lx Birdie xl Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Huge news coming from the WWE overnight, as it was revealed that CM Punk’s omission from Raw this past week may have been a much bigger deal than we first thought. Mike Johnson of PWInsider writes: Former WWE and World champion CM Punk has been pulled from all advertising of WWE live events going forward after a meeting with WWE management yesterday at the Raw taping in Cleveland, Ohio. We have been working on details for the last 24 hours (as Dave Scherer and I noted on our respective Elite audios earlier today), but the belief among those who are willing to talk about the situation is that Punk is no longer factored into company plans. Punk is under contract to WWE through July. Johnson goes on to suggest that Punk was indeed set to feature on Raw this week, but was pulled from the show at the last minute after informing the company that he was “going home and wouldn’t come back”. Given the Straight-Edge Superstar’s position as one of the company’s top stars right now, this really is a massive development. One could be forgiven for thinking that this pulling from live events could be a safety precaution to protect the former WWE Champion from injury. However, the tone of Johnson’s piece—plus the fact that Punk is allegedly no longer a part of company plans—suggests that this disappearance may not be a matter of safeguarding the Superstar’s physical condition. Photo courtesy of WWE.com Punk has been vocal in his criticism of the WWE’s use of part-timers before, but he recently endorsed the return of Batista. Thus it’s difficult to attribute this latest news to a case of Punk simply throwing his toys out of the pram in protest. Furthermore, his run-ins with the Authority looked set to culminate in a WrestleMania feud with Triple H. Punk hasn’t necessarily been the focal point of WWE programming as of late, but a programme with the Game would have guaranteed Punk a spot in the limelight at the Show of Shows. Though it may not be on par with a WWE Title match, it would certainly be one of the more significant rivalries on the WrestleMania card. For these reasons I don’t necessarily buy into the idea that Punk wasn’t happy with his current direction. Another factor to consider is the suggestion—made by the man himself­—that Punk’s days in a professional wrestling ring could be numbered. In the past he has openly expressed his desire to retire within the next three years. Given the rigours of a full-time WWE schedule, could the Best in the World be planning on bringing that retirement date forward? At 35 years of age such a decision may seem a little premature. But a decade-and-a-half in such a physically-demanding profession can often shave years of one’s life. As much as I hope it not to be true, such a turn of events may not be entirely out of the question. Whatever the reasoning behind Punk’s alleged exile, the repercussions look to be huge. Or has the rebellious Superstar rubbed WWE management the wrong way one too many times? There’s also of course the possibility that this is all a work—having the Authority ban Punk from doing what he does best would certainly be a good basis for the aforementioned WrestleMania programme with Triple H. Either way, this is certainly a story to keep your attention on over the coming weeks. Until then though, feel free to comment below with your thoughts on the news, the article and any of the issues that were raised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckster19 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Apparently, Punk walked out during RAW and didn't show up to the Smackdown taping. WWE also removed him from upcoming RAW shows for the next few weeks. Probably not to happy about jobbing to Triple H at Mania. Lol. If true, it begs the question, why the f does it make any sense story wise to job to HHH right now? The ego stroking going on with the Kliq, DX and Evolution the past couple years is going to be what's talked about, other than Cena, when people say years from now "worst era in history." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) That doesn't matter. Storylines don't matter? WWE just kills all believability. LOL! I highly doubt it. WWE owns Bryan. If people want to see him wrestle, they have no choice but to tune in. So its proven. Daniel Bryan is a draw. People will tune in to WWE to watch him. But, getting back to what I was originally saying, you would think after awhile of watching your favorite star who should be the guy, be stuck in the midcard and be working with meh talent, in meh storylines that they would get tired of it. Edited January 29, 2014 by Smashian Kassian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Rio Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Hopefully the rumors of STING coming to WWE finally come true! Reports are that it in serious negotiations with him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 i don't care for sting anymore. the guys has nothing left, but maybe he