Was CM Punk the Problem? | Busted Open

[@StephenStepz]

CM Punk vs Kenny Omega will forever be the biggest miss in AEW’s history. Tony really should’ve just made everyone work together.

[@FreePlayMode]

I think Kenny and CM Punk are cool with each other and have said as much. It's Matt & Nick and their proxies that are able to be manipulated as its their first job making any kind of real money anywhere that are the problem. Kenny knows that he can easily walk aback into NJPW and be the man and make a lot of money over there, or be welcomed into WWE and be placed into a similar slot as AJ Styles was back when he first joined 8 years ago.

[@jamalwest7658]

Or wild thought, nip shit in the bud the moment Hangman and Punk started doing bullshit shoot promos on each other . Once Punk called out Hangman that night on Dynamite, Tony should had sat everyone in a room and made it clear that he, not punk was the one was behind letting Colt go and that Punk had nothing to do with it and if there was any problems sort that shit out now or theres the door. if he had done that people would had taken Tony more seriously and they would had known who the buck stopped with

[@VMR514]

​@jamalwest7658 like Punk says tell me when I'm telling lies. No lies detected in that comment. TK needed to be a boss not a buddy

[@SonOfAndre108]

It was jack perry getting beat up that caused the end of aew and punk. He was doing great

[@lifeasafanpodcast9529]

​@FreePlayMode very true Kenny said on twitch if the boys have a problem with eachother they should handle it however it needs to be handled in the back then get to business in the ring

[@christopheraaron8299]

CM Punk wasn't the problem, he just exposed the problem. What's the problem? Tony Khan isn't a boss. He's virgin fanboy with lots of money. He doesn't know how to delegate or mediate. He doesn't want to discipline anyone, he wants to be best buddies with all the wrestlers. Also, Christopher Daniels wasn't doing his job as head of talent relations. He should have been the one mediating disputes, but he just didn't. The other problem was/is the EVPs that couldn't manage a Target and liked feeding fake stories to the only fan Tony Khan cares about, Dave Meltzer.

[@HappyCentaur-jm9lm]

THANK YOU! I posted something similar to what you've said on X around the time Punk was fired, and the AEW faithful bombarded me with messages about how Punk was the problem and I am an idiot, etc, etc.

[@Hepausesshaving182GGMU]

Perfectly said I’m glad he’s back in the major leagues knocking it out the park every week aew is a joke n they lost their biggest star cause of the stupid California gymnasts

[@luisramirez-or5vg]

Cody was patient zero

[@christopheraaron8299]

@@luisramirez-or5vg The thing is though, Cody is too polite and agreeable to ever tell the truth about why he left AEW.

[@donaldsimmons4526]

He also immediately bumped up business. That's made the existing roster of "stars" really look bad. He showed them what a real star can do and looks like.

[@wwedxecw]

We gotta stop saying Punk handled the situation at AEW wrong . He said he spoke to Tony many times and he did nothing . Of course he snapped at the scrum . Everyone has a breaking point.

[@vileluca]

he also knew he just got injured and was gonna get stripped of the title anyway.

[@KomradeKrusher]

Yeah, he was pretty much done with AEW by that point and you could tell. And some people try to spin it as "he didn't get what he wanted, so he snapped", but it never seemed like he wanted too much for himself, he wanted the best for the company, and they brushed him off.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

That’s what I’m saying. He even told Tony “Just let me go. Pay me my money, these guys don’t want me here, this place isn’t what you told me it was going to be, and I don’t want any problems. So let me go.” Instead, Tony went “NO! We can’t let you go!” And instead of fixing the issue, he ignored it and put bandaids on it. You never ignore the problem, it won’t go away. It will only make things worse. And it did: it blew up to where instead of having the biggest star and biggest draw the company has ever had now, Tony let him go so he could walk into WWE at the perfect time, make them even hotter, and put him in line to main event WrestleMania next year. All because Tony didn’t know how to do conflict management. Great job, Tony! 😂😂😂

[@rgb2219]

punk is trash. everybody hates him. in both promotions. but somehow hes not the problem. i dont understand all this punk dickriding. the guy has litteraly done NOTHING for wrestling. his only claim to fame is keeping the mic hostage for 1 night.

[@antonycuff4512]

@@vileluca he got injured in the locker room brawl but he can't say it outright but he hinted '

[@donaldsimmons4526]

Bully sounds more like Heyman every time I hear his voice.

[@EwanCumia]

They are both from New York. It's largely the accent.

[@Mikeymikesyeah]

He truly does lol. Holy crap

[@KOHoxton]

i thought Brian Last was bully for my first few months of listening to the cornette podcasts lmao.

[@mapsgoonthewall5396]

Thought the same thing.

[@Pappavol]

If u close ur eyes he could pass as Paul 😂 holy shit never noticed before

[@mrpink99]

Punk is the Larry David of wrestling…he’s in the right most of the time, and is a constant victim of micro aggressions by total douchebags, but because he dares to speak up and defend himself, and try to shine a spotlight on acts of douchebaggery, he is painted as the asshole, and the label sticks

[@NickTaylorRickPowers]

This is a fun take I don't really have much against him but he does sure seem to always be in some sort of drama

[@victory7763]

He became "the problem" once he stood up for himself. Oh they hated that. Its nuts they could have let him keep drawing money and ratings for them, but they were helbent on cutting off their own noses to spite their face. I wish them the best as a viewer to this day, but they simply haven't recovered ever since.

[@jamesmiller5331]

Typical beta males. They're little egos couldn't handle him being around because they knew better than anyone else did that they got smacked around by this guy, that he was a better draw than they will ever be and a much bigger name than they could ever dream of being.

