SI.com Wrestling Week It is published every week and provides superficial coverage of the professional wrestling business.
The Everyone is outside A press conference revealed one of the dirtiest secrets in professional wrestling. From time to time, what happens behind the curtain is more amazing than what happens in the ring.
This was the case as Sunday night moved into Monday morning. CM Punk spoke at the post-match press conference and took the flamethrower into AEW’s locker room, lying down on his fellow wrestlers, specifically Hangman Page, the company’s executive vice presidents – Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks – as well as Colt Cabana. The focus of the press conference should have been on MJF’s amazing comeback, but the main plot line is almost non-existent as Punk totally went off script in his criticisms.
Once Punk left the press room, he exchanged words in the locker room with Omega and Bucks, which led to a physical altercation. Punishment for that behind-the-scenes fight, Sports Illustrated I know, it will include suspensions for everyone involved. Those who have been suspended include Omega, Matt, Nick Jackson, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa and Brandon Cutler. Multiple sources have reported that Punk and Ace Steel will either be among the suspended, or not be with the company by the end of Wednesday. Punk met Khan on Tuesday, so they had a chance to discuss how to handle this exit.
As per the sources, an external third party investigation will be conducted to examine what happened. Page has already left the building, Sports Illustrated I learned what explains his absence from the fight.
Punk’s anger flared up during the press conference when he referred to his ex-boyfriend, Cabana. Rumors swirled that Punk had moved Cabana to Ring of Honor, and Punk clearly believes it stemmed from leaks within the company, possibly even from Omega and the Bucks. Punk has vehemently denied involvement in any aspect of Cabana’s career, and the topic of discussion brought this up.
It all happened at the press conference where Punk sat next to AEW owner Tony Khan. It was an awkward, uncomfortable and unprofessional scene. Punk is the world champion in AEW, which adds another layer to this puzzle. Bucks and Omega are the first world champions of Triathlons.
Remarkably, there could still be a positive outcome if Punk and FTR became involved in a heated feud with the Omega and the Bucks. punk mentioned for Sports Illustrated Two weeks ago he was in AEW to sell tickets and increase ratings. Real-life struggles are sold out in the industry, especially when harnessed the right way – but sources close to AEW have indicated that a story won’t get out of this situation.
Khan is the CEO, Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer. This incident highlights AEW’s major need for delegation. Supervising a wrestling company isn’t a one-man show, and not even Vince McMahon at the height of his power in WWE pretended to be. McMahon has surrounded himself with the best minds in wrestling and put them in major roles, as has Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, Jim Barnett, JJ Dillon, Gorilla Monson and Arnold Skaland. While he signed all of the major decisions, McMahon wasn’t behind the scenes managing it all. Yes, McMahon may have been someone who received praise and recognition, but WWE’s success under his leadership was the result of a wide range of contributions. AEW’s lack of executive leadership experience plays a role in these issues. The company has a world class first class roster, but much less front office experience.
WWE also plays a role in all of this. As Khan noted during the press conference, Everyone is outside It did well commercially, but not so much that it set any records for the company. This is largely because WWE has strategically run a must-see event the day before in Clash in the castlein addition to the special NXT program in war of the worlds Just hours before AEW starts Everyone is outside Pay per view.
For WWE, that’s Everyone is outside The press conference will undoubtedly be used by newly appointed Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque as the latest recruitment play. Levesque follows the wrestling scheme created by McMahon in the 1980s. While McMahon distanced himself from him, Levesque returned to sign the best talent available.
Under Levesque’s leadership, there is a strong new wave of recruitment. What happens if so many talents in AEW try to cash in on their releases? That could be destabilizing, which means he could potentially be a focus from WWE. AEW has built much of its brand in contrast to McMahon’s poor booking and lackluster display of likable talent. However, that is now evolving, as WWE has rapidly cemented its event streaks since Levesque dominated creativity.
In the midst of all of this are the expired TV rights deals for AEW and WWE. Based on their assessments, AEW should be in a position to receive a significant increase in their rights fees when the current deal with WarnerBrothers/Discovery expires at the end of 2024. But WarnerMedia has merged with Discovery, Inc. Warner Bros. problem. Discovery, and the market is unsure of their current strategy, which creates question marks about AEW’s future. WWE also needs new network rights deals, as existing agreements with NBCUniversal and Fox only run through the end of September in 2024. Weakening AEW while strengthening their brand is undoubtedly WWE’s goal.
For AEW, this is the wrong time for chaos. The company needs to tighten its internal affairs, as the professional wrestling industry is a much stronger place with two big companies rather than one crushing monopoly.
The Week (Online) in Wrestling
• Braun Strowman returned to WWE last Monday rawreceiving a strong response from the crowd.
• Frankie Kazarian offered his insights from his 25 years in pro wrestling.
• How will MJF respond to recent events in AEW? Will he shoot Punk?
• Johnny Gargano will wrestle for the first time in nine months next Monday raw.
Konrad Thompson on fundraising program Steve “Mongo” McMichael: ‘Hopefully we can hit $20,000 by the end of the week’
The “Money for Mongo” fundraiser took place last Saturday, with the Hall of Fame raising money for Steve “Mongo” McMichael.
Once a physical sample with the NFL Chicago Bears McMichael later became a member of the Four Horsemen in WCW, and suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. McMichael, an evil disease, deals with the consequences of this brutal, random affliction.
Hosted by the star-studded cast of AdFreeShows.com “Money for Mongo” aired last Saturday, which was broadcast for free on FITE. Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Tony Schiavone, and Konrad Thompson, had a chance to wrestle to find a lovable family member.
“We are honored to support Mungo, and 100 percent of the money goes directly to him and his wife,” Thompson said. “Wrestling, despite all the ridiculous infighting behind the scenes, still has a lot of great people who want to help each other. Mungo is a proud part of this wrestling family, and we are all proud to help out in any way we can. All YouTube advertising revenue, all going to go to. To Mongo and Misty.”
McMichael, the former Super Bowl champion, displays undeniable charm whenever he speaks. Despite its huge size, it can disarm people by its social nature. After his NFL career, he had a brief stint in WWE that culminated in the WrestleMania XI As one of the football players on Lawrence Taylor’s crew, he then made himself the darling of wrestling fans after he left the WCW broadcast booth and entered the ring.
for those interested, People can still donate To help defray the costs of McMichael’s medical treatment.
“His family is running a five-figure shortfall each month in his healthcare costs, so it was important to contribute in any way,” Thompson said. “We’re almost at $17,000, and hopefully we’ll be at $20,000 by the end of the week.”
Tweet of the week
Wisdom (note the timing) from John Cena.
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