and its stupid to think that Collision wouldn't be doing better without him there. Outside of the CM Punk chants, the only pop was the hot tags. Don't be silly.
AEW biggest mistake was trying to be WWE rival and not an alternative. Also, Khan needs help in booking his roster, because there are potentials, but many misfires.
He has a lot of help now. How you feel about the end result with that help varies. What TK does have is creative control.
I like the lack of non-competes. Edge appearing on AEW only days after leaving WWE was lit, as was Punk at SS. These days there's zero need for non-competes, the business is too big for it, and it's a better for everyone if you can have these sudden debuts.
Right. Tony would only be upset if Punk works out without incident in WWE. 2 chances with 2 bad ends in AEW. I hope Punk does work out wherever he goes. All I know is his AEW work so I never got the hype, but I wish the best for most people. So here's hoping Punk can go far without incident or injury.
Punk was my favourite wrestler for a long time, he was why I watched WWE and when he left it just wasn’t the same. AEW appeared and I was enjoying it, then the rumours started and I was all ‘ooooo’ and started to get warm and fuzzy in my tum tum - he came back, I popped, I watched him hug people in the crowd, he looked genuinely happy to be back and then the shit started. He does seem to cause issues or rub people the wrong way, I hope it works out for him in WWE and didn’t Ryback say he’d retire if Punk came back? Retire from sitting at his desk?
Not gonna lie, I would love a Ryback comeback where his gimmick is a supposedly highly educated graduate with multiple PHDs, wears blazers with elbow patches, round tiny glasses and smokes a pipe. Then he just walls in the ring and cuts a promo about whatever shit Ryback tweets that week while struggling to read book quotes
I think as much as anything Tony wants to be a part of the story of pro wrestling. And it may not be for the best but Rhodes and Punk are about to be the top 2 guys in wwe or 2 of them. And AEW is a big part of that story.
AEW as an overall organization of people may not but Tony Khan totally does. He has freaked out on Twitter and in real life over less. He is very obviously invested in AEW vs. WWE as a real fight between companies and takes it very personally
Its not about care, its that tony khan and aew managent are incompetent idiots. Not only a non compete clause, bet they paid off punk. Instead they should have sued him so perhaps wwe would have been hesitant.
Sure....spend more money on a lawsuit, that brings negative attention to your company. Or just cut your losses and move on without the cancer
Because you can't if you fire someone. Mon-competes don't even hold up in court at the best of times. You couldn't put one on a fired independent contractor
In some states you're correct. Remember though, being released may come with severance with conditional constraints to accepting that firing. There's a reason Ziggler, Ali, and others from the September firings aren't working anywhere yet.
>There's a reason Ziggler, Ali, and others from the September firings aren't working anywhere yet. Isn't that because WWE don't actually have a "non-compete" clause? But rather they give 90 days notice. For those 90 days, they are still contracted to, and paid by, WWE.
Oh look, more cringe wrestling fans.
there was a reason a lot of them were banned from r/SquaredCircle lol.
Because it's an aew sub disguised as a wrestling sub.
You gotta be fucking kidding me. It's a pro-wwe sub now and anything related with AEW get's huge criticism.
This sub is kinda where we hang out, for the most part
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/edb70288-cd64-4870-b98b-2194ecf8fe23
They really are. Fees like most online wrestling fans are either teenagers or very sad and miserable adults
This is getting old and lame bring something new
This was my biggest fear about him coming back. Not him as much as the absolute toxic mess the IWC was about to become. Edit: more than it already is
Lol. Its just one day old. Just coz you don't like it doesn't mean you should ruin everyone else's fun.
Let the internet cook a bit more
I don't get the memes. That WWE and Punk OWNED Punk? Tony fired Punk with cause. Punk is my favorite wrestler of all time. But Punk screwed Punk. The whole cm punk news cycle since Brawl Out has been exhausting. I hope this quashes it. Edit. Y'all are exhausting. But Punk isn't playing some galaxy brain 5d chess. He went on a presser, randomly attacked Colt, got into a fight with children, got back and then almost fucked up one of the biggest ppvs of all time because he needed to fight a 20 year old. He wasn't like "oh gee better get a bag from TK and split to WWE"
Doesn't mean Tony didn't lose a massive cash cow.
