American Pie to Chicago Muffins, CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre is wrestling's best feud - She Digressed #3
Welcome to my newsletter/blog where I ponder some of the hottest topics from the week in wrestling.This week I'm digressing on CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre and WrestleMania in London.
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre’s feud is the best thing happening in wrestling right now.
It has been since January, which is remarkable considering Punk has been out injured since the Royal Rumble.
I’ve made it clear in the past that, for my sins, I am a CM Punk stan. He is my favourite wrestler and I’ve been on the rollercoaster ride that is being a Punk fan for around two decades.
Punk’s AEW run was a whirlwind event that contained so many sliding door moments that we’re living through the effects of.
The importance of those two years when Punk was under AEW contact hasn’t been fully understood yet and it won’t be until we’re further removed from it.
September 3, 2022, was a day I’ll never forget. I was in a hotel room in Chicago confined to my bed because of an intense pain that was running down my leg.
On my laptop, I watched WWE Clash at the Castle from Cardiff, Wales. This was the biggest event WWE had brought to the UK since SummerSlam 1992 and pretty much all the UK media was there - except for me.
I wasn’t there because going to All Out in Chicago was more important to me. It was, in my opinion, the better card and, frankly, AEW was hot then.
Clash at the Castle was headlined by Drew McIntyre, who had to give up Scottish independence to pretend he was wrestling on home turf, and the unbeatable, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
All Out was headlined by CM Punk, taking on Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship. Punk had just returned from injury and had lost to Moxley in a three-minute match under two weeks prior.
My biggest memory of Clash at the Castle was its all-time bad ending where boxer Tyson Fury sang American Pie with a defeated Drew —awful stuff.
At least it felt awful until 24 hours later.
You see, yes AEW was hotter than WWE in September 2022, but for those really in tune; the vibes were off.
After I watched Clash at the Castle I took a little walk to one of Chicago’s finest marijuana dispensaries (sorry mum but it’s legal there) to see if I could find something to relieve me of my pain.
This walk, which should have taken less than 10 minutes, was made longer by my constant need to stop because of the pain I was in.
But at least I had some good audio to keep me company. I had Tony Khan’s appearance on Wrestling Observer radio. Since I’ve previously written about this I’ll just paste what I wrote below:
Before Brawl Out, Khan appeared on Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer where he was asked about backstage tensions and gave a very revealing answer.
Khan said some people in the company don’t get along but that it’s okay and these tensions can sometimes even be a good thing.
“We don’t have a workplace where people need to be around each other eight to five, Monday through Friday every week,” Khan said. “But when we do come together, Wednesdays, Fridays, or this weekend on pay-per-view, we need people to be professional because the first word in professional wrestling is professional”
This time I was stopped in my tracks, not because of pain, but to say: ‘What the fuck Tony?’ It was clear something was very, very, wrong in AEW.
A mere 24 hours later I was hopped up on pain pills and probably a bit high and sitting in the Now Arena in Hoffman Estates watching the show I’d chosen over Clash at the Castle.
Was it memorable? Looking back over the card, MJF’s return was big, Chris Jericho vs Bryan Danielson was bizarre, and the real main event was what happened after the show.
After CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley we got Brawl Out and everybody knows what anybody is ever going to know about that story.
So in one weekend, in September 2022, Drew McIntyre was made to look like a fool by WWE and CM Punk made AEW look like a foolish company.
What a difference two years makes.
Now these two men are gearing up to face each other and SummerSlam and that weekend in 2022 feels like where this story really began.
McIntyre has had a WWE career filled with ups and downs including being fired. I have always seen McIntyre as an immense talent and he’s someone who has impressed me with his intelligence and charm in interviews and media appearances.
But I don’t think WWE ever truly ‘got’ Drew. He was never the ‘Chosen One’, he definitely wasn’t one of 3MB, he wasn’t the bland babyface with a sword named after his mum, and he really, really, wasn’t a guy who would sing ‘American Pie’.
After his Clash at the Castle defeat, Drew as a babyface just wasn’t viable. He’d go on to have a memorable feud with Gunther but a change needed to come soon.
Then Drew turned heel in late 2023 and started cutting some of the best promos of his life, he just needed the right sparring partner.
