Tag: CM Punk

Jon Moxley Handily Defeats CM Punk To Become Unified AEW Champion, Update On All Out Main Event

CM Punk returned to AEW two weeks ago after a spell on the sidelines, seemingly setting up a showdown to crown the one true champion at All Out. That wasn’t the plan as was revealed shortly after. Punk and Interim Champion Jon Moxley’s unification match was announced for Dynamite instead. Wednesday’s Dynamite, and now AEW once again has just one World Champion.

That man is Moxley, and the surprises kept on coming before and after the match. The first surprise was that not only was AEW not saving what was arguably one of the biggest matches in its short history for a PPV, but it didn’t even save it for Dynamite’s main event. Moxley’s music hit midway through the show, indicating the match was about to begin at the halfway point.

Both Punk and Moxley proudly held their respective titles aloft as the announcers promised multiple times that AEW would stick with the action for as long as it takes. A sign to some that the match might go the full second hour and other scheduled bouts would need to be pushed. It was the exact opposite of that. Moxley beat Punk shockingly quickly, solidifying himself as AEW’s one true champion.

CM Punk appeared to re-injure his leg in the closing stages of the very short match.

Punk hit Moxley in the side of the head with a well-placed roundhouse kick during the early goings, and even though it sent Mox to the mat, Punk also went down like a shot too. As soon as Punk landed, he clutched his standing leg, the same one he injured. That opened the door for Moxley to take the advantage, dominating Punk from there on in which wasn’t long at all.

Mox took his title and celebrated in the crowd as Punk was helped to the back. What remains unclear hours after the match is whether Punk’s injury was legitimate or not. This whole situation has been entirely unpredictable and a little bit bizarre from the moment Punk returned. 

Despite Jon Moxley winning the AEW World Championship unification match in dominant fashion on “AEW Dynamite” this week, the planned main event for the upcoming All Out PPV has supposedly remained unchanged. According to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” the match slated to headline the show next Sunday is still Moxley vs. CM Punk for the AEW World Championship, though it’s unknown if any stipulations will be getting added.

It had been reported before the unification match happened that the two men would meet for the unified title at All Out, which many fans expected to be their first collision in AEW, but after the way their encounter was booked on “AEW Dynamite,” doubts began to creep in. While some sort of outside angle or controversial finish was widely expected to setup a rematch at the PPV, that was not the case, as Moxley picked up the victory clean. Punk connected with a kick at the start of the match, then began selling a foot injury — the reason he’s been off television for several months, and the reason Moxley became Interim Champion in the first place. 

From there, Moxley focused on the foot and secured a quick, clean win in just over three minutes, to the surprise of everyone watching. Punk was helped to the back by doctors, while Moxley cut a passionate promo about how it’s his time, but no official announcement or angle was done to set up a potential rematch. With the PPV taking place on Sunday, September 4, that leaves just one more episode of “AEW Dynamite,” as well as two episodes of “AEW Rampage,” for Tony Khan to get the match booked if it is, in fact, still taking place.

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

There Was Reportedly Internal Concern That CM Punk May Quit AEW

Some people within AEW reportedly grew worried that CM Punk would quit the promotion. Here’s the latest.

There’s reportedly concern within the company that AEW World Champion CM Punk may want to quit the company.

CM Punk called out “Hangman” Adam Page during his intense promo on yesterday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. But as previously noted, Punk’s comments caught folks in AEW by surprise. Apparently, this wasn’t supposed to be part of the script, as CM Punk was to focus on building up his world title unification match against Jon Moxley that will take place next week.

It’s not all that uncommon for a wrestler to go off-script, but there may be a lot more to this story that’s worth monitoring.

According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Page and Punk didn’t agree on some of the promo stuff ahead of their match at Double or Nothing (which CM Punk won via pinfall). Apparently, Punk even decided to speak to AEW higher-ups about Page’s promos.

Fightful also heard from sources that the 43-year-old wrestler “has often verbally expressed his displeasure”, to the point where “they thought he might end up quitting the company.”

CM Punk isn’t the only notable star that is seemingly frustrated with AEW. It’s been more than two months now since 26-year-old superstar MJF cut his own pipe bomb promo and dared AEW President and CEO Tony Khan to fire him.

That was on the June 1 episode of Dynamite, and MJF hasn’t been on company programming ever since. Before his promo, there was reportedly concern within the company that he wouldn’t show up for his match with Wardlow at Double or Nothing. MJF did show up, losing to his opponent by pinfall.

As of now, the highly-anticipated match between Punk and Moxley is on for next week. But this is certainly something to keep an eye on, especially considering that it’s a major star like Punk. Of course, the former WWE Champion grew very frustrated with Vince McMahon’s promotion to the point where he walked out and never returned in 2014.