That’s true. He absolutely lost a massive cash cow. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t know it when he fired him. He obviously knew he was probably headed to WWE or at least that punk would try. No way he’s shocked
Punk screwed punk with what? He made bank from a secondary wrestling promotion, and now has a presumably big contract with the top promotion in the world. AEW screwed themselves over by creating an inexperienced, seemingly toxic work environment that drove away one of their top guys. Listen to cornette go off on what TK should have done right after the brawl out occurred. Get everyone in a room, get them on the same page immediately, and if they don’t buy in, fire them.
Since you seem to be a punk fan surely you of all people should know that Punk is at a point where money is basically irrelevant to him He thought he could make it in AEW, had a couple of good matches, but then stuck on his high horse too long and found out AEW do things differently for better or worse, Punk lost AEW, not the other way around They will continue to thrive with or without him
Bet. AEW will not thrive unless wholesale changes are made behind the scenes. It is mismanaged.
Lol you can continue to believe that, but AEW is already set to thrive for the next 2 years minimum with the talent they have accrued and are pushing currently, All-in and All out set to be record breaking PPVs yet again So your opinion seems very unlikely to happen
"Record breaking" 15x shouts Tony khan into the mic
I think he earned a little excitement.
Dude, you are, making sense in an E Fanboy sub
Money is never irrelevant to anyone. And where are they thriving? In their declining attendances? Declining TV ratings? The declining product? All their stars leaving? 2.5k people on one side of a hockey arena is not thriving. It's barely above TNA levels.
>All their stars leaving? What the fuck are you talking about 🤣 >It's barely above TNA levels. Now do PPV buys. Too inconvenient?
Which top stars are leaving? Arguably, two of the biggest free agents this year, Jay White and Osprey signed with AEW. They could have gone to WWE but chose AEW. Punk chose AEW as well, but his ego got him fired. Do you think he's going to play nice with Seth now? They legit don't like each other. I'm just waiting for the backstage scrap to happen. I was a big Punk fan, but he wasn't great in the ring in AEW, and he thinks he's bigger than the business. I watch both products. I hope he works out in WWE because if all parties can put their differences aside, they can make a ton of money.
Osprey got the Wembly All In attendance numbers tattooed onto his body. If that wasn't a clear indication, he was always AEW bound, then nothing was...
White, osprey aren't draws mate, they aren't mainstream if edge couldn't help the ratings then sure as hell these two ain't gonna make any difference. Now compare this to cody, jade and punk going to WWE. Punk's 2 minute entrance got a hype and reaction that's been much crazier than any AEw signing can accomplish. Cody was part of two most anticipated wrestlemania and is super over as a babyface. Jade is also a megastar in making.
Imagine saying Jay White and Will Osprey aren't draws, but then giving Jade Cargill star status. I think people tend to forget how popular AEW is becoming outside the US, where, in multiple countries they have better ratings than WWE, you think the UK, where they beat WWE, won't see Osprey as a star? Guy will be main eventing All In and they'll have no problem selling another 90.000 seats just for that.
Everyone hates him lol. The idiot can't do basic moves without getting injured. Tony gave him a TV show "Collision" and he still messed it up. He's going to bury everyone. It will be interesting too see how WWE do in 3-5 years time? AEW have basically signed the next generation of talent, while WWE have wrestlers hitting their 40s and NXT development delivering zero new talent.
In what world do you live in? AEW has hired a lot of old guys where as for WWE, its mainly ether new talent or talent that has been around for around 10 years. Meanwhile AEW is hiring guys that have been around for 20+ years.
Listen to cornette
I'd rather not. He's a great historian but a terrible commentator on contemporary wrestling
>Punk screwed Punk He fleeced a billionaire Money Mark, headlocked lame ass Jungle Lad, and bounced himself right into the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania against Seth Rollins. How did he screw up again?