can prove everyone wrong with a worldwide audience to perform in front of instead of 5-600 people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Rio Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 i don't care for sting anymore. the guys has nothing left, but maybe he can prove everyone wrong with a worldwide audience to perform in front of instead of 5-600 people he is old, but I don't care he needs to end off in WWE and he knows it. I have said this many times, every week Sting was on tv in TNA and nobody cared and watched including me, he comes to WWE tomorrow, ratings will be through the roof and many older fans will be back just to see him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Sting can't work anymore, and coming to WWE isn't going to change that. But he is great on the mic, and can work a crowd, among other things, so I would be in favour of having him come in, I'm sure Taker could carry him to a decent match & if WWE doesn't dumb them down the buildup could be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck or Die Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Well, the Ultimate Warrior is going to the hall of fame. Maybe that's part of the reason they want sting. Didn't he and Sting start out together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vav Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) I call dibs on GTS, Pepsi Plunge and running knee in corner. I am sure Sheamus will take the rest.— Ryan Reeves (@Ryback22) Edited January 30, 2014 by Vav 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Rio Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Well, the Ultimate Warrior is going to the hall of fame. Maybe that's part of the reason they want sting. Didn't he and Sting start out together? Yeah they did... That could be a reason too, but man WWE has wanted Sting forever, at least since they bought out WCW He is the biggest wrestling star to have not been in WWE Edited January 30, 2014 by Del Rio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHitman Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Ryback's Twitter shows a lot of personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raoul Duke Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just finished RAW now. My god is this stuff terrible. And to dude who doesn't think Daniel Bryan is a main eventer.... are you friggin kidding me? The only legit crowd favourite right now (aside from the now-gone Punk) in the company IMO. This roster is so friggin beyond stale it's ridiculous. If only they pulled a Hogan and Austin, and made Cena a heel..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Just finished RAW now. My god is this stuff terrible. And to dude who doesn't think Daniel Bryan is a main eventer.... are you friggin kidding me? The only legit crowd favourite right now (aside from the now-gone Punk) in the company IMO. This roster is so friggin beyond stale it's ridiculous. If only they pulled a Hogan and Austin, and made Cena a heel..... Daniel Bryan was in the main event in last year's Summerslam and was guaranteed to win the title, as Cena was injured. Yet, Summerslam only drew 290,000 buys, lowest in 4 years. He might be insanely over, but he's not a main eventer. Like I said, I compare him to guys like Edge, Jericho, Mysterio, Guerrero, etc. Those guys were over with he crowd, but I don't consider any of those guys as main eventers. This coming from a HUGE Jericho fan. Edited January 30, 2014 by shiznak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Daniel Bryan was in the main event in last year's Summerslam and was guaranteed to win the title, as Cena was injured. Yet, Summerslam only drew 290,000 buys, lowest in 4 years. He might be insanely over, but he's not a main eventer. Like I said, I compare him to guys like Edge, Jericho, Mysterio, Guerrero, etc. Those guys were over with he crowd, but I don't consider any of those guys as main eventers. This coming from a HUGE Jericho fan. Source? And I considered Edge & Jericho maineventers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Source? And I considered Edge & Jericho maineventers. Just google summerslam buyrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just google summerslam buyrates. Here's the thing, Summerslam buyrates had been on a steady decrease since 2005, except last year, but the thing about last year was, it was the first big (big 4) PPV since Lesnar has returned, and he was in the mainevent. The other PPV he mainevented that year had a big increase from the year before aswell. And this year's Summerslam outdrew the 2011 Summerslam where Cena & Punk were the mainevent, so can those guys not draw either? I'm not really buying that Bryan isn't a draw, he's more of a draw than Cena right now and Bryan has been in the midcard. The problem with Bryan is he hasn't been given the opportunity to be a big draw, its not that he can't draw. He's the most over guy arguably since Stone Cold. And its naturally over unlike Cena where its forced (and he