Source: TheSportster

Backstage News On CM Punk Calling Out “Hangman” Adam Page

CM Punk’s promo calling out ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at the start of “AEW Dynamite” this week was not planned or expected, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. 

While the promo segment was mainly about building the feud between Punk and Jon Moxley – who will compete in a title unification match next week on “AEW Dynamite,” the former WWE Superstar kicked things off by offering Page a rematch, who then did not appear. This led to Punk claiming it was “coward s**t” in a knock to the Cowboy’s catchphrase, but Page responding was never part of the plans as nobody expected Punk to do that. 

It had previously been claimed there was reality to the feud that Punk and Page had over the AEW World Title, particularly when Page had claimed he was fighting for the locker room against Punk. While some fans may have speculated that this could be leading to a match between the two at AEW’s All Out PPV on September 4th, that is currently not on the books for the event, with the promo simply being done off the cuff. 

Page was not involved at all during “AEW Dynamite” this week, but he was backstage throughout the show as The Dark Order member John Silver shared a picture of him on Twitter eating catering in the back after Punk dropped the line stating, “Hangman is a little busy right now.” 

It currently remains to be seen whether this will be implemented into a storyline down the road, but the focus for AEW remains on unifying the AEW World Championships next week, with the storyline between Punk and Moxley heating up during the latest show. Punk threw several verbal jabs at Moxley in his promo, with the two men then being involved in two pull-apart brawls during the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley vs CM Punk AEW Championship Unification Match Set For Next Week’s Dynamite

Next Wednesday, AEW Champion CM Punk will face off against the interim champion Jon Moxley to determine who will become the true AEW World Champion.

AEW fans are in for a PPV calibre match-up on next week’s episode of Dynamite. The AEW World Champion, CM Punk, is set to take on the Interim AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley, and determine who will continue on as AEW’s true champion.

Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the two men confront each other in the ring. The two had harsh words for each other; Punk called Moxley a second-rate wrestler, while Moxley effectively said that Punk is only in AEW because he “ran out of money.”

CM Punk became AEW World Champion this past May at Double or Nothing after defeating Hangman Adam Page. Just a few days later, however, CM Punk broke his foot during a trios match with FTR. He consequently had to announce his injury the following week and stepped away from the ring, much to the dismay of the AEW faithful.

Soon after Punk’s announcement, AEW began the process of crowning an interim champion. Jon Moxley first won a battle royale and then defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door to claim the title. He’s since defended the belt against several contenders, including Brody King, Rush, and Chris Jericho.

CM Punk made his return to AEW at Quake by the Lake, and he’s come back with a vengeance.

Many fans expected this bout to happen at All Out; it not only has incredibly high stakes, but will be between two of the biggest stars of this generation. For whatever reason, though, AEW has decided to give it to fans a few weeks earlier than anticipated.

Next week’s episode of Dynamite will take place in Ohio, so Moxley has a bit of a hometown advantage. However, it’s truly any man’s game heading into next week. Will CM Punk get the title reign he earned for himself in May? Or will Moxley continue to set the wrestling world on fire with the true AEW World Championship around his waist?

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/BRWrestling/status/1560056997348667392
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560287908946378752

CM Punk Makes Shocking Return From Injury To End Wednesday’s Dynamite

CM Punk made a surprise return to AEW TV on Wednesday night, showing up to shut Dynamite down following a bloody AEW World Championship match between interim champ Jon Moxley and challenger Chris Jericho.

Moxley retained the championship, surviving quite the beating from Jericho and even kicking out after receiving a Judas Effect. The champion had been bloodied early in the match, with Jericho ripping an earring from his ear.

He was also put through the Lion Tamer – more than once at that – but Jericho would be the one to tap out even after sending Moxley face first into an exposed turnbuckle and slugging him with a baseball bat thrown into the ring by Sammy Guevara (he overthrew it actually).

Moxley was then attacked by the Jericho Appreciation Society before the Blackpool Combat Club came to his aid. Jericho’s entourage got the upper hand and the inaugural AEW World Champion was about to smash Mox in the face with his own belt, but CM Punk’s music hit, prompting a pause.

Punk cleared the JAS out of the ring and then faced down Moxley, who showed little appreciation for the save, flipping the champ the bird and cursing him out before making his exit.

It appears Punk is ready and raring to go following surgery on his foot – he made sure to hop around on it, showing he could put weight on the surgically repaired appendage before the show went off the air.

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/AEWonTV/status/1557546031532847104
https://twitter.com/AEWonTV/status/1557547022344810496
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CM Punk Announces Injury, Interim AEW World Champion To Be Crowned

Just five nights after capturing the AEW World Championship at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Las Vegas, CM Punk announced that he has an injury that will require surgery.

Punk appeared live on Friday’s “Rampage” to make the announcement.