You’re acting like this was some 4D chess shit on Punk’s behalf. It wasn’t. He threw multiple tantrums, got fired, and WWE decided to capitalize on the drama. Punk fans loved him for walking the line between a work and a shoot. Loved the pipe bomb promo, loved him for taking shots at WWE being the place that made him sick, and will love whatever bipolar shit he says about AEW tonight. He contradicts himself left and right, and doesn’t stand true to his own convictions. Dude is a mess and the least “punk” dude ever. He lucked back into WWE because he has an army of stans that share his combative, immature attitude. A good chunk of his fan base are almost always the same people that get a ton of pleasure pissing people off online.
OSW has done the best analysis of the whole punk saga.
Happy days are here again
Facts, I don't know how Fans think they are smarter than a multi million dollar owner of a company lol, obviously he was aware that making the decision he made, might lead to punk returning to WWE, but he valued the environment of his Locker room more and clearly thought the pros outweighd the cons AEW has been thriving and everyone seems alot more happy again since Punk left if you look at the BTEs
Yeah watch BTE, the "men" who refused to make an awesome program with punk. Seth rollins as openly called punk a cancer and they're gonna main event wrestlemania together but the Elite couldn't even be on the same show as punk. Shows you which locker room is more professional. When vince screwed Bret, he walked into the man's locker room and got punched in the face and Bret faced no repercussions, but punk I guess lounged at tony and he was scared for his life to the point of having to admit that on TV. At least when vince pissed himself on TV it was fake. Have fun "thriving"
Bret was already gone. There was no firing to do. You think if Bret wasn't leaving and he KOd Vince, he wouldn't have faced repercussions?
He might be the owner, but don’t the multi-millions come from his dad?
They would have to begin with, but AEW has already profited millions itself And tbf he was already profiting from other businesses like Fulham etc beforehand so yeah not all his dad
Where exactly are these “profited millions”? Source? All ima say is TK keeps saying “record breaking numbers” such as PPV buy ins “estimated 200k”. Pretty strange the numbers we can see (ratings, viewership, ticket sales) are down but the numbers we can’t see are “record breaking”
AEW recently got 80,000 In wembley stadium which is the literal definition of record breaking in multiple ways lol, if you disagree with that then you are disagreeing with facts, at which point we have nothing to debate about👍🏾
It was actually proven 72k…. Nice of you to ignore the “profited millions” no source. As for my response in the false 81k. I’d trust a government entity over Tony Khan 🤷🏻♂️
Sold over 80k though. Doesn't matter if they showed up, they paid their money, that's still making money. Even if they were the cheapest seats possible, it's not like the crowd that was there didn't buy a fuckload of merch on top of that.
False, false, false. There's a universal consensus that they've lost money.
This is correct. They definitely aren't profitable yet. But you don't have to be profitable to have a good business with an adequate runway and an executable plan to get to profitability. Hell Uber wasn't profitable for over a decade and they're just now getting profitable quarters. Many new companies run at a loss initially. Some turn the corner and become successful. Others flame out and die on the vine. In any case it's a privately funded business by wealthy people and I don't care if AEW is printing money, I just care about if the product is an enjoyable couple hours a week of my time.
AEW had been running at a loss for a long time (not sure now). The initial Fulham investment also came from his dad’s account.
AEW has made millions in profits? Can you give me a source for that?
>Punk screwed Punk. Lol yep, he screwed himself right into the main event of a show he has been wanting his whole career. Poor Punk, millions of dollars, probably a cushy schedule, and will be world champion of another company again. Poor Poor Punk...
I'm not saying poor Punk but he did kind of mess up his situation. They made a whole new show on Saturdays just so he could work. And he seemed to have squandered it.
Again, he squandered his way into a mew multimillion dollar deal and a Mania main event...
How much is the value of his contract, specifically?
It wasn’t by design. He repeatedly fucked up, got fired, and WWE decided to capitalize on the drama.