[@joshuaeason3426]

I've been saying since the day Punk was fired, it would end up destroying the company. They didn't just fire their biggest draw for a petty backstage squabble. They publicly embarrassed themselves by standing firm and even revealing the camera footage. Knowing what actually took place and why punk was fired made TK look soft as a leader. I would love for aew to be an entertaining, enjoyable TV product like it used to be. Unfortunately, Tony Khan is more interested in jerking off Dave Meltzer and signing as many indie standouts a she can get his hands on. He's a rich kids who's never been told no and has too many toys.

[@ItApproaches]

That's always how it works. (Look at Trump lol)

[@AlbertGoh-h9b]

The Bucks could control Cody Rhodes, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Adam Copeland, all except CM Punk who said NO to their indierific nonsense.

[@SamsarasArt]

they were scared of Punk before that. It was plain as day that he was a much bigger star than any of them and saw him as a threat. That's why they slandered him and abused their executive positions to run him out of the company. Punk never reacts positively to disrespect and here it was a detriment. The EVPs and their cronies provoked Punk and he fell for their trap and responded to that provocation, time after time. He should have figured out he was being manipulated but he didn't, and so that shoot promo, the scrum, brawl out, and the jack perry altercation all happened as a result.

[@jeremyruh5219]

What do FTR, Ricki Starks, Warlow, Hobbs, the Acclaim, H.O.D. and many more have in Common? They all have stuck up for him.

[@djchino774]

If my boss paid me a shit load of money to do nothing I would say he's better than Jesus.

[@xS1D3SW1P3x]

And now they're all punished for it with being im shit booking and off tv. This is the worst thing you can do for a wrestler is to make people forget about them.

[@H-TownVibes]

Honestly I forgot that they did. Wow it really shows who runs the company. The elite

[@EvilGoatBoy]

That entire list is more talented than anyone in The Elite, and would all do great things in WWE, especially Hobbs and Wardlow.

[@shadyhavok1]

Hahahahah lemme get some of that fire ass weed youre smoking. Cause this take is stupid af. Better than kenny??? Gtfo! ​@EvilChiId

[@3rdx2000]

Joe Rogan stated that he’s a very nice person. He doesn’t come off a cancer. He comes off very reserved and out spoken something I could relate to. The other day at work one of my co workers said I was disrespectful for telling her that she should be mindful that she sneezed on me by accident and I said” it’s fine just be mindful”. Or telling someone to calm down when someone is yelling translates to being rude. I relate 100% to cm punk. That’s how I am. I’m honest and I wear my heart on my sleeve

[@ChickensinHighDef]

I'm a nobody, but I still think Punk was correct for bringing everything up at the Scrum. Tony wasn't fixing the problems, so Punk had to go Atomic.

[@allureofthelens8858]

Tony's a mark with a huge wallet. Wrestlers are carnies. I'm sure Jericho, Show and Henry were licking their lips the same way Nash, Hall, Booker, Hogan etc were across the years in TNA except the money is much better this time.

[@biskaye]

I agree, if punk was voicing his concerns to tony and no effort was put into fixing the problem then I would have done the same.

[@Exlegion19]

I am atomic.

[@JohnsonCharles-4466]

Nope. Never a good move to air your dirty laundry

[@ChickensinHighDef]

@@JohnsonCharles-4466 you should wash your dirty laundry, son. I'm a chicken and even I can smell it.

[@YeTism]

It’s clearly Punk’s fault that MJF and Britt Baler argued

[@detmorales9151]

Yeah and You know Henry taking that WWE cash

[@WrestlingIsReal649]

Such good shit pal

[@franklingoodwin]

​@@detmorales9151and he was taking that AEW cash until just recently and has never changed his mind on CM Punk. Marks accusing him of being a shill are embarrassing.

[@jeremy2684]

Mark

[@matthyou561]

@@jeremy2684get a clue 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@pablotherealone9834]

CM Punk “These EVPs couldn’t Manage a Target “ Facts

[@GDavis49]

Shout out to Target managers

[@UnverifiedNoob]

​@@GDavis49😂😂

[@Ringmaster138]

Shout out to Shane Douglas! Unsung Target Manager

[@detmorales9151]

Henry took the WWE money

[@detmorales9151]

Same as punk he had to say that to make HHH hire him

[@christopheraaron8299]

Yes, CM Punk is a relentless self promoter. That's one of his traits that makes him a great fit for the business. I mean, if you're not a relentless self promoter, what are you even doing in the wrestling business? The kids in AEW looked at Punk the wrong way. They saw a big star that shines much brighter than they do coming in to take their spot. And yeah, that's fair (to a degree) because, when CM Punk debuted in AEW, everyone else on the roster moved down one spot because he took the top spot. What they didn't think about was that, long term, their lower spot would have been elevated from where it was before CM Punk, because he's the kind of guy that likes to pull lower card guys up to the top with him. If he sees money in a mid-card guy, he's gonna do everything he can to work with them and elevate both of them.

[@projectgraham414]

Dude look at both Darby and MJF specifically. He raised their profiles big time, proving your point. And he was trying to do the same for Ricky Starks. You're absolutely right on the money there.

[@NJTRAF]

Not only that, but Punk had said in interviews after starting in AEW that he didn’t want to be going after the title, but Tony knew it was him who would elevate the title

[@AdrianBeegoatz]

The problem was… the Buckaroo bonsai knew that they didn’t “fit” into what Punk’s idea of a low or mid-card guy with potential was. The Bucks were drunk with power and loved the influence they had with Tony prior to Punk’s arrival. They could feel it all squeezing away and knew not only were they losing their spot, but they just weren’t good enough to fit into the Punk-version of AEW. So… the Bucks and gang started playing their games. And it worked. Punk is gone from AEW. The biggest losers here are Tony Khan and the fans, honestly. TK lost out on his biggest star, and the fans lost out on when AEW was actually coherent and watchable. The f**kin’ Bucks somehow signed an even bigger contract and continue to stink up the joint every single week. So f**k that… now I only occasionally watch KZbin clips of the few good talents still there. But AEW has been hard to watch since Punk left. There just isn’t enough good to outweigh all of the awful…