isn't over anyways) There's really no reason logically for them to bury Bryan the way that they have especially when you look at the top guy in Cena who has had a 10 year run & keeps getting rejected by the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Storylines don't matter? WWE just kills all believability. So its proven. Daniel Bryan is a draw. People will tune in to WWE to watch him. But, getting back to what I was originally saying, you would think after awhile of watching your favorite star who should be the guy, be stuck in the midcard and be working with meh talent, in meh storylines that they would get tired of it. They will, but will it be enough to make them stop watching, I highly doubt it. WWE isn't stupid. They will give just enough to keep the fans coming back. WWE really doesn't have any legit competition anymore, and they know it. They have no need to push out a good product anymore. With the new WWE network coming out, they're going to rely heavily on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllHailSmyl Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Hopefully the rumors of STING coming to WWE finally come true! Reports are that it in serious negotiations with him i don't care for sting anymore. the guys has nothing left, but maybe he can prove everyone wrong with a worldwide audience to perform in front of instead of 5-600 people he is old, but I don't care he needs to end off in WWE and he knows it. I have said this many times, every week Sting was on tv in TNA and nobody cared and watched including me, he comes to WWE tomorrow, ratings will be through the roof and many older fans will be back just to see him Sting can't work anymore, and coming to WWE isn't going to change that. But he is great on the mic, and can work a crowd, among other things, so I would be in favour of having him come in, I'm sure Taker could carry him to a decent match & if WWE doesn't dumb them down the buildup could be good. Sting coming would be a signing 10+ years too late for WWE, but I really believe if they did sign him, Sting would probably have enough in the tank for a short Wrestlemania run. For a guy who has nothing left to prove, to go out with a big match at Wrestlemania would probably be a great way to go. Nevermind that right now he's probably a rare candidate for the WWE HoF and yet has never worked a match with the WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Storylines don't matter? WWE just kills all believability. So its proven. Daniel Bryan is a draw. People will tune in to WWE to watch him. But, getting back to what I was originally saying, you would think after awhile of watching your favorite star who should be the guy, be stuck in the midcard and be working with meh talent, in meh storylines that they would get tired of it. After the match at Royal Rumble I wouldn't really call Bray Wyatt meh talent. Also I feel the WWE is doing what they did towards the end of the Michaels-Hart era and milking what they can out of Cena and Orton, maybe hoping for one last gasp of fresh air by adding Batista to the mix. Will it work? I have my doubts, but wrestling has always been cyclical. Also I agree that Bryan is in the Mysterio, Edge, Jericho company where he is massively over with the die hard fans but he is not a mainstream draw. He's not going to increase the buy rates, Guys like the Rock, Austin, Taker and to a lesser extent Lesnar have that IT factor and are able to catch on with the casual buyers. Fact. And this is coming from someone who would love to see Bryan as champion. Edited January 30, 2014 by canuck73_3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 After the match at Royal Rumble I wouldn't really call Bray Wyatt meh talent. Also I feel the WWE is doing what they did towards the end of the Michaels-Hart era and milking what they can out of Cena and Orton, maybe hoping for one last gasp of fresh air by adding Batista to the mix. Will it work? I have my doubts, but wrestling has always been cyclical. Also I agree that Bryan is in the Mysterio, Edge, Jericho company where he is massively over with the die hard fans but he is not a mainstream draw. He's not going to increase the buy rates, Guys like the Rock, Austin, Taker and to a lesser extent Lesnar have that IT factor and are able to catch on with the casual buyers. Fact. And this is coming from someone who would love to see Bryan as champion. How is Cena mentioned with Rock, Austin, Hogan, exc. But Bryan is mentioned with Mysterio, Edge, Jericho because he's "not a draw" He's more of a draw than Cena, Cena in his time has turned people away, not drawn people to the product. Now I say the Wyatts are "meh" talent because they are a midcard act & I'm personally not a fan of them. Don't really find them entertaining (though the match Bray had with Bryan was awesome) Either way, Bryan as the top guy will would be alot better than anyone else including Cena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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