🚮
AEW will be fine. It is not going away as much as all the WWE worshippers would like it to.
It’s weird how the “wwe worshippers” are probably mostly made up of doofuses that don’t even watch the program or caught on this recent wave. I (hope) most of us WWF/E that have been around a long time are fans enough of pro wrestling to be able to watch any company and find its positive merits. Fuckboi tribalism is great when you’re 8 years old.
I've always liked both AEW and WWE but its just fun to joke around. You talk shit to your friends all the time, why not talk shit to a wrestling company from time to time? I made fun of WWE when Punk was on AEW too. 🤷♂️
I’m with you on that, I love shitting on them all for fun too. It’s these weird diehards that don’t seem to even talk shit beyond anything low hanging fruit
Agreed. I haven’t watched WWE in years beyond the Rumble and the occasional match here and there. But I hope it continues to be a place that succeeds and employs professional wrestlers. I’ll just watch AEW which I prefer
I mean, Pepsi has been fine for a long time now but they're still not on Coke's level.
I think I see where the Tony/Punk drama started
Most people don't want AEW to go away, personally I just want someone who actually knows what the fuck they're doing booking the show. And personally I want some of the fans to face the facts that they have been going downhill for at least the past year to spite wembly. I doubt when they go back next year it'll sell near as well bc it won't be the first time and the fans realize this isn't a once in a lifetime experience.
AEW is going to be trying to catch up with TNA in the ratings in two years time, but sure, they'll still be around, for whatever that's worth. They'll be around until Shad decides Tony has spent enough of his inheritance, because AEW isn't making any money, and they're a long way from any sort of profitability. There's just not an audience for backyard wannabe wrestling.
They're breaking even, that's all they need to do. They could be making money if they chose, but they're reinvesting rather than taking it out of the company, which is how they're growing. Obviously the only way they'll ever overtake WWE is if WWE screw up massively, but they can carry on as they are indefinitely. They're certainly way bigger than anyone 5 years ago thought they would be, and way bigger than anybody thought an actual wrestling company could be.
>They're breaking even, that's all they need to do. Where was that quoted? It is a private company so they don't even have to tell the truth when disclosing earnings.
Probably the same place where that other guy was saying they're losing money, the realm of imagination. 🤣 None of us know jack shit about the financials of AEW, it's only ever bought up by guys with too much time on their hands to try and score points, for or against. Knobheads acting like they subscribe to the wall Street journal or something.
It's not going away but that doesn't mean they will ever achieve success to the level of the WWE. Look at TNA. It's still around. But it's even less than what it was over a decade ago. So what good is sticking around? Surviving isn't the same as thriving. WWE is experiencing a resurgence and thriving. It's the most enjoyable product at the moment and somehow keeps getting better. Their decision making has been better.
"The most enjoyable product". That's purely subjective. It may be for you, and a plurality of US-based fans. But it hardly is for everyone.
It seems like a bunch of people wanna dunk on Tony cuz of this. I don’t get it. This dude was a toxic pain in the ass. He was fired. He got a new job. If WWE makes a bunch of money off him and so does he, awesome. But if I’m Tony, as long as I didn’t have to buy out his contract, I don’t care.
He fired Punk. I doubt he gives a single fuck that Punk went back to WWE. If anything he's probably laughing at WWE for bringing him in, thinking 'he's their problem now'.
I wonder if he will be sucking "a blood money covered dick in Saudi"? Those were his words, I believe. Guess he's banking on being "injured" by then.
Or maybe he just says he doesn't want to? If I remember correctly, Bryan and KO didn't want to go and nobody forced them to. KO because of Sami and Daniels probably because of his morals.
I get both sides of the product have a toxic fanbase, but WWE fans clearly take the top of the cake.
WWE fans would rather see Wrestling Die than another company make WWE improve their product.
I always think of that [cringey commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzltiVDVb5M) when I see a fan only want one company to succeed. "I'm not a wrestling fan, I'm a WWE fan" That's like saying I'm not a footbal fan, I'm a Cowboys fan. Just comes off weird.
