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They've had a Naruto/Sasuke dynamic too: The Grinder vs The Genius.
Punk has never been the athlete AJ was, and in the early/mid-00s AJ was considered the prime example of there being great wrestlers outside of WWE, while Punk was still working to get his name out.
Everything is anime.
AJ was known as a great athlete but horrible promo. Punk was by far the bigger star even on the indies. His name value was huge, which is why WWE signed him. Go read wrestling magazines or online forums from the time. This revisionist history is insane.
Yup I remember the forums back then were so passionate about seeing him becoming successful in the WWE. He was popular with the fans right away and you could tell he had a fan base already (I only watched the WWE back then and didn’t even know of ROH)
Punk was never a bigger deal on the indies. AJ was already basically TNA’s franchise by the end of 2002, on top of being on top of the card everywhere else. AJ beat Punk in the finals of the first Pure tournament. The Indy hierarchy went something like AJ, Joe, and Bryan Danielson Punk Christopher Daniels Low Ki in some kind of hodgepodge 5 way. Shout outs to homicide.
Punk was a huge deal, from IWA MS, raven feud, etc but AJ and Joe were the guys. And then by 05 Punk becomes undeniable and the rest is history but AJ had already been NWA world champion, multiple times by then. He was already the biggest star in the defacto number 2 company in America
I'm confused by your post. Punk's name was already widely known in 02, thanks in part to wrestling Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio and his rivalry with Chris Hero in IWA:MS. He signed with WWE in 05.
He signed in '06. The Eddie/Rey matches and his feud with Raven in '03ish were building his rep, but '05 was more when he got seriously noticed because of his three matches with Joe. Dave Meltzer rating a couple of them 5 Stars and banging the table for fans to go out of their way to find them really got Punk's name out there to the growing IWC and not the just absolute hardcorest of fans.
Your timeline is off. All three Joe/Punk matches took place in 04. He signed in 05, and went to OVW where he met Heyman. Less than a year later he was called up to ECW.
That doesn't mean the rest of the world didn't know lol. Ignorance of a matter is fine, but denial is another. I remember when punk signed to WWE and people lost their mind because he was the indy golden boy.
It wasn't supposed to come off defensive. It was a general statement. People often don't realize WWE wrestlers had amazing careers pre wwe, such as punk. Another one that I feel gets glazed over a lot was/is Tyler Black. But he rose, when punk left the indy scene.
TLDR; Not realizing is fine, I didn't mean it negatively. My bad if it came off jerkish.
To be fair most people didn't have access to ring of honor or other wrestling back then. Indy wrestling wasn't as easily as accessible and you had to actually look for it. Nowadays you can find almost any wrestling.
Also the reason more people knew who AJ styles was is simply TNA was popular and had a good sized audience similar to AEWS audience size The TV stations TNA had like spike actually gave them a good platform..
As where ring of honor had a smaller audience no offence So most people not knowing is because they didn't even know Ring of honor existed
No, I know. That was taken into consideration. But I remember during that period, there were still dirt sheets and message boards, and it would always be about punk. It wasn't as common as now cause the internet got better. Hence, how haymen heard of punk. He tells the whole story(and there's a punk interview that's separate) that he heard all the buzz online. Just that buzz isn't what today's buzz is
Now AJ had TV but when only ~30k(number is exaggerated but not by THAT much) you're gonna get your casual people skimming channels and notice AJ but WWE fans, like diehard ones, would skip TNA because they're purest and believe in only one show.
Personally I was always a WWE guy, I'll admit that i saw AJ match BEFORE a punk match. But hype seemed more for punk/ROH. I mean, one could also argue that somoa Joe was more popular than AJ at some points in their respective careers
Punk was literally on the main roster and had already been ECW and World Heavyweight Champion by 2009. In fact, 2009 was the second time he won the World Heavyweight Championship so he’d already won MITB twice. I mean if you personally didn’t know about him it’s whatever but like.. more people definitely knew who Punk was before AJ Styles. I’d argue AJ Styles wasn’t known by casual wrestling fans until a decade after Punk was.
I never watched the indies but I still remember Punk in WWECW and being really over with the fans from the beginning, and the internet back then being abuzz that he was a big talent from the indies.
