WWE in Winter 2023-24: CM Punk is All Entertainment.

[Sex Machine Gun]

I'm jealous of Punk's hair, honestly. I'd have that haircut already if I had enough up top to do it.

 

[Hawk 34]

Give it a month and he will be back to shaved and depressed with sunken death eyes and you can emulate him again.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Triple H missed RAW on Monday to be in Los Angeles with Nick Khan to negotiate a new TV contract for the show. Bruce Prichard was in charge. So if you want someone to blame for the show being bland and forgettable…well…you know.

 

[Valeyard]

I'm sure is a total concidence MJF's buddy Nick scheduled the meeting for that specific night.

 

[Hawk 34]

Good news for @BruiserBrody and @cobainwasmurdered as they have the honor and privilege to be allowed to acknowledge the tribal chief in person for live events in Green Bay (12/15) and Vancouver (1/5).

This is extraordinarily rare to witness the tribal chief in person and they shouldn’t miss this opportunity.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Why the eff are they airing a Friday Night Smackdown from Green Bay? Are the Packers in town that weekend and Triple H and Cole want to hang around and watch a game?

(Checking Cagematch)

They were in Green Bay for Smackdown in January too. Odd. Outside of the lean years, I’d assume Green Bay would be a house show only type of town. No offense, @BruiserBrody .

 

[Hawk 34]

Someone is upset that the tribal chief isn’t coming to Bangor.

 

[Brocklock]

If he's working two matches in a twenty day span, is he gonna work The Rumble this year? Or are those just special appearances from My Big Dawg and Tribal Chief?

 

[Hawk 34]

Those are just appearances!

Silly brocklock, you know Roman doesn’t work wrestling matches, why would he, a professional wrestler do such a thing.

 

[geniusMoment]

According to Fightful Steve Austin vs Punk has been discussed.

 

[Valeyard]

I got my farewell with Owens. Stay home, Steve.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I tried to tell you guys how stale the product is.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1730208053214298399

Hmmm?

 

[909]

I’m into Stone Cold vs anyone but tbh that’s about it.

 

[Brocklock]

Austin/Punk, Roman/Cody II, Gunther vs Seth or Brock Lesnar as the top three matches at WM

"Lex Steel noises"

from me at least. That's about the most intriguing card WWE could put out at this point.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

i've already seen roman work so i'm good probably.

 

[Valeyard]

Be wild and do Roman/Gunther. Pasty Europeans vs Samoans is money.

I don't want to see Austin again because he did everything I could've wanted already. He did more than I wanted or knew I wanted. I'm good. He and Punk is ten years too late for me now.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

CM Punk doing an Austin match isn’t as much of a sell out and moral compromise as doing Saudi shows but it’d be a rung or two below. Ostensibly, his whole comeback was to prove that he could still go at a high level with the best wrestlers today. Doing a walk and brawl, stunt show with a 60 year old doesn’t really accomplish that.

There’s a way to do it where the match will be good and entertaining but IMO, not a way to do it where it won’t feel like Punk is selling out.

 

[Valeyard]

If that was the match dangled in front of him, he will work hard. He's going to want to show Austin and show up Owens.

It isn't a selling out thing at all if he can work the biggest star ever. It's just another in the line of doing shit that's already happened in a less interesting way. Now if it goes down in Saudi, that's different, because holy shit is that match Saudi sounding as fuck.

 

[909]

There's no way I could ever be critical of Punk vs. Stone Cold. For one thing everyone on the roster would work with Steve if asked. Secondly it solves the problem of the title picture adding another stale, older guy into the mix. They should be putting over people who haven't been world champion, not just plopping Punk into it and making everything revolve around neutered Corporate Man Punk. It wouldn't be any good. The thing is that I just watched Punk chase a world title a lot and blow it because of his own shit so it's something that's been done too recently for me.

At least if you get Punk and Stone Cold in there together, nobody is going to be able to tell them what they can and can't do. Maybe Punk would get punished after the program's over but that's fine, at least everyone got to see him be CM Punk and not some nutless loser.