“When I got here earlier today, I pulled up to the arena and every bone in my body was screaming at me to turn around and go home and go hug my wife and Larry [my dog],” Punk began. “And when I say every bone in my body, I mean even the broken ones. But my brain told me to stay, and my gut told me that everybody here live deserved an explanation – so here I am.

“Since I stepped foot here in All Elite Wrestling, I told you I would give you my all till the wheels fell off. I got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?”

Punk continued, “The last thing I ever want to feel is that I’m letting any one of you down. The last thing I ever wanted to do was leave you feeling disappointed. So I hope thus far, I haven’t made you feel that way.

“I have loved every single second I’ve been in this ring, every single time I’ve been in this ring in front of all of you has been a gift I never thought I’d be able to experience again.”

Punk revealed he requires surgery to repair an injury.

“So, here’s the bad news – I’m injured and need surgery. A couple of things are broken. The biggest one is my heart because I love nothing more than to perform for all of you, and I wanted to go on one hell of a run. That’s the bad news.

“The good news is, I can still do all that. I told you I was going to go till the wheels fall off, and the wheels are still there, they haven’t fallen off. It’s just that one of them happens to be broken. I’ve come back from worse, I’ve felt better than I feel today, but I’m also here to tell you that I’ve felt a hell of a lot worse.”

Punk then referred to the situation as just “a bump in the road” before putting over AEW’s talented young roster. He added that he didn’t want to hold up the company and will relinquish the title. In conclusion, Punk promised to come back bigger, faster, stronger, and hungrier than ever before. You can see the entire promo segment below.

AEW later announced that an interim AEW World Champion will be crowned. A battle royal will be held on Wednesday’s “Dynamite” with the winner advancing to face the #1 ranked contender Jon Moxley later that same night. The winner of that match will advance to compete for the interim AEW World Championship at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26.

Although CM Punk didn’t specify the nature of the injury, he had a noticeable limp during an off-camera segment with MJF earlier this week on “Dynamite.” It’s possible that he suffered the injury during a six-man tag team match where Punk & FTR defeated Max Caster & The Gunn Club. He was also not wearing one of his boots during a backstage photo with FTR.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

CM Punk To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

The final inductee of Ring of Honor’s inaugural Hall of Fame class will be none other than CM Punk. The current AEW star was announced as the last inductee on Monday morning in a press release available on ROH’s website. He joins fellow AEW star Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) in ROH’s inaugural class.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome CM Punk, one of the most charismatic and compelling performers in ROH history, into the ROH Hall of Fame,” the statement read. “Punk is the final member of the inaugural class, joining the Briscoes, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe. Punk made his ROH debut in 2002 and experienced a meteoric rise thanks to his in-ring ability, mic skills and brash attitude. He incited fans by proclaiming that his straight edge lifestyle ‘means I’m better than you.’ Punk had many memorable moments in ROH, including the iconic ‘Summer of Punk’, which began when he won the ROH World Championship in June 2005 right after accepting a deal with WWE. Throughout the summer, Punk taunted ROH fans by repeatedly threatening to take the ROH World Title with him to WWE. He lost the title that August.

“In 2004, Punk engaged in an epic trilogy of matches with then-ROH World Champion Samoa Joe that have become legendary. They wrestled to two 60-minute draws before Joe prevailed in their final meeting. Punk also had a heated rivalry with Raven that is regarded as one of the greatest feuds in ROH history. They waged war against each other in unforgettable dog collar and steel cage matches. In addition to his ROH World Title reign, Punk also won the ROH World Tag Team Championship on two occasions as a member of The Second City Saints. After leaving ROH, Punk became one of the biggest stars in the industry in WWE. He wrestled in main events against the likes of The Rock and John Cena, and his 434-day reign as WWE Champion is the sixth-longest in company history. After stepping away from pro wrestling for more than seven years, Punk made his return last year in AEW, where he continues to be one of the promotion’s top stars.”

As with the Briscoes, Danielson and Samoa Joe, Ring of Honor also announced that a career retrospective on CM Punk would air on the next episode of Ring of Honor television, with a YouTube special focusing on Punk airing on ROH’s YouTube next Monday. As of this writing, CM Punk has yet to comment on his induction. There is no word on who will induct him.

The Ring of Honor Hall of Fame special, which will feature CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and The Briscoe Brothers, will air on TV on March 5th, one day prior to AEW Revolution in Orlando. Punk is currently scheduled to wrestle MJF at AEW Revolution in a Dog Collar match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

CM Punk Shouts Out Jon Moxley During Emotional Promo On Dynamite

An emotional tribute from Punk on Dynamite delivered in tandem with an important message.

CM Punk kicked off his promo on Dynamite this week by discussing how much he admires and respects Jon Moxley.

Tony Khan revealed earlier this week that Jon Moxley has entered himself into an alcohol treatment program. Moxley naturally has the full support of AEW, and well wishes for the former World Champion have been pouring in ever since. That includes a heartfelt message from CM Punk live on Dynamite last night.