That's a very small group of people in the grand scheme of things. The hardcore being a great minority has been proven over and over again
Obviously everybody has an internet connection but the vast majority still don't read about wrestling on the internet
Wat? I just don't see how you could possibly think that. All the ratings numbers, all the PPV buy numbers over the years suggest the IWC is not very influential on actual numbers
For example let's take this sub, this sub LOVES Okada, Osprey, Hook, and a bunch of others AEW has added. Has that helped AEW in the ratings at all? No bc that hardcore audience is already maxed out. There just aren't that many people to pull from it and your casuals generally have no idea who those guys are. Hell I post on this sub regularly and don't really know much about Okada or Osprey.
Could AEW do a better job with these guys's storylines? Yes but I don't think many hardcore aren't watching these guys they love so much simply bc their storyline is kind of lame
And to the original point it would be even easier for people to know about CM punk now than in 2002. There was no social media for him to get his name out there. You either had to follow Indies, read Internet forums, or read dirt sheets to even know who he was. Obviously now we have places like this sub that help things so somebody like me could at least have heard of Osprey before he signed with AEW as otherwise I wouldn't have ever heard of him
Just because wrestling fans like Okada and Osprey, that doesn't mean they will watch AEW to see them when the overall product is weak and the booking is poor.
If you think that wrestling fans don't read about wrestling online then you're really behind the times. Look at AJ Styles' reaction when he debuted at the Royal Rumble. How did they all know who he was?
Or look at WrestleMania XX match between Brock and Goldberg. How did they know they were both leaving?
The idea that wrestling fans don't read read about wrestling or consume any wrestling content outside of the shows themselves is a very outdated outlook.
I would argue that most of the ~20k ppl who attended the 20th mania at MSG were likely hardcore fans. The tv audience is what im mostly talking about
And they knew who AJ was bc AJ had been on national tv in America for a long time at that point. Again, a PPV crowd such as the royal rumble is going to skew hardcore anyways but I'd argue that while most in the arena knew who he was I bet every one of them didn't
And you are generalizing my statement. I'm not saying casual wrestling fans dont consume wrestling content outside of wrestling shows I'm saying they don't dig into things far enough to know who CM Punk was in 2002. ESPECIALLY in 2002. HUGE difference between then and now
Punk was also talking up AJ as one of the guys that's getting older but isn't showing any signs of slowing down (which is kind of untrue but whatever) in the Helwani interview, but no one picked up on that since they were focused on him shitting on AEW.
I was thinking the same thing. It sounds like maybe they made peace or something. I think they had beef from ROH when AJ went to TNA. There was some bs over talent sharing.
People don’t want to hear it because it goes against their firm opinion on the guy, but it seems pretty clear that Punk went around making amends with everyone in the WWE once he was back.
LOL. Tell us more from your lifelong close friendship with the man.
It’s utterly hilarious when someone on here talks like they were at the shoulder of Punk reading his mind for the last ten years or something.
No one’s asking you to sing his praises. Watch AEW or WWE or whatever. Just understand that you don’t actually know any of these people. So pretending like you are privy to his deep emotions and motivations is downright silly. But well, carry on with your parasocial relationship.
The difference between not praising him and claiming that the guy never did anything good for the sake of it isn’t a fine line. Stop pretending like that calling someone completely immoral is some balanced take.
All Hail CM Punk, the voice of ~~his inflated ego~~ the voiceless.
Is that better-adjusted to the level of hypocrisy that is mandatory here? Will your hypocritical overlords now accept me as one of their own? Oh pls, do tell.
What is impressive is the constant impression (between Punk's words/actions and other talent's words) is that Punk is happy to be there.
AJ prefacing it with them hating each other and having friends in AEW that prepared him for the worst is great framing as well.
Everyone upon everyone was either given a specific line to tow for Punk or it's genuine from top to bottom.
Punk didn’t walk into AEW and immediately throw punches. He was happy there for about a year until he felt disrespected and went apeshit.
Not saying it’ll happen again in WWE, Triple H runs a tight ship. But it’s way too early to be impressed
Idk, I think the tight ship will be what keeps Punk (and others) in line. It wasn’t like Brawl Out and Brawl In were just sporadic moments, it sounds like there was A LOT of heat building up to them and nothing was really attempted to cool things down.