[@projectgraham414]

@@AdrianBeegoatz boom. You fucking nailed it. Now, I still watch AEW and go to shows, but you're right. It's not the same. It's like the air has been taken out of the entire promotion. Guys like Swerve and Ospreay have definitely helped a lot, but it just isn't the same vibe as it was a couple years ago, and that is really depressing

[@christopheraaron8299]

@@projectgraham414 It certainly doesn't help that WWE changed so drastically for the better. Vince McMahon was the whole reason AEW even existed in the first place. WWE was toxic and AEW was a breath of fresh air. But now that WWE has been cleansed of it's toxicity, we're seeing that AEW was kind of toxic the whole time too, just not on the level WWE was. WWE fans wanted an alternative to Vince McMahon, but now they have that in WWE, so they don't need AEW. AEW's identity in the beginning was "We're not WWE", but now that people like WWE again, AEW has seriously struggled to develop it's own identity, or rather, it has created a new identity except only a very small fraction of wrestling fans like it.

[@maddogsportzjh]

Punk wants to make money. Just like any level headed pro wrestler. But even the most laid back wrestler can only put up with so much bullshit.

[@detmorales9151]

Punk and Henry took the WWE money And now sell outs

[@joshhilliard6188]

Tony paid them more the WWE ever did​@@detmorales9151

[@esch4920]

​@@Mendicant_Biasfound the guy with only one braincell...

[@burntvirtue]

​@@detmorales9151 LOL. Tony Khan paid them more

[@8starsmatch264]

yeah and he convinced yourself and many other low IQ people that he wasn't the one crating the bullshit 😂😂

[@steves2241]

Clearly CM Punk was not the problem, the problem is Tony Khan does not know how to book a wrestling show, and the ratings prove it. Two years ago AEW Dynamite was getting 1 million viewers a night, and today they are getting 700k viewers a night. The AEW marks can spin that any way they want, but the facts are the facts, and they are losing viewers more and more over time, that is a fact.

[@ICE_1212]

This was a GREAT conversation about the wrestling business as a whole. Bully with the great quote: “I am not intimidating, YOU are intimidated”

[@zaneplatt3533]

I have always related a lot to Punk, especially because I am someone who has had a lot of the same issues with my family and have lived teetotal as a result as well.

[@TheOuttaPocketVarietyShow]

I said this as the CM Punk firing happened... How do you let yourself and your company become such an embarrassment and waste of potential that Jim Cornette, Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff can all agree and basically have the same opinion about you? That's as clear of a sign as it could possibly get.

[@AirshipOverWater]

3 infamous dudes that drove successful companies into the ground when they were in charge? If they don't like you, you might just be doing something right lol.

[@TheOuttaPocketVarietyShow]

@AirshipOverWater I really don't know why so many of you still believe this narrative when it's BEEN debunked. WCW was a property of Turner, unlike WWE which was its own company. Turner got bought by AOL/Time Warner. AOL/TW didn't want wrestling on their programming. It wouldn't have mattered if the Fingerpoke of Doom never happened, if they got rid of the nWo, featured nothing but cruiserweights, etc. WCW was gonna go out of business. As successful as pro wrestling was, the mainstream narrative was that it was trashy tv and bad for children to be watching, so suits didn't want anything to do with it. Also, Smoky Mountain wasn't a major federation nor was it meant to be. So I don't know what company you believe Corny ruined.

[@ImmortanDan]

@@TheOuttaPocketVarietyShow He's probably the kinda asshole who thinks Cornette "ruined ROH" or whatever

[@vrag2004]

​@@AirshipOverWateraew is still there only because of shad khan money

[@AirshipOverWater]

@@vrag2004 bookmarking this after they announce their new TV deal. you may want to think of a new excuse by then.

[@HAL1138]

The important thing people need to remember and mention with “Brawl Out” and Scrum is that is not the first time Tony heard any of what was said! Punk tried the chain of command several times. Tony did nothing….

[@sleepinggorilla]

I have heard enough to believe that AEW needs better leadership. But there are also tons of stories about Punk being an asshole. He can claim that he spoke up about the issues he was seeing, but Tony genuinely looked like he had never heard it before. These “conversations” happened in his head while Punk was out running. “I’m going to say this, I’m going to call him a clown and then I’ll quit yeah…”

[@knection1986]

@@sleepinggorilla you sound like a Trump supporter when they are confronted with evidence that Trump did things wrong.

[@alestyralva13]

​​@@sleepinggorilla name a few that happened that he was completely at fault for, NOT mentioned by Meltzer... Your personal experience doesn't count because fans can be bigger pieces of trash for no reason...

[@sleepinggorilla]

We only know Punk's version of the story, and we know his reputation. We know how he treats his friends. We know for a fact that he has left not one, but two of the biggest American companies under controversial circumstances. Punk has issues with everybody, he is just very good at making himself look like the victim. He can say that had these conversations all he wants, but nobody else is confirming them. Either every single person in the wrestling business is completely incompetent, or Punk is the jerk. That All In footage looks planned out. He wanted to get fired, he wanted to start a fight, and he even thought of a line to say for the interviews before hand.

[@sleepinggorilla]

@@knection1986 How so? I don't believe the guy who gains everything by lying.

[@Clarkmark-ke1pe]

Punk exposed the problem

[@detmorales9151]

No punk got payed by HHH to say that to get back to WWE and Mark he took the WWE money to get his son over

[@BuffaloStance78]

@@detmorales9151 "AEW is not a real business." Tony can pay Mercedes & Okada 5 million each. He can pay Ibushi 10 times what he's worth at this point (nothing). It doesn't mean shit! Ratings & attendance keep plummeting. Sting retirement angle the only draw he's had since Punk left.