Meanwhile, Punk’s behaviour at Brawl Out validated every critic he’s ever had. Every person who had told you Punk is just a dick who can’t get along with anyone, every person who thought his ‘happy to be there’ attitude was fake, was proven right.
Punk didn’t get fired after Brawl Out, instead, Tony Khan appeared to bend over backwards to get him to come back. He even got his own show, Collision.
But what Punk couldn’t get was a money-making match involving the Young Bucks or Kenny Omega.
Punk’s return didn’t last too long as on August 27th, 2023 at Wembley Stadium during All In, he got in an altercation with Jack Perry that would lead to his firing from AEW.
I’ve previously written about the problems I think Punk had with AEW that led to this shit-storm so I won’t fully repeat myself, except for these two lines:
AEW had The Elite’s name, Jericho had a clear investment in the company and Punk walked in with the house already built for him. But without helping to build it, I wondered if Punk felt more like a guest of honour than a part of the foundation.
On November 27, 2023, CM Punk walked into a house that has been standing for over half a century. The house that had already withstood the tornado that is Phil Brooks. CM Punk arrived back home to WWE.
Drew McIntyre wasn’t top of my list of opponents for CM Punk upon his WWE return but from the moment he told an injured Punk: “I prayed for this and it happened,” I was, pardon the pun, all in.
These two men have managed to craft the best feud in wrestling while one has been out injured.
At this year’s Clash at the Castle Drew suffered a loss in his actual home country and didn’t get up and lead the crowd in a sing-a-long afterwards. Instead, he emerged on SmackDown days later looking like an action hero carrying the corpse of CM Punk.
The promos Drew has been delivering towards Punk have cut so close to the bone that they’ve left me fearful over whether or not Phil is 100% on board with everything Drew is saying.
Drew hasn’t shied away from mentioning all the valid critiques of Punk and his controversies. Heck, he’s even mentioned Colt Cabana (albeit on social media).
Drew McIntyre, WWE, and, yes, CM Punk, are managing to do what AEW couldn’t - make money out of Brawl Out.
Brawl Out was a serious dent in Punk’s reputation, a dent I believe he could have overcome by bringing his issues to TV and feuding with The Elite. But Khan was unable to make that happen.
All In could have been the final nail in Punk’s coffin. He ended up being fired by AEW with Tony Khan claiming he ‘feared for his life.’
But instead of being dead and buried, Punk turned up in WWE ready to prove he could be a team player.
At the time of WrestleMania, AEW tried to fire back at Punk by airing the footage from All In of his altercation with Perry. Something which, in my opinion, caused no harm to Punk, and made AEW look petty.
Even now some think Jericho’s Learning Tree character is a dig at Punk. If it is that’s pathetic considering Punk’s on WWE TV having someone point out all his faults to make money. (Side note: I have a feeling that at this year’s All In someone will make a Punk reference and I’m begging you please don’t. Move on.)
Then we get to this past weekend when Drew took a photo with Jack Perry that, of course, set every wrestling news site alight.
I’m not blaming Jack for taking the photo but there he is, an AEW wrestler, helping a WWE wrestler make money off of a real-life incident that AEW could not make money out of. At least they couldn’t make money with Punk, I do think Perry’s scapegoat character is great.
Punk’s feud with MJF in AEW is, in my opinion, the best story the company has told not involving Hangman Page. Punk’s feud with Eddie Kingston was an, all too short, thrilling ride.
His feud with Page was the beginning of the end. Not because of ‘worker’s rights’ but because Hangman, who failed to beat Chris Jericho to become the first AEW Champion and then went on an emotional journey, should not have lost the title to an ex-WWE guy.
Then everything that happened after he returned to face Moxley was a mess off-screen and on-screen, we were living on borrowed time, though we did get to hear him scream ‘lariat’ at Kojima.
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre’s feud is the best thing happening in wrestling right now because it feels real. It takes all the bad we know about Punk and lays it out there.
Sometimes it’s even too real. It’s on TV, it’s online, it’s in the mind of every Punk fan watching who’s thinking: ‘Oh no, did Drew go too far? Is Punk going to explode?’
Drew McIntyre has gone from singing American Pie to a ballad that was created with Chicago muffins and, win or lose at SummerSlam, on August 2, 2024, Drew McIntyre will still be standing tall.
Khan we get wrestling for free?