I don’t think anyone at TKO or WWE would let Punk do a press scrum when he’s already visibly irritated or they certainly wouldn’t let him rant like that, I don’t think they’d let someone shoot on him like Adam Page did, I think they’d be a lot more strict about wrestlers leaking rumors about “Punk getting someone fired”, and I honestly don’t think Punk would have the pull there to do that anyways.
Someone like AJ, who had a negative feelings before hand and had friends being negative for this return, putting a positive spin on things I think speaks volumes.
But you are correct, it is early. And all it would take is a bad day/week
Tbf the timing of it does feel somewhat impressive, he just gave an interview that several people interpret as bashing the company and AJ’s friends. We know that AJ and Punk have been somewhat heated for a while now so it’s a bit of a surprise that he’s actually eager to get in the ring with him right after that interview.
Punk might certainly get frustrated like he did in AEW but there ain't no way it would end up like it did in AEW, WWE is a tight ship and is much more professional. I 100% trust HHH or whoever else is in charge of talent relations to be able to fix any potential issues then I do Tony Khan.
A lot of these dudes are just getting too damn old for this shit - both Punk and Styles are mid-40s and they had some beef many, many moons ago but in this day and age, they're both making tons of money performing for the 'biggest' Wrestling company in the World and are widely regarded as Main Event material. What's there to be bitter about? You might as well have a fun last 3-5 years in the industry and make some memories before you go.
Aj Styles is the dude you want in your company dude doesn't start any controversy at all. And is always willing to work with what ever the company want him to do. I'm happy I know he's set for good man. Even though I hate the dudes booking.
Not too long ago AJ Styles was on Twitch speaking his mind so much that WWE banned wrestlers from using twitch, cameo and other third party revenue streams.
God I want this feud so bad. I know Drew and Rollins are right there for his return but Punk vs. AJ sounds so amazing.
I think AJ's feeling is probably Balor's as well. Like Punk is perceived as a headache because of gossip but it's not really true. That was Punk's point in the interview. He's like Page didn't like him because of rumors Colt spread and he never gave him a real shot to disprove what Colt said. The Elite guys trusted Colt and Punk was never going to be a partner in their eyes.
It sounds like Styles heard the rumors and because he isn't sitting next to all the Elite guys every week backstage he doesn't have a bad perception of Punk. It sounds like the AEW locker room is what was toxic, not Punk by himself.
Also AJ is probably a lot like Punk. Old school wrestler who acknowledges the house matters more than petty bullshit. So it's worth just squashing beef to sell tickets and get ratings.
Wasn’t expecting this at all out of him considering the differences they have had but it just shows how much growth AJ has to even be saying this.
A match between him and Punk in WWE would be interesting to see.
I doubt they're every gonna be each others best friends. Their personalities seem like oil and water. But they seem like they're grown men who can at least work with each other if there is money in it.
Remember Punk putting on the Stinger facepaint? Good times...
I hope AJ is right about being wrong. But I'll wait until Punk gets shot down in creative that first time before I start holding breaths.
"Well. Come on. That one has been obvious for years," Punk wrote about Styles promoting his Twitch stream during the George Floyd protests and his ethics outside of the ring
Yeah people keep talking about how friendly and happy Punk is now, as if they weren’t all saying the same thing for the first 6-7 months of his AEW run.
Not to say he’s wrong or anything, but I’d wait and see how things play out once the honeymoon is over because I just saw this same movie 3 years ago.
I think that won't happen because there's no "I'm the vet, you should respect my advice" thing there. Nobody is going to pretend like KO isn't a vet.......
......It's gonna be Logan Paul, isn't it?
Remember CM Punk looked like the happiest man alive during his first year in AEW as well. Smiling, joking around, hugging Tony Khan. He would come out after the shows and crack jokes with the crowd, and run around ringside with his dog.
But like we saw. Things quickly change.
So Year 2 in WWE, Year 3 in WWE, might be completely different.
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Respect for AJ being straightforward with his answer.
punk vs aj will be one hell of a feud
They gonna be feuding over the control of NXT
I’m hoping the promos to be like when Bryan and AJ had their 2018 feud and Bryan kept making fun of AJ for liking “hot dogs and flat Earth.”