[@EvilGoatBoy]

​@@detmorales9151I found the mark!

[@chroniccam9976]

@@detmorales9151 That's honestly crazy fucking delusional.

[@mikemayhem39]

@@detmorales9151as they 100% should

[@DanielWatches]

Ever since they tried to "expose" Punk with the security footage ratings have been spiraling down the toilet. Punk isnt the problem.

[@CMatt420]

Punk was not the problem. Tony Khan not being a legitimate boss was the problem. The second the Colt Cabana rumors started, Khan should have stomped it out immediately. None of what happened goes down if he put an end to that.

[@WC_Zone]

15:41 I agree with bully people who are passionate and direct (with others who harm the whole industry whether they do it intentionally or not) are labelled as hard to work

[@VideoGaming4U]

love to see Punk on Takers podcast.

[@josecastro3323]

If u don’t look at the screen, you would swear it’s heyman not bully speaking. 😂

[@anthonycairo9202]

CM Punk is absolutely 100% not a cancer or the problem in wrestling. It’s the people that lie about him. That’s the problem. People have problems with people that stand up for themselves and doesn’t hold back.

[@38achref26]

true

[@Brent_P]

That All Out 2022 media scrum was THE BEST shit ever.

[@J2003-i8q]

might be his best promo, the words he cut still resonate now and it was all off the top of his head

[@Brent_P]

@@J2003-i8q There was no promo. It was the real Phil Brooks.

[@AlMoSiCe210]

That's good shit, pal

[@knightshousegames]

I remember clicking into the livestream for it just on a whim because normally they are stupid boring, and I came in right as Punk was just going off on everyone and just going to my friends like "dude you need to watch this RIGHT NOW" I was just stunned by it, I had no idea what to think, but knowing what we know now, it was probably inevitable.

[@sykosiz5785]

D'Von!! SET the table!!

[@iamthurnis745]

0:42 cutting to Bully’s natural scowl as Dave is telling the story was hilarious

[@MisterMacho]

I love Dave LaGreca but them red glasses give me Sally Jessy Raphael vibes 😂😂😂

[@yashuisking]

You stoopid 😆 🤣 😂

[@AlSween]

Punk only mentioned "cancer" because Jericho put that descriptor on him. Punk is not a problem like Dave thinks he is. He explained what his problems were 10 years ago. The main event at Mania was the icing on the cake. The majority of the podcast with Cabana he was complaining about his injuries and management mishandling that. Everything else centered around that. For example, he had been given Z-paks to the point that he pooped on himself in the ring. Then he finds out that he had a staph infection. Notice that when he complains it is usually about his health or he thinks someone is unsafe with him. He respected Undertaker and loved working with him but it was just an example of how he felt that people tried to get over on him. They'd say he's the champ but not give him champ money or the champ spot on the card. Notice he doesn't complain about Cena and Cena never badmouthed him. He didn't get complaints in TNA, ROH, or even WWE. Only in AEW by those connected to the EVPs except Cody and possibly Omega. He did his job and drew ratings and dirt sheets were fed fake stories on him by the Bucks. That was the only issue in AEW.

[@MrZaib94]

Love how bully explains the business, while giving relevant analogies AND not being demeaning/disrespectful to anyone.

[@esch4920]

I like him showing his narcism. But damn he's not a smart guy .

[@UnderScoredd]

​@@esch4920 No such thing as a smart wrestler duh

[@evanrichter3893]

No matter what u think it’s actually insane that punk and Cody were both in aew and now they’re both on top in wwe

[@HeartbreakEdits]

you did not just call d-von a housewife

[@noko3762]

He did but forget the word for a second…. Listen the context again. He’s right as far as context goes

[@HeartbreakEdits]

@@noko3762 no lol. there is no way to dress this up

[@KOHoxton]

​@@HeartbreakEditshes just saying that each member of a tag team is equally important for different reasons, dont run to defend a guy that you dont know. Whenever someone thats been working with him for over 20 years is trying to make a point.

[@HeartbreakEdits]

@@KOHoxton you never call a man a woman in any situation or analogy you simply can’t justify it. its total b$ to glorifying someone being a good follower. that’s an oxymoron

[@3DBrawlChannel]

​@@HeartbreakEdits "You never call a man a woman..." I take it you're not very big on pronouns?

[@banksy2]

CM Punk is the man, hell of a run a modern day great. Nxt/wwe would be awesome with his guidance old school brain

[@Ch1coR1co]

The way Dave insists on putting himself over in conversations that have nothing to do about him (“tell me about myself Bully, aren’t I….”) is so off putting.

[@JJSFC]

Tell me how great I am, Bully.

[@MadCaril]

I get where Bully is coming from regarding Punk's press conference being the wrong forum, but lets not forget Hangman went on live television a few weeks before and went for business for himself and Punk was trying to keep it professional.

[@jacksonloram7887]

Problem is on both sides. I like Punk and whilst Hangman was 100% in the wrong, Punk shouldn't have gone on that rant during that scrum.

[@davich_]

"I'm not intimidating. You are intimidated." Well said Bully.

[@iramosjr.787]

Punk was a wrestling guy who only sees wrestling, it's not like the Bucks who has an integrated "Buddy System" in AEW.

