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AEW All In
Sunday’s event at Wembly Stadium in London proved to be a winner for Tony Khan’s promotion. The event drew the largest paid attendance in pro wrestling history with 81,035. Khan estimated there were nearly 90,000 people in Wembly to witness this historic event.
I reviewed All In with Good Karma Wrestling’s Jonathan Hood. You can listen to it on Spotify:
My favorite matches on the main card were:
- MJF vs Adam Cole
- FTR vs The Young Bucks
- The Golden Elite vs. Bullet Club Gold
- Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho
It you are a fan of professional wrestling then you had to salute the AEW roster for putting on a helluva show. Also, shoutout to the London fans in attendance. They made that PPV cook.
With all that said when it comes to AEW it always seems like it’s one step forward then 2 steps back.
Is It Time For CM Punk To Go Away?
Once again CM Punk has found himself embroiled in another backstage altercation this time with Jungle Boy Jack Perry.
The backstory is as follows according to Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp:
Details are few and far between at the moment, but we have learned that Jack Perry and CM Punk had an altercation shortly before CM Punk went to the ring for his AEW All In match. Jack Perry was on right before him, and did a spot on a car window, and said “it’s real glass, cry me a river.” This was a shot at Punk, who had a confrontation at an AEW Collision taping this Summer over Perry’s insistence on using real glass for a spot on the show. We’re told Perry wasn’t happy with how the situation was relayed publicly by those close to Punk.
– Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful Select
While we won’t ever get the full story what we do know is that despite being a draw CM Punk’s presence has fractured the AEW locker room. The fracture is so intense that a 2nd show was essentially created to showcase Punk on. Since his return from suspension & injury following last year’s All Out Brawl, Punk has yet to be on AEW Dynamite. This dynamic has put the wrestlers in an uncomfortable situation of being labeled in the camp of either Punk or The Elite. Whether it was going into business for himself after Hangman Page cut a promo on him, the All Out Post Show scrum where he went nuclear on The Elite, Hangman and Colt Cabana(and essentially took the spotlight away from MJF’s return that night), the brawl itself or other instances since his return, CM Punk has been made to look like he is toxic in the locker room. A good deal of that is of Punk’s on doing.
It was also reported that Punk threatened to walk out of the PPV after the altercation with Jack Perry but had to be convinced by Samoa Joe to go on with their match. All of this had apparently led to both CM Punk & Jack Perry being suspended ahead of AEW’s ‘tentpole’ All Out event here in Chicago.
Look, I’m a CM Punk guy. I’ve always been a big supporter of his but at some point when you keep reading about altercations and backstage drama and Punk is almost always involved you just have to come to the conclusion that maybe they’re not the problem but rather he is the problem.
CM Punk has been around too long to let these slick comments and pot shots rile him up so much. He is the veteran and one of the faces of AEW. It’s time for him to be the leader he professes himself to be… or maybe it’s time CM Punk leave AEW for good.
With all of that said… CM Punk is not the real problem with AEW.
When Will Tony Khan Be The Adult In The Room?
The real reason why you have these altercations involving CM Punk, The Elite and others is because you have an owner in Tony Khan who refuses to put a stop to this b.s. AEW should be basking in the glow of what was an historic PPV but instead Tony Khan is once again playing damage control for a situation he has allowed to get out of hand. This is what happens when you aren’t the adult in the room. Lack of control and oversight gets you into a situation where one of your top stars(CM Punk) doesn’t have transportation to the team hotel. Khan’s insistence on being ‘one of the boys’ or a superfan has led to the inmates running the asylum. Inmates running the asylum gets you the nonsense that happened on Sunday before the main card started. Jack Perry reportedly told 2 people in AEW that he would fire back at CM Punk during his Zero Hour match with Hook due to the glass spot incident. That incident was this – Perry wanted to use real glass for a spot during his match on Collision a couple of weeks ago. CM Punk advised him not to use real glass for safety reasons. Perry took exception, went around Punk and did the spot anyway.
It’s situations like that where you as the owner must put an end to. Tony Khan should’ve cut off Punk’s tirade at last year’s All Out press scrum. He should’ve sent Punk home to calm down. He should’ve chastised The Young Bucks for allegedly going to the dirt sheets to spread information about Punk. He should be the type of owner that doesn’t allow the dirt sheets to run rampant with rumors about his promotion but for whatever reason he refuses.
Every time it seems as though AEW is ready to take the next step you have a backstage instance happen that makes your promotion look like a clown show. Worst of all, Khan hasn’t manufactured a way to turn these real-life ‘beefs’ into money by putting it in the ring. The mere fact we’re now a year removed from Brawl Out and we have yet to see an angle out of this shows the lack of leadership and savvie of Khan. You can’t just say “we’re putting on good matches”. You have to be the adult in the room. It’s way past time that either Khan does his job or he hires someone to get the locker room in line.
Good Karma Wrestling’s Jonathan Hood offered his thoughts on Tony Khan:
WWE Payback
WWE will present its Payback PPV this Saturday from Pittsburgh and I gotta tell you – it’s going to be a filler event. No one from The Bloodline is scheduled to be on the show. The WWE Women’s Championship will not be on the line. No Charlotte Flair. No Bianca Belair. The Intercontinental Championship match between Gunther & Chad Gable won’t be on the card but rather on the RAW following Payback. This PPV will be missing a good deal of star power but that won’t mean the talent scheduled won’t go all out.
As of today the matches scheduled are as follows:
- Seth Rollins(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Heavyweight Championship
- Sami Zayn/Kevins(c) vs. Finn Balor/Damian Priest for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship
- Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s World Championship
- Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus in a Steel Cage Match
- The Miz vs. LA Knight
- Rey Mysterio(c) vs. Austin Theory for the United States Championship
Rollins/Shinsuke and the tag team title match are the two feuds I’m most interested in. Nakamura has been gold with his new heel persona and anytime you can get Owens, Zayn, Balor and Priest in a ring together you know you’re going to get a banger.
Thank You, Bray Wyatt
The wrestling universe is still reeling following the sudden death of Windham Rotunda last Thursday. Tributes have poured in since Triple H announced his passing.
Windham was beloved by his fellow wrestlers and fans as not only one of the most creative minds in the history of the sport but as a genuine human being who was passionate about life, his family and brought positive vibes and love into every environment he was in.
For me, this hit hard and still hurts. Bray was one of my favorite wrestlers. His mic work was must see TV and he found a way to continue to push the envelope and evolve.
Thank you for everything, Windham. Rest in honor to The Eater of Worlds…
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