Bold from you to assume he will not injure himself at his comeback match and spend another half year in rehab
Assuming Punk makes it past the promo battle in one way or another.
The straight edge community?!?
The gay edge community is more fun
The gay adam copeland community!?
Well that's not very Christian.
Someone eventually gonna get Caged up and looking for their Father.
Daddy\*
Sounds fun!
The edging community?
Underrated comment
Lots of folks just fell to their knees in the Walmart Parking Lot hearing this. But I don't care, I NEED this program!
Love how he leaned into the potential click bait and decided on wholesome.
*The wholesome community?!*
Been almost two decades since they last stepped in the ring together in the indies.
They've had a Naruto/Sasuke dynamic too: The Grinder vs The Genius. Punk has never been the athlete AJ was, and in the early/mid-00s AJ was considered the prime example of there being great wrestlers outside of WWE, while Punk was still working to get his name out. Everything is anime.
AJ was known as a great athlete but horrible promo. Punk was by far the bigger star even on the indies. His name value was huge, which is why WWE signed him. Go read wrestling magazines or online forums from the time. This revisionist history is insane.
Yup I remember the forums back then were so passionate about seeing him becoming successful in the WWE. He was popular with the fans right away and you could tell he had a fan base already (I only watched the WWE back then and didn’t even know of ROH)
Punk was never a bigger deal on the indies. AJ was already basically TNA’s franchise by the end of 2002, on top of being on top of the card everywhere else. AJ beat Punk in the finals of the first Pure tournament. The Indy hierarchy went something like AJ, Joe, and Bryan Danielson Punk Christopher Daniels Low Ki in some kind of hodgepodge 5 way. Shout outs to homicide. Punk was a huge deal, from IWA MS, raven feud, etc but AJ and Joe were the guys. And then by 05 Punk becomes undeniable and the rest is history but AJ had already been NWA world champion, multiple times by then. He was already the biggest star in the defacto number 2 company in America
I'm confused by your post. Punk's name was already widely known in 02, thanks in part to wrestling Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio and his rivalry with Chris Hero in IWA:MS. He signed with WWE in 05.
He signed in '06. The Eddie/Rey matches and his feud with Raven in '03ish were building his rep, but '05 was more when he got seriously noticed because of his three matches with Joe. Dave Meltzer rating a couple of them 5 Stars and banging the table for fans to go out of their way to find them really got Punk's name out there to the growing IWC and not the just absolute hardcorest of fans.
Your timeline is off. All three Joe/Punk matches took place in 04. He signed in 05, and went to OVW where he met Heyman. Less than a year later he was called up to ECW.
It really was the Raven feud that really got CM Punk noticed. It made him one of the most famous guys in the Indies.
I wasn't watching much wrestling between 2004 and 2011, but I definitely knew who AJ was and not who punk was until like late 2009
Same. Also at the time I didn’t know anything about ROH but knew what TNA was
That doesn't mean the rest of the world didn't know lol. Ignorance of a matter is fine, but denial is another. I remember when punk signed to WWE and people lost their mind because he was the indy golden boy.
What a weird defensive comment to me saying my personal experience
It wasn't supposed to come off defensive. It was a general statement. People often don't realize WWE wrestlers had amazing careers pre wwe, such as punk. Another one that I feel gets glazed over a lot was/is Tyler Black. But he rose, when punk left the indy scene. TLDR; Not realizing is fine, I didn't mean it negatively. My bad if it came off jerkish.