[@suplexorcist316]

Busted Open is by far my favorite wrestling podcast. God I love this show! My go to every morning while I have my coffee before work

[@ThatEmoPunk]

Everyone making such good points here, but there are 2 that I would really like to comment on. The first, I would very much agree that I don't think that Punk is a "cancer" in the business. I think he truly wants what is best for the business and is very vocal about it. That press conference was a moment of him bringing up an issue in the wrong place at the wrong time. But overall what he did was expose AEW, and more specifically Tony Kahn, on how poorly he handles complicated situations. A leader in that moment would have tried to calm Punk down and do a little damage control, but Tony just sat there and did nothing, and it led to more issues after the fact. Tony Kahn is the main problem with AEW because he doesn't act as a leader. He either needs to step up or he needs to give the reigns to someone who will, because otherwise these issues getting out of hand is just gonna keep happening and it's going to keep having negative affects on AEW as a whole. The other point I really do agree with is the fact that not in just pro wrestling, but in the world as a whole, people have a hard time accepting a difference in opinions. So many people treat it like if you have differing opinions and stances on things, you have to hate each other and you can't be friends. But a difference in opinions is good. Differing opinions is what causes you to really put thought and research into things to either further comfort yourself on your opinion, or maybe have a change of opinions. It also keeps you from just blindly agreeing with people. And I understand there are times where it can be necessary to cut someone out because it's an opinion you care heavily about, but that doesn't have to always be the case like a lot of people treat it like nowadays.

[@KAR5AVATARGT]

Bully is right about the co host thing because cornettes show wouldn't be as good without brian and vice-versa they make each other better

[@UnderScoredd]

Brian is WILDLY underrated.

[@lilpimp994]

Spot on. Brian has supreme knowledge and memory about the business that allows him to bring up things and ask better questions to Jim. Say what you want about Conrad, I cant watch Jr’s show without him.

[@KAR5AVATARGT]

@@UnderScoredd exactly

[@KAR5AVATARGT]

@@lilpimp994 he was a fan first hes better than alice since Brian and jim did it together his show grew cornettes podcast is the number 1 wrestling podcast on KZbin. I dont like conrad but I do like how he called out Eric bischoff on his bullshit at starrcade 97

[@GoldieCollinsTheBestJobber-z9d]

Cm punk. I work with children. HE WAS RIGHT 👍

[@therev_sungyungmoon24]

You mean at NXT. Those kids he is corrupted the minds of are young enough to be his kids.

[@GoldieCollinsTheBestJobber-z9d]

@@therev_sungyungmoon24 the NXT that gets as much raitings as dynamite. And will regularly beat dynamite very soon

[@therev_sungyungmoon24]

@@GoldieCollinsTheBestJobber-z9d SmackDown is about to lose about a half million viewers when they switch to USA Network. NXT will lose viewers when they switch to "CW Network" Enjoy it while it lasts. I'll still be enjoying Dynamite, Collision, and Rampage. Keep walking around with your "YEET" shirt on, probably the worst slogan in wrestling history.

[@GoldieCollinsTheBestJobber-z9d]

@@therev_sungyungmoon24 ur so delusional. It will never b as bad as Aew. So u keep thinking Aew is as good as WWE!! It's a sinking ship. Enjoy Aew while u can MARK

[@GoldieCollinsTheBestJobber-z9d]

@@therev_sungyungmoon24 enjoy Aew while u can. It will b gone soon

[@Puppetsinmyhead]

From that little preview picture, Mark Henry looked like an NPC from the original Xbox 360 version of elder scroll oblivion

[@wayneclarke3152]

Top drawer gentlemen, enjoyed this so much. So much respect for you all. Long may this show continue...

[@dougschadel8094]

CM punk was right and there are lots of places in the work place like that. Irresponsible workers

[@therev_sungyungmoon24]

He better include himself in that. He beats up his co-workers for the fun of it.

[@dougschadel8094]

@@therev_sungyungmoon24 that wasn't even close to a fight lol. Beat up who?

[@therev_sungyungmoon24]

@@dougschadel8094 All CM Puke fans are mental patients, so there is no point trying to rationalize with you people. That is pretty sick that you support and like him.

[@therev_sungyungmoon24]

@@dougschadel8094 You must be in love with him taking up for him like that. You are pretty sick. I don't know how you can defend someone with a track record like his. What a sad case.

[@dougschadel8094]

@@therev_sungyungmoon24 that's the problem with this generation too soft 😵‍💫😵‍💫. Not sticking up for him we all saw the video that Tony was scared for his life. His words not mine 🤣🤣.

[@Matrixomega]

You had me for 30 mins, good job!

[@azulral]

Would have loved it if at the end when Bully asked Dave if he was a nice guy, Dave said "Yes, you are a nice guy. Please don't hurt me."

[@MetlKen87]

Crazy how Mark Henry was in WWE for 10 years and AEW for 2 years with Punk and Bully and Dave do 95% of the talking in this clip. 😄

[@ninmu]

If Mark Henry wanted to say something, he'd speak up.

[@Ma-kf3fg]

Not when Dave is only asking Bully questions. “So Bully…Hey Bully”

[@MetlKen87]

@ninmu definitely, but on radio you don't talk over the person being asked questions. And Dave asked Bully questions he should have asked Mark.

[@Sndrsjmlgaming]

I never laughed so hard

[@Hypno_BPM]

i think us fans get it about tag teams needing a “Janetty”. the chemistry is the most important part about a tag team imo , they both don’t need to be “the guy”.

[@cityandlocal]

Can more than one thing be true at the same time? Yes it can. Can a past reputation prove to be true? Yes it can. Can people change? Yes they can. Case closed. Why are we still talking about this?

[@johnnysupreme5718]

Because AEW is in a Groundhog Day loop where they keep having issues but don’t resolve them.

[@cityandlocal]

@@johnnysupreme5718 way to give my centered and diplomatic comment a tribalistic response. Instead of topics like this, they could've been hyping up the two huge shows of the summer.

[@KOHoxton]

​@@cityandlocali don't feel that pointing out AEW is still consistently having a bunch of goofs that cant keep their shit together backstage is any form of tribalism

[@cityandlocal]

@@KOHoxton oh god. Here we go...

[@KOHoxton]

@@cityandlocal you asked "why are we still talking about this." And you got a proper response explaining why its still being talked about, wake up. Boy

[@edutainme7265]

Man, remembering back to when Mark debuted to now, and seeing him with Bubba, just a great story of breaking in to becoming a legend.