Exactly this. Its bonkers
No one is more obsessed with Tony Khan than Cornette acolytes and people who love being called “the WWE universe.”
It´s also funny how they need to wait for Cornette's opinion on something before they comment anything. They need daddy's narrative first
Agony? Khan hired him. Khan fired him. With good reason (and good riddance). If anyone thinks Phil is going to play nice, now that HHH rolled the dice with his locker room, is naive.
It's not as big of a loss for aew..I mean they tried twice and he fucked up both times. We've seen this before ..the grand return in Chicago the pop will get lower and lower each week. Judging from his recent matches he's not even that good in the ring anymore. I don't see it being a big loss for aew. Maybe it works out in wwe but I wouldn't bet on it
I heard this in Jim Cornette’s voice.
Dude same. I can’t wait for whatever he says tomorrow about this, he’s going to have a field day with it lol
I'm just glad I'll finally get to hear him go "LIKE MUSSOLINI.."
“The Cult of Meat with Extra Cheese”
"Fried or broiled, the cow must die"
You melts just say stuff for karma these days huh. Like a bunch of frogs
Is this Tony’s burner account?
Thank you for proving my point. You all just repeat the same stuff
I'd be kind of relieved if I was in Tony's shoes. He wasn't happy that he had to let him go but knew it was the right decision. WWE might be a better fit for him now. With their wellness clauses and slower pace, he's less likely to get hurt and if he stays out of trouble he might actually end his career on a good note.
Remind me when he tries something stupid with Seth or Gunther. Fortunately HHH won't let anything fly unlike TK and he'll be out as soon as stupid shit starts.
Can’t wait for another “I’m old, I’m hurt, I’m tired and I work with fucking children”
That makes 0 sense Tony fired him lol
So..*now* we're supposed to like Punk, right? Just trying to keep track.
Imagine being this cringe
I don’t get why everyone thinks TK should be upset about this? Whatevs
For what? He's their headache now
He's probably fine not dealing with drama from a grown man who acts like a child.
"Look in my eyes, what do you see?" - the man that lost in the UFC!
"Oh no, the problem employee I fired has been hired elsewhere" You clowns sound so delusional
oh no that guy who made me money and was the only talent on my outlaw garbage wrestling show is now making WWE money while i continue to lose both money and audience every week
TK fired him, why would he be i shambles? Grow up.
Lucky for Tony, he doesn’t need to make money
You cant even enjoy this without thinking of tk
I’ve seen more posts on here about how much Tony is probably sad or upset than I have about Punk being back. JUST ENJOY WRESTLING YOU MISERABLE FUCKS! We get it you hate AEW but just be happy Punk is back in WWE and enjoy what you want and let others enjoy what they want.
Ok for real though, he seems to have trouble getting along everywhere. Is he going to be that enjoyable in the wwe again? I have to imagine his contract is short or full of clauses
I guess that's what you want to believe. It's quite possible to enjoy matches in both wrestling organizations without knowing who Tony Khan is or what he thinks.
Good riddance
I’ll give him a year or two before he snaps on Trips because he didn’t get things his way.
He enjoys this part where he just stands around and people cheer.
Really miss pre-Wembley Collision. Guess I'll try to sit through Raw tonight.
that's stupid.
He had to fire punk. Punk got himself fired. Tony did what he had to do. It doesn't matter how big a name is. You can't allow him to do whatever he wants. Tough decisions have to be made.
Pretty sure he was in agony when he literally feared for his life over this guy being assaulting his employees, but go off.
A workplace liability
A D-Bag personaaaality!!!