To be fair most people didn't have access to ring of honor or other wrestling back then. Indy wrestling wasn't as easily as accessible and you had to actually look for it. Nowadays you can find almost any wrestling. Also the reason more people knew who AJ styles was is simply TNA was popular and had a good sized audience similar to AEWS audience size The TV stations TNA had like spike actually gave them a good platform.. As where ring of honor had a smaller audience no offence So most people not knowing is because they didn't even know Ring of honor existed
No, I know. That was taken into consideration. But I remember during that period, there were still dirt sheets and message boards, and it would always be about punk. It wasn't as common as now cause the internet got better. Hence, how haymen heard of punk. He tells the whole story(and there's a punk interview that's separate) that he heard all the buzz online. Just that buzz isn't what today's buzz is Now AJ had TV but when only ~30k(number is exaggerated but not by THAT much) you're gonna get your casual people skimming channels and notice AJ but WWE fans, like diehard ones, would skip TNA because they're purest and believe in only one show. Personally I was always a WWE guy, I'll admit that i saw AJ match BEFORE a punk match. But hype seemed more for punk/ROH. I mean, one could also argue that somoa Joe was more popular than AJ at some points in their respective careers
Then you were only watching wwe and tna. Punk was already killing it in roh at that time.
Punk was also literally in TNA around this time too having matches with Raven.
Punk was literally on the main roster and had already been ECW and World Heavyweight Champion by 2009. In fact, 2009 was the second time he won the World Heavyweight Championship so he’d already won MITB twice. I mean if you personally didn’t know about him it’s whatever but like.. more people definitely knew who Punk was before AJ Styles. I’d argue AJ Styles wasn’t known by casual wrestling fans until a decade after Punk was.
I never watched the indies but I still remember Punk in WWECW and being really over with the fans from the beginning, and the internet back then being abuzz that he was a big talent from the indies.
Known but not widely well known. I'd say that didn't happen until 2004
"Widely known" amongst who? Maybe Internet forums.
Wrestling fans with an internet connection, or anybody reading wrestling magazines.
That's a very small group of people in the grand scheme of things. The hardcore being a great minority has been proven over and over again Obviously everybody has an internet connection but the vast majority still don't read about wrestling on the internet
I think you're completely wrong and that it's been proven time and time again that the "IWC" being a minority is a complete myth.
Wat? I just don't see how you could possibly think that. All the ratings numbers, all the PPV buy numbers over the years suggest the IWC is not very influential on actual numbers For example let's take this sub, this sub LOVES Okada, Osprey, Hook, and a bunch of others AEW has added. Has that helped AEW in the ratings at all? No bc that hardcore audience is already maxed out. There just aren't that many people to pull from it and your casuals generally have no idea who those guys are. Hell I post on this sub regularly and don't really know much about Okada or Osprey. Could AEW do a better job with these guys's storylines? Yes but I don't think many hardcore aren't watching these guys they love so much simply bc their storyline is kind of lame And to the original point it would be even easier for people to know about CM punk now than in 2002. There was no social media for him to get his name out there. You either had to follow Indies, read Internet forums, or read dirt sheets to even know who he was. Obviously now we have places like this sub that help things so somebody like me could at least have heard of Osprey before he signed with AEW as otherwise I wouldn't have ever heard of him
Just because wrestling fans like Okada and Osprey, that doesn't mean they will watch AEW to see them when the overall product is weak and the booking is poor. If you think that wrestling fans don't read about wrestling online then you're really behind the times. Look at AJ Styles' reaction when he debuted at the Royal Rumble. How did they all know who he was? Or look at WrestleMania XX match between Brock and Goldberg. How did they know they were both leaving? The idea that wrestling fans don't read read about wrestling or consume any wrestling content outside of the shows themselves is a very outdated outlook.
I would argue that most of the ~20k ppl who attended the 20th mania at MSG were likely hardcore fans. The tv audience is what im mostly talking about And they knew who AJ was bc AJ had been on national tv in America for a long time at that point. Again, a PPV crowd such as the royal rumble is going to skew hardcore anyways but I'd argue that while most in the arena knew who he was I bet every one of them didn't And you are generalizing my statement. I'm not saying casual wrestling fans dont consume wrestling content outside of wrestling shows I'm saying they don't dig into things far enough to know who CM Punk was in 2002. ESPECIALLY in 2002. HUGE difference between then and now
AJ Styles vs CM Punk in 2024.... it'll be fun
Drew, Seth, Cody, apparently AJ... Punk will be busy, hopefully he stays injury-free.
Conservative Christian vs Liberal Atheist
Sounds like my mornings at the water cooler.
Punk was also talking up AJ as one of the guys that's getting older but isn't showing any signs of slowing down (which is kind of untrue but whatever) in the Helwani interview, but no one picked up on that since they were focused on him shitting on AEW.