[@MillieMoBuckz]

Facts

[@coreythompsonTheOneandOnly]

2:37 loved 😍 💕 ❤️ the comment 🗣️💨 loved the response

[@mrhop9022]

Love to see and hear guys talking about being intimidating and being intimidated. I have to hear how I'm intimidating and I always say that it's not what I am or what I say, it's the fact that your intimidated and I have NOTHING to do with that.

[@MansMan42069]

7:15 "I didn't make make him cry; he made himself cry. It was his choice to cry." - Marco Pierre White

[@scruz116]

Here we go with Bully talking about Bully

[@dantheman9228]

Shawn was ill during that time its great that he got himself fixed and is still in the business passing down his vast knowledge, some other wrestlers sadly never beat the addiction and if Bret can forgive him then so should us all.

[@DR_DGAF]

Honestly AEW brought me back into wrestling after being a lapsed fan when I stopped watching in 2003.. so it was exciting to see this new product with legends, indie stars, and main NXT wrestlers who Vince would of destroyed.. and being able to watch Danielson and punk wrestle live was an awesome experience since I missed their era of WWE… but TK is a fanboy which is fine but he has to separate himself from his emotional attachment when running a multi million dollar wrestling company! The veterans on the current roster I’m sure help out and give advice (especially after punk left) but from what I heard they were comfortably taking advantage of TK with the higher pay,easier schedule,creative control and didn’t even bother getting involved..most of the OG talent were jealous that some of these guys like punk came in and just claimed their spot.. even though he brought more eyes to that company and gave them their first million dollar gate.. It makes so much sense seeing Sasha banks just hulk hogan her way in AEW.. I didn’t want to be rude or sexist but after seeing how she divorced her husband I immediately knew she gives that Gluck Gluck 5000 to TK 🤓😂 private jets etc.. she cries and complains so much and she’s honestly not even that good… she probably got tired of giving John laurinaitis the Gluck Gluck and that’s why she walked out.. regardless AEW is about to sign a huge deal with WB and they will be around for a few more years like it or not.. I really hope to see them succeed but WWE is just unstoppable at the moment

[@vspecmaster]

It's 2024 and we're still questioning this after all of the subsequent issues in AEW? 😂

[@TheLvkrijger]

Ratings 😂

[@PulseOfMe]

Gotta talk something when it comes to that snorefest called AEW

[@Ahmed-og2jm]

What backstage issues are they currently having?

[@soumyajeetghosh6911]

When I saw Dave I thought it was Uncle Dave for some reason and I was like lmao

[@riddle7911epic]

Damn, did not have to go in on the TSA agent like that lol

[@SilverrulezGaming]

Speaking fax though.

[@wwedxecw]

@@riddle7911epic uncle mark ain’t wrong though 😂

[@King_LightStep]

Peeped that Sully shirt...I miss Heels too fam

[@AceGoodheart]

I wonder who Bully Ray was thinking of when he said some wrestlers who are nice are actually a pain to work with. I'm thinking either Cena or Steve Austin. Anyone wanna take a guess who he was possibly referring to?

[@chadams7753]

CM Punk was the only reason I watched in the first place. I wouldn’t know what’s going on the last year

[@38achref26]

same

[@NLaBar]

Who could’ve possibly thought CM Punk was the problem during his time in AEW? He just didn’t sit back & accept the problems like everyone else there.

[@J2003-i8q]

the delusional AEW fanbase all believed the reports of Punk being a "cancer" because they think they know him personally

[@tristanedwards7302]

It's funny that Mark is saying CM Punk is a 'this is what the business has asked us to do so this is what we'll do' person, given he left WWE after marching into Vince's office and saying 'I do not want to wrestle HHH at Wrestlemania and I don't have to' (his own words from the Colt Cobana podcast). People are shades of grey. It's not a matter of CM Punk being a good dude or a good businessman or a good worker or not. Sometimes he is/was, and sometimes not. What he did at that AEW press conference was supremely unprofessional and put the company one foot in the grave. For someone who professes to be a student of the game and an ambassador for the wrestling business, that was hugely irresponsible. Whether someone is personally a fan of AEW or not, they are there with big money and tv contracts and that is offering another place for wrestlers to work. Before AEW started and The Elite were gaining popularity, the business was in a fucking HORRIBLE place - as a wrestling fan since 2000, it was easily the worst time in memory for the American wrestling market. TNA was almost out of business for the 100th time and ROH was on their knees. There was NOTHING outside of WWE, and that's horrible for wrestlers. Suddenly there's a bright light where there is another viable option to work and make a good living without having to move to Japan or Mexico and that needs to not be taken for granted, and he just didn't give the slightest fuck. He made it about himself. Everyone works with people they don't get perfectly along with.

[@mdjcsmith]

Superb ☑☑☑

[@seanmorgan9020]

I've worked with guys like punk, clear and direct, and I'd much rather that. I wouldn't consider myself in the leading position per se, I do my job well, but I appreciate good and clear direction.

[@mr.awesome6011]

Punk is an example of "I'm not looking for trouble, trouble is looking for me."

[@djchino774]

Nah, he's an example of someone who would call you out to your face instead of going to the dirt sheets.

[@Springfeeeel]

Lol yea ok. He's an example of someone who's this close to burning down all his bridges, yet fans like you want to make excuses and claim it's everyone else's fault. Both Punk and his fanboys need to take a deep look in the mirror.

[@mr.awesome6011]

​​@Springfeeeel He was a symptom, not the cause. I'm not even the biggest Punk fan, but all of his stories check out

[@TonTon-jx1by]

@@Springfeeeel Yeah everything is Punk's fault, ok now? We agreed. Now stop crying lol

[@JoseGarcia-qb3tz]

​@Springfeeeel ok probably, when is the other part of the story going to do it? Why hide if they're so sure of what they say about him? It's just dirt sheets, the most coward thing to do bc you don't show your face and Punk doesn't have someone to respond to.