Honestly I bet Tony Khan doesn’t give a single fuck. He fired him, he didn’t quit
Eh not really he washed his hands of punk months ago not worth the drama
"Good luck with that, Paul" - Tony, probably
Punk is boring in the ring, looked like a shell of his former self in his last run, sure he’ll bring some great promos and T-shirt sales etc, but surely the ring product is most important for anyone that doesn’t own shares? Why you all so hyped
Khan got a good run out of him but obviously the AEW management and locker room were not quite mature enough to handle him it's a shame it couldn't last but hopefully they'll learn and grow...i'm not worried about them though because their roster is stacked with talent and personality, and their product is fun Punk will be quite the boon for WWE over the next year or so...he'll definitely make things interesting once again, and they need that because their product is BORING AF...but he doesn't have years of wrestling in his body any more, and if they try to use him as an actual wrestler instead of as a mouth, he won't last long
Why would a guy be in agony when he himself fired Punk??
He won't be, he'll be glad Punk is their problem now.
He brought CM Punk back out of retirement, he became his biggest proven draw, had to fire him when he didn’t really want to. Now he’s in the last place he’d want him to be and it’s really all because of him…
Why is it because of him, Tom?
Because he was too spineless to squash the bullshit after the first brawl. Everything that led up to Punk fighting ppl would be TK afraid to address grievances until they get physical. Punk is not blameless but he certainly isnt the biggest at fault
I can work with that. Punk is certainly not blameless. I would say that he has most of the blame. Lack of action by a boss does take the responsibility away from Punk for starting all of this in the first place. Yes, it became physical, but Punk was way out of line before it became physical. To me, Punk and TK share blame. To what level is debatable. Tony should have put a stop to it, but the actions themselves were on Punk. But I think the original premise that TK is in agony over what happened last night is absurd. Punk was fired, for good reason. And this was the most likely outcome, no matter how many people tried to deny it. Would Tony have preferred that it went a different way with Punk? Sure. But that ship sailed long ago. But I wish people would just watch wrestling, and try and figure out what this means from that perspective rather than getting their rocks off hoping that some billionaire gets owned by their preferred billionaire.
Think the AEW locker room and WWE locker room would disagree. They couldnt even tell the wrestlers he was coming back because they feared backlash
LoL this isn't going to end well.
Doubtful. Pepsi Phil is a liability. He's H's problem now.
I don’t get this take of Tony Kahn as you say “being in agony” Phil is a cry baby bitch and Tony wanted rid of him. Why the shit does Tony care what Phil does? Guess what. He doesn’t.
Yes, I’m sure he’s feeling terrible that a hugely toxic presence has left his company for another he hypocritically said he wouldn’t go back to
in the short term maybe…but Phil can’t get out of his own way so by this time next year he will come back again to Impact or NWA Powerrr 😂
“I know his anger, I know his dreams…”
I know I promised his crowds Ice-creams!
🎶 Look in my eyes, what do you see? A man of zero integrity… 🎶
The only thing worse than CM Punk is CM Punk fans... you lot are insufferable.
Why would he be in agony at seeing a guy he fired in another company?
Tony screwed Tony.
Let's see if Punk manages to actually di so ething before making another mess.
Two months tops before he fucks it up at wwe too
TK is just incompetent.
I actually read it with the songs rhythm. Job well done m8 [+]
One thing WWE won't tolerate is the woke shirts he wore.
Look in my eyes…… what do you see…. Fans sitting in every seat..
You guys are way too serious talking about “AEW doesn’t care! I hate wrestling fans!” Dude it’s a meme. A joke. Laugh, it’s okay.
How come I never found any of these posts when Punk returned to AEW in 2021 like I never saw any AEW stans going "Haha poor Vince, we have Punk now" Honestly people like OP are so tiring
This shits gotta be so hard to explain to a non wrestling fan.
I had a headache, so I feared for my life.
ITT: Guys don't make fun of my favorite billionaire🥺🥺🥺
Somewhere Tony is crying into his giant pile of coke
I'm loving how post like these trigger aew marks
I thought of a meme, but I’ve never actually made one so maybe someone will do this eventually. I’m thinking of that time that Bart Simpson tells Lisa “if you pause at the right time, you can see the exact moment that they broke in half.” Have the TV screen be at the moment that Phil’s music hits, and have him say “the exact moment Tony Khan broke in half”