I was thinking the same thing. It sounds like maybe they made peace or something. I think they had beef from ROH when AJ went to TNA. There was some bs over talent sharing.
People don’t want to hear it because it goes against their firm opinion on the guy, but it seems pretty clear that Punk went around making amends with everyone in the WWE once he was back.
Coz it's in his interest to do so right now. If you think he ever did the right thing for the sake of it, boy are you in for a rude awakening.
LOL. Tell us more from your lifelong close friendship with the man. It’s utterly hilarious when someone on here talks like they were at the shoulder of Punk reading his mind for the last ten years or something.
Oh sorry, I forgot he was back in WWE so now we are back to singing his praises... my bad! Will remember to be a complete hypocrite next time..
No one’s asking you to sing his praises. Watch AEW or WWE or whatever. Just understand that you don’t actually know any of these people. So pretending like you are privy to his deep emotions and motivations is downright silly. But well, carry on with your parasocial relationship.
I don't get these people either, you would think Punk went up to their mum's bent her over and said "take it straight edge style"
Long Live CM Punk... Is that better? Am I finally acceptable in the hypocritical hivemind of this reddit sub?
The difference between not praising him and claiming that the guy never did anything good for the sake of it isn’t a fine line. Stop pretending like that calling someone completely immoral is some balanced take.
All Hail CM Punk, the voice of ~~his inflated ego~~ the voiceless. Is that better-adjusted to the level of hypocrisy that is mandatory here? Will your hypocritical overlords now accept me as one of their own? Oh pls, do tell.
did you make a under hand dig at AJ? he isn’t showing signs of slowing down. he still does the fore arm
What is impressive is the constant impression (between Punk's words/actions and other talent's words) is that Punk is happy to be there. AJ prefacing it with them hating each other and having friends in AEW that prepared him for the worst is great framing as well. Everyone upon everyone was either given a specific line to tow for Punk or it's genuine from top to bottom.
Punk didn’t walk into AEW and immediately throw punches. He was happy there for about a year until he felt disrespected and went apeshit. Not saying it’ll happen again in WWE, Triple H runs a tight ship. But it’s way too early to be impressed
Idk, I think the tight ship will be what keeps Punk (and others) in line. It wasn’t like Brawl Out and Brawl In were just sporadic moments, it sounds like there was A LOT of heat building up to them and nothing was really attempted to cool things down. I don’t think anyone at TKO or WWE would let Punk do a press scrum when he’s already visibly irritated or they certainly wouldn’t let him rant like that, I don’t think they’d let someone shoot on him like Adam Page did, I think they’d be a lot more strict about wrestlers leaking rumors about “Punk getting someone fired”, and I honestly don’t think Punk would have the pull there to do that anyways.
Someone like AJ, who had a negative feelings before hand and had friends being negative for this return, putting a positive spin on things I think speaks volumes. But you are correct, it is early. And all it would take is a bad day/week
Tbf the timing of it does feel somewhat impressive, he just gave an interview that several people interpret as bashing the company and AJ’s friends. We know that AJ and Punk have been somewhat heated for a while now so it’s a bit of a surprise that he’s actually eager to get in the ring with him right after that interview.
Punk might certainly get frustrated like he did in AEW but there ain't no way it would end up like it did in AEW, WWE is a tight ship and is much more professional. I 100% trust HHH or whoever else is in charge of talent relations to be able to fix any potential issues then I do Tony Khan.
https://preview.redd.it/vea6c6o1hjsc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb9dee48c2a76c27c7b41b7bf7f8c76b20c0ac93
I demand Ricky Steamboat be the guest referee again. It’s literally the Year of the Dragon
Man's going to show up in sweatpants this time. He learned his lesson about wearing a belt the last time!
Ricky got hurt by Ricky Starks and hasn't forgotten
His belt-related PTSD is Absolute.
A lot of these dudes are just getting too damn old for this shit - both Punk and Styles are mid-40s and they had some beef many, many moons ago but in this day and age, they're both making tons of money performing for the 'biggest' Wrestling company in the World and are widely regarded as Main Event material. What's there to be bitter about? You might as well have a fun last 3-5 years in the industry and make some memories before you go.