[@wwedxecw]

The thumbnail is perfect 😂

[@JayDenning]

CM Punk was told by Undertaker to dress better....10-15 years ago Punk told Taker to shove it. Look at Punk now! He's a mature pro to the fans now!

[@radicalstanza3614]

Punk was entirely in the right back then.

[@JShadow6661]

lol mans became what he hated.

[@levisamom5069]

Since when did punk tell taker to shove it... All he asked was if the dress code was so important then why was it so lazily enforced... Why was guys like cena exempted from it and at that point then what's the point of the dress code... Which is totally valid question to argue All these bunch of social media gossips take anything and blow it out of proportion... Saying he disobeyed or he disrespected him Bunch of phonies 🤣

[@sumairshirazi]

Seth rollins called punk a cancer which tbh is very immature and stupid of rollins.

[@mr.awesome6011]

He's thinking like The Bucks and Hangman Page. He doesn't want Punk stealing his thunder.

[@djchino774]

Yet he's a professional and is using that beef to make money. The bucks cost Tony millions.

[@ItApproaches]

Seth is a spot light hog. He has to be in the main event, the fact they shoved him in as a ref in the Drew and Punk match shows that. Seth is kind of like the 90's HBK. The fact that Seth HATES Punk but Punk is like meh I don't have anything against Seth shows it's all Seth lol.

[@xS1D3SW1P3x]

He made money out of it, unlike the EVPs and Tony

[@KOHoxton]

I personally think Rollins has been working that shit for years, i highly doubt anyone in wwe is under that impression.

[@hadhoda12345]

I have read and watched every report/video regarding CM Punk's situation at AEW. He wasn't the problem but he did act unprofessionally, no doubt about it and I know his diehard fans will never accept this. Him going on a tantrum during an AEW press conference to take not-so-subtle digs at the Bucks and Hangman isn't the way to go. I'm talking strictly from a professional standpoint, even if you believe Bucks and Hangman are childish to the core that still doesn't excuse Punk to say what he said in that press conference. He should have handled it with TK and the other guys behind closed doors, and if nothing got resolved out of it then by all means leave. Fast forward to All In 2023, and the footage clearly showed that Punk put his hands on Jack Perry first. It doesn't matter what Perry said, if you label yourself as a locker room leader then you should have swallowed your pride for one night, allowed the biggest PPV in AEW's history to go by without any drama, and then handle the situation with Tony and Jack at a different time. Was Perry wrong to say "Real glass, cry me a river"? Absolutely, but again the naivety of others doesn't excuse you for what you did. I expected Punk to be much wiser at this day and age, but it seems he always allowed his emotions to get the better of him. All I'm saying is that if I was in charge of a company, any company, and I saw an employee acting the way Punk did, even if that employee is a legit hard worker, I'd fire him on the spot. This isn't because I think the other employees are right, but the minute you become disgruntled and start airing out your opinions out in the open, then that's the red line for me. All this brings me to the real problem, Tony Khan. In short, Tony should have had a more commanding presence in that locker room. You never feel that the talent fear him. They love him, they might respect him, but they never fear him. He's too much of a fan to be a legitimate boss, and I hope that changes one day. He should have placed Bucks and Punk together in one room and forced them to either hash things out or leave. No need to be friends, just put your differences behind you because the company needs to move forward. Instead, he never took the right initiative, and allowed things to get even worse by creating Collision, which should have been a show that served Dynamite and storyline continuity but instead was just a platform to keep Punk away from the Bucks and Hangman. It was a coward's approach from the start. Punk won't face a similar situation at WWE because that company is a well-oiled machine with a 50 year jumpstart ahead of AEW. AEW is still young and naive, and eventually they'll either learn from such events or become another TNA. I hope it's the former.

[@vileluca]

"He should have handled it with TK and the other guys behind closed doors" He tried to. For a year. TK did nothing. "It doesn't matter what Perry said" Would you be willing to take 2 years of public bullying without reacting?

[@hadhoda12345]

@@vileluca You missed my point. If he tried and it led to nothing then he should have left then and there. No need to assault anybody, no need to jeopardize an entire PPV because of the childish acts of another wrestler. "2 years of public bullying" is a stretch, but even if that was true he should have just left. I'm talking strictly from a professional standpoint.

[@MrRightEyeBlind]

Bully, that was so perfect about the Co- workers aspect of a team. If that was not true people would not get Oscars as supporting actors. Meaning sometimes the Co host is the one that might do all the heavy lifting. Look at the Blood line, they are full of Co host and the main guy Solo is the main actor but its his supporting acting counter parts that are getting the Oscar lol.

[@XLgameBRO]

CM Punk was NEVER the problem. He didn't do anything to help the nonsense lol but he wasn't the problem either

[@twwells]

never realized how much Bully Ray and Paul Heyman sound alike until now

[@epa6504]

John Cena vs John Laurinaitis was the main event over CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE title. I’d be pissed off too.

[@RossMalagarie]

Mavin said Vince told him the same thing about doing the same match back to back in different towns.

[@SandMan1998]

Dave gives me Conrad's vibe sometimes

[@J-Rock74N]

How does Bully not have a job in either producing or creative??? The guy knows his stuff around the business. Just my opinion but I put him in the conversation of a Heyman in terms of wrestling minds in the industry. Love the no holding back mentality too.

[@zwbruno90]

I had the opportunity to work with & share a car ride with Bully Ray. Can confirm, he's a pretty nice guy.