The idea of a WrestleMania being held in the UK always seemed like fantasy booking until the past year or so.
I guess it started with John Cena hyping it up at Money in the Bank in London, though to many that just sounded like empty words cause, let’s face it, it’s Cena.
But maybe the dream of bringing WrestleMania to London really started when AEW announced the first All In show at Wembley.
Either way, WrestleMania in London seemed more like a reality last week when Triple H and Nick Khan met with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to discuss the possibility.
However something tells me that it all may be more set in stone than we’re led to believe.
I understand that a WrestleMania being held in London would be huge for many fans in the UK, especially those who would never be able to travel to the US for the event.
But I have to be the party pooper and say that I don’t believe the city of London should be paying a site fee to host this event.
London isn’t exactly a city desperately in need of tourism but it is one where the poorest suffer the most. I’ve lived in London and the wealth gap is extraordinary and housing is a major issue.
While WrestleMania will bring money to the city this usually only benefits the rich business owners who have enough wealth already and aren’t paying enough taxes.
Then there’s the other issue: London already has a huge wrestling event that is now in its second year, it’s called All In.
Maybe this is connected to the problems I’ve previously written about when it comes to AEW and their PR spin but it’s wild they’re letting WWE win this one.
Though I will add that, of all the wrestling media, the UK, contains the most loyal WWE soldiers.
That isn’t even a knock on WWE they have, as I’ve said many times, done a great job with PR, especially in the UK.
Tony Khan, who owns a LONDON-based football club should be knocking down Sadiq Khan’s door to tell him he’s bringing a huge wrestling event to London in August for free - just like he did last year.
If London does get WrestleMania it will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for fans. Heck, I will love it and I’ll be there. I just can’t help but cast my critical media-trained eye over everything.
However, if I got the chance to ask Triple H one question right now it would be, ‘’Why did you give Sadiq Khan a comically small belt?’ A rare misstep from the world leaders in sports entertainment.
Women of Honor
Last week I wrote about the problems facing Ring of Honor in 2024 ahead of Death Before Dishonor.
A week later and I’m feeling a lot more optimistic about ROH.
On the media call before Death Before Dishonor I asked Tony Khan if ROH was part of the TV deal he’s currently negotiating or if he’s looked into getting ROH on TV again and he said yes.
Currently, the internet rumour is that ROH will land on Tru TV, which I’ve only heard of as the channel that aired RuPaul’s Drag Race in the UK.
After watching Death Before Dishonor I saw ROH less like a neglected step-child and more like a teenager who’s moved out for college, got a new look, and the family just don’t quite know how to support them properly.
Death Before Dishonor was a really great show and one where the women stood out.
The women’s division is probably the real success story of ROH. As I said last week, rather than waiting to be called on for Dynamite’s one women’s match a week, wrestlers like Athena, Billie Starkz, and Leyla Hirsch have been given room to grow.
I even spoke to Athena ahead of DBD and mentioned to her how she hasn’t been used on Dynamite, unlike ROH’s male champions.
Two things Athena said really stood out to me: 1. She had never been ‘The Girl’ for any company before and Tony Khan had entrusted her as that for ROH and 2. She didn’t want to get ‘lost in the shuffle’ in AEW.
I agree with both of those points and believe Athena is currently in the best position she could be. She is the most dominant champion under Tony Khan’s umbrella and when she does eventually lose the ROH Women’s Championship it will mean a great deal.
After DBD I wrote on X: “There’s been a lot of talk this week and negativity about how ROH is being handled in 2024 - I’ve even written about it.
“But this show was why. ROH has so much talent and puts on PPVs that far exceed expectations. I’d love to see this be a turning point for the company where it gets a little more care going forward.”
Let’s hope there are big things in ROH’s future because everyone who is putting the work in to make that company living and breathing in 2024 deserves to be rewarded with the platform to properly show off their talents.
Triple H is ‘ open to the conversation,’ of Brock Lesnar coming back
I am not.
Best/worst of the week
Match of the week: Leyla Hirsch vs Diamante, ROH Death Before Dishonor
Wrestler of the week: Mark Briscoe
Headline of the week: TNA world champion Nic Nemeth is looking for “transparency” following Joe Biden public statement (NoDQ.com)
Podcast grifter/wanker of the week: Jonathan Coachman