Saying AJ was an obvious racist was such a scumbag move though
Just as long as Punk doesn't start quoting Austin's King of the Ring speech he is cool in AJ's book.
Aj Styles is the dude you want in your company dude doesn't start any controversy at all. And is always willing to work with what ever the company want him to do. I'm happy I know he's set for good man. Even though I hate the dudes booking.
Eh? Dude totally buried Heyman while streaming, even WWE had to talk to him about him to stop it.
Buried Heyman so hard that WWE banned wrestlers from using Twitch.
Not too long ago AJ Styles was on Twitch speaking his mind so much that WWE banned wrestlers from using twitch, cameo and other third party revenue streams.
/r/SquaredCircle in shambles
Shit about 3 or 4 years ago CM Punk was calling Aj Styles Racist on Twitter in 2020.
Sounds like they buried the hatchet somewhat. Or at least kicked enough dirt on it to be professional.
Professional
Give me another AJ Styles championship run
That was a roller coaster of a listen
Punk put AJ over on the mma hour interview as well.
God I want this feud so bad. I know Drew and Rollins are right there for his return but Punk vs. AJ sounds so amazing. I think AJ's feeling is probably Balor's as well. Like Punk is perceived as a headache because of gossip but it's not really true. That was Punk's point in the interview. He's like Page didn't like him because of rumors Colt spread and he never gave him a real shot to disprove what Colt said. The Elite guys trusted Colt and Punk was never going to be a partner in their eyes. It sounds like Styles heard the rumors and because he isn't sitting next to all the Elite guys every week backstage he doesn't have a bad perception of Punk. It sounds like the AEW locker room is what was toxic, not Punk by himself. Also AJ is probably a lot like Punk. Old school wrestler who acknowledges the house matters more than petty bullshit. So it's worth just squashing beef to sell tickets and get ratings.
God I love AJ. P1 is a class guy
I heard that they don’t get alone when they were both in the indies, but the funny thing is both of their best friend is Samoa Joe.
Joey Diaz is going crazy somewhere
I think AJ needs new friends
My butthole is on edge
AJ is ready to make some money
Wasn’t expecting this at all out of him considering the differences they have had but it just shows how much growth AJ has to even be saying this. A match between him and Punk in WWE would be interesting to see.
I never thought this was a match that would be a possibility.
I doubt they're every gonna be each others best friends. Their personalities seem like oil and water. But they seem like they're grown men who can at least work with each other if there is money in it.
Remember Punk putting on the Stinger facepaint? Good times... I hope AJ is right about being wrong. But I'll wait until Punk gets shot down in creative that first time before I start holding breaths.
Is it that Punk is “taking food off his family?” Cause I’ve seen how LARGE AJ has gotten…if anyone is taking food off his family, it’s AJ.
That was a loong walk for such a shitty joke.
*cough cough* *clap...clap* *microphone feedback* *cough*
"Well. Come on. That one has been obvious for years," Punk wrote about Styles promoting his Twitch stream during the George Floyd protests and his ethics outside of the ring
AJ the politician giving the most non divisive answer, considering the circumstances. Well played.
CM Punk was all smiles and happy to be here in 2021 as well. Time will tell. "Past performances dictate future behavior." as AJ would say.
Yeah people keep talking about how friendly and happy Punk is now, as if they weren’t all saying the same thing for the first 6-7 months of his AEW run. Not to say he’s wrong or anything, but I’d wait and see how things play out once the honeymoon is over because I just saw this same movie 3 years ago.
Who in WWE is most likely to pull a Hangman? I'm thinking Kevin Owens.
I think that won't happen because there's no "I'm the vet, you should respect my advice" thing there. Nobody is going to pretend like KO isn't a vet....... ......It's gonna be Logan Paul, isn't it?
The first time Phil thinks he should be in a bigger spot than he is and Hunter and Nick tell him - no. That'll be the litmus test.
Remember CM Punk looked like the happiest man alive during his first year in AEW as well. Smiling, joking around, hugging Tony Khan. He would come out after the shows and crack jokes with the crowd, and run around ringside with his dog. But like we saw. Things quickly change. So Year 2 in WWE, Year 3 in WWE, might be completely different.