Punk kicked off his promo by saying he wanted to talk about two people who weren’t in the building for Dynamite last night. The first of those people was Moxley. Punk got the fans chanting his name and admitted he’d be happy for them to keep chanting Moxley throughout the duration of his segment.

The Second City Saint then moved on and said that despite his and Moxley’s differences, he is very proud of his AEW peer right now. Punk speaks about times in his own life when he needed help but he didn’t ask for it because he thought he needed to show the world he is tougher than that. You can watch all but the very beginning of the promo in the clip below.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1456056299683209216

Punk closes the first half of his promo by telling fans that if they need help, talk to someone. Whether it be a phone call or a text, they don’t need to tough it out. Punk and Moxley are evidence of that. Renee Paquette, Moxley’s wife formerly known as Renee Young when under WWE’s employ, has also reached out since the news broke and thanked everyone for their messages over the past 24 hours.

Moxley will obviously be out of action for an indefinite amount of time, and we wish him all the best in his recovery. On the wrestling side of things, the former AEW Champion was replaced by Miro on Dynamite last night in the World Title Eliminator Tournament. Miro beat Orange Cassidy in the semi-final match and will face Bryan Danielson in the final at Full Gear.

Source: TheSportster

Video: CM Punk Reveals 3-Hour Tattoo Coverup Process For Heels

AEW star CM Punk took to Instagram on Sunday to give a shoutout to the two makeup artists who have been covering up his tattoos for his appearance in the Starz series, Heels.

According to Punk, the process of covering up his tattoos takes three hours a day. Punk shared a fast motion video that shows the cover-up process, and wrote the caption:

Jorie and Dwayne the real MVPs. Three hours everyday dealing with me asking myself if I put deodorant on today. Tonight on @starz episode 3 of @heelsstarz. @bonzsomerville KILLS as Vicky, Stone kills as Wolfgang, and Ricky Rabies makes towns, brüther.

Punk’s character, Ricky Rabies, debuted during the third episode of Heels on Sunday night. In a recent media Q&A session, Punk described the process of his tattoo removal.

“It took three, three and a half hours, depending on how many people I had working on me, to cover up all my tattoos,” Punk said. “And go figure, I have more tattoos than I realized, because we would finish and I’d be like ‘okay great.’ Then we’d be shooting a scene where I’d have my pants around my ankles and I’d be like ‘oh s**t. I have other tattoos.’ I got a great picture behind the scenes where I’m sitting in my actors chair in between scenes, and I have the COVID face shield on. And I have hair doing my hair and makeup doing my tattoos and I’m taking a COVID test at the same time.

“So I have a thing up my nose, somebody’s messing with my hair, somebody’s putting makeup over me and I’m just miserable. I sat in makeup I think for fifteen hours before we did anything physical. And the instant we touched it just obliterated my makeup and I was just ‘oh my god.’ But I was fortunate. I was told we have a budget and we were just going to cover it up in post. So I was like ‘oh that’s good.’ But it’s not fun sitting around for fifteen hours in makeup.”

You can see Punk’s Instagram post below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Star CM Punk Drops Major Hint About Daniel Bryan’s Future

AEW’s CM Punk made a cheeky reference to his fellow former WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) on the latest edition of AEW Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling’s newest big-name signing has dropped a major hint regarding a heavily rumored potential acquisition for the company — Daniel Bryan.

It all went down on TNT during the most recent edition of AEW’s flagship show, Dynamite. Following on from last Friday’s episode of Rampage, CM Punk made his second appearance on an AEW show and his first appearance on Dynamite when he made joined Tony Schiavone in the ring for a chat at the top of the second hour.

Punk was there to share some more thoughts on return and perhaps address a few bullet points that he may have missed last week due to time constraints. But he was also there to hype up his upcoming ALL OUT match with Darby Allin, which will be Punk’s first match in over seven years.

After announcing that he was retiring his “Voice Of The Voiceless” monicker due to the fact that the AEW locker room has its own voice to which people are willing to listen, Punk sang the praises of his ALL OUT opponent.

“I look at Darby Allin and I see someone who would have been my favorite wrestler when I was 15 years old,” Punk said before referencing a series of questions he’s been asking himself later. “Can you still go?! Can you still be the best?! Can you still be the Best In The World?!” he said with passion in his voice as the members of the audience began to answer the question for him in unison.

With the crowd chanting “YES! YES! YES!” Punk cheekily called attention to the recent reports that Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) is on his way to AEW.

“That’s somebody else’s schtick, and ya might just need to be a little more patient,” Punk said with a wry smile and a look in his eye that screamed, “I shouldn’t have said that.”

https://twitter.com/FiteTV/status/1430698138835329024

Source: TheSportster