[@ishothim6times908]

Is it me or does bully ray sound alot like Paul E. 💯 😂😂😂😂

[@bagser1]

The thing about Punk's run with AEW is that the people who worked with him, Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, MJF, came out of it looking good and the people who worked against him, Adam Page, the Bucks etc., came out of it looking bad. WWE is the same thing, Drew is probably hotter than he has ever been working with Punk, Seth and Cody looked great working with him too. The way I see it it's best to work with him, even if you're not best friends with the guy, because he has the ability and stature to make you a bigger deal than you were.

[@theevn7]

Good video fellas

[@Hexx_Iztenze]

Is Bully a nice guy? I met him and he told me he was an a-hole, lmao. Yet he was actually a really funny and nice guy honestly. He just comes across to me as someone who says what he thinks, which is probably why he gets labelled an a-hole. We all have a friend that can be a bit of an outspoken a-hole (quite often I'm that guy, honestly) but we love them. That to me summed up Bully. What you see is what you get, take it or leave it. Meeting him and D-Von was definitely a great experience.

[@stefanj8112]

The fact that anyone would call CM Punk a Cancer is BS... he's a Scorpio.

[@coreythompsonTheOneandOnly]

4:35 im 38 years old and I know my man from the ECW days wait wait wait 5:03 now wait a minute 😳 Hall of Fame Wrestler The Reverend D Von Dudley?? Did you just try to compare that man to a housewife? I was just going to ask why they called Bubba Ray Dudley Bully, but fck that Devon Dudley is a leader amongst men and a living legend. Thank you Bully, i was a long time, 38 year old stupified believer in your work, thank you for showing me the truth 🙏🏿, I see 👀 for myself who the real woman ♀️ 👠 is. (Real G's move in silence 🤐, Google that statement brother and Chicago Illinois thanks 🙏🏿👍🏿 you for the lesson)

[@DravenEric87]

This title was a little misleading right? Like I was genuinely intrigued to hear what Mark would have to say and this was mostly Bubba talking about how people feel about him lol

[@WilliamLFC93]

Sometimes the boys will fight in any walk of life to get things out of their system then shake hands and move on afterwards, to some of the kids nowadays it sounds like the craziest, wildest thing ever.

[@Lthemisan]

Bully Ray spiting out facts about the misuse of intimidation and intimidated.

[@Parallelocam]

What's interesting is that Punk said people in Dave's line of work called him a cancer. The people that were referring to Punk as a cancer weren't in Dave's line of work, they were Punk's former colleagues. Jericho was the first person to allegedly call him this, to his face while both were in AEW in late 2022. Seth was the first one to call him a cancer publicly, in early 2023, playing off of Jericho's comment. Booker T later piled on, agreeing with Seth's claim and in a few more words, pronounced his hate for Phil Brooks as a person. Now here's a conspiracy for you. It's July 2022. Vince has stepped down due to the allegations. We're two months prior to Brawl Out. Punk is most likely letting Tony know his frustrations with what caused Brawl Out around this time, and the grass is looking greener with Vince gone. Punk contacts someone at WWE - a Cena or a Heyman. Someone up the chain he knows well. They play ambassador and set up a meeting with Nick Khan. The two sides come to an agreement, but there's still the issue of Punk's contract. Cue Brawl Out, which was Punk's way of killing two birds with one stone - publicly airing the laundry as well as attempting to get fired, which gets him out of his contract. Tony instead hands him Collision and refuses to fire him. Now it's Jan 2023, and Seth calls Punk a cancer to set up the feud. However nobody plans for Vince to come back this same month and ruin everything. Cut to mid 2023 where the TKO merger is being finalized, and new management starts to secretly form the plan to get Vince out. Nick Khan communicates to Punk that plans are in motion. Punk either secretly convinces Jack to help him get fired, or gets extremely lucky that Jack started problems. He chokes out Jack in front of Tony in an attempt to get fired again. When Tony asks for the opinions of his inner circle, Danielson votes Punk should be fired. This isn't for the betterment of AEW, this is because the two are friends and he wants to give Punk his freedom. Two months later Punk shows up at Survivor Series, two months after that Vince resigns for good. Everything goes off without a hitch. You can't get much better with fanfiction than Punk offering Jack his entire Wembley payoff if he pretends to start an altercation so that Tony would be forced to fire him. It's so perfectly orchestrated with his final match being a title retention over his career rival at Wembley

[@PAPERBOYPRINCE107]

Here for Mark Henry!

[@epic1761]

Topic is about cm punk, bully ray talks about himself, highly, amazing

[@WilliamsWrestlin]

Punk was never the problem. He just knew how to get out of the company once he knew what the company was about. Im sure he had intel on WWE managerial changes as he was getting heat in AEW.

[@soumyajeetghosh6911]

When I saw Dave I thought it was Uncle Dave for some reason and I was like lmao Also Sherlock Dudley was a missed opportunity

[@trinitycamby2782]

CM Punk on collision was just not gonna work out. He's in a better place with his current feud with Drew

[@NeoWings]

The irony is AEW got me to like CM Punk because he just came off as the realest on the show. I didn't watch his WWE run (or anything WWE after 2005ish till now), but AEW just never stopped feeling hokey to me. Watched since day 1, funny enough. Tried to like it but it just got worse and worse as the years went on. Cody set himself on fire and the fans treated him like their mom's boyfriend is back again, this fucking asshole. Worse yet, AEW talent fucking themselves up big time for little pay off. I think he wanted to make things better at Aew but you can't help people who don't want it, and all that passion became frustration.

[@greedisbad9890]

Indie wrestling company want to go mainstream but at the same time want to stay indie

[@mlgrasshoppa04]

Damn, this guy's voice lol great show though

[@leo-ivxx8063]

Imagine being a TSA agent, and the person you choose to menace is Mark Henry....

[@timothygosse4501]

Mark Henry turning into a wizard lol

[@garydesousa9784]

CM Punk loves himself

[@TravisW-o9q]

Lmao ! “. …your time away from pro wrestling”- to cm punk Cue the miller light commercial