 

[Brocklock]

No disrespect to Kevin Owens, but I don't think him vs Austin is anywhere near the magnitude of Austin vs Punk. They've been teasing it for the better part of 15 years. Sure, Owens knows how to bump big and have a good bullshit match with Austin, but I think Punk will do the same. And honestly I could see Austin actually wanting to do some ring work and work a regular match with Punk. It's not like Austin vs someone like Brock where I don't think he could handle the physicality. Austin and Punk could either work a really interesting story based match or do a brawl.

It has to happen imo and for me it will make Wrestlemania an event I'll be waiting for and am excited for. Punk isn't holding anyone down or taking spots in a match against Austin. It's a perfect role for him, and one of the last true legend dream matches that is left to do.

 

[Valeyard]

If Austin hadn't had the Owens match, I'd be into it. That's the thing. It was Austin coming back after almost 20 years, in Texas, at Wrestlemania. It isn't about Owens so much as a perfect moment where everything hit better than it could be expected. For this Punk scenario to succeed it needs to be at least more brutal than anything Punk has done since he came back. It needs to be something deserving of Austin's coming back again so soon. If it's a dream match for the sake of a dream match, it won't hit close to as well. It's going to be fun, sure, but it needs to be epic.

If they are able to swing Punk/Austin and Rock/Roman on the same show, do it, though. Mandatory. I don't care about anyone being held down at this point just because flowers ain't gonna grow in a parking lot anyway.

 

[Gert]

It’s funny I haven’t watched SS or Raw yet, but I had to get on here to get my fix…

I think doing Punk/Roman while he’s still the Champ is a mistake. Save until they are both bitter losers. There is no way anyone will believe Punk can win, so no matter how good the promos are people won’t care and I‘m not sure who they would cheer for which would be a mistake for a big PPV match.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Why the eff are they airing a Friday Night Smackdown from Green Bay? Are the Packers in town that weekend and Triple H and Cole want to hang around and watch a game?

(Checking Cagematch)

They were in Green Bay for Smackdown in January too. Odd. Outside of the lean years, I’d assume Green Bay would be a house show only type of town. No offense, @BruiserBrody .

SD! was taped in Green Bay way back in 2003(?) when the Resch center opened. I went to the first 2 WWE shows there and haven't been back.

The first show had a dark match with Brock and Shelton as a team and the 2nd show Brock worked his fellow young lion Randy Orton on SD! TV.
My buddy is the world's biggest Rock fan and I'm the Hulkamaniac and both men failed to show up to build to their No Way Out PPV match. Rock cut a pre-tape promo. We were both super crushed.

That SD! was taped right after Vick came into Lambeau and ended the undefeated run of the Packers in the playoffs at home. Heel Cena came out and shit on the Packers and I jumped from my chair in a rage.
--
I do agree with your assessment though as the Brown County Arena was an old shit hole but still got two TV tapings during the New Generation era. Had my parents not been middle class ham and eggers I could have went with my uncle and Grandpa to see Crush get Doink'd and taken out in 1992.
The other one was a RAW marathon the night after KOTR 96. Most notable for the last Warrior TV match being filmed.

 

[snuffbox]

The Rey vs Batista cage match in January 2010 was also in Green Bay. They taped some big tv stuff in La Crosse (an even smaller Wisconsin city) in the 80s and 90s but since then, for some reason, Green Bay has been good for them.

 

[Hawk 34]

Celebrate the American troops next week when CM Punk makes his first appearance on Smackdown in a decade.

Something something dishonorable discharges…

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Randy Orton: Did someone say something about dishonorable discharge?

House show I'm going to tomorrow is finally advertising some matches. Seth Rollins Vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Title, Cody Rhodes Vs Dominik Mysterio in a presumably non title match, and Gunther Vs Ricochet Vs Bronson Reed in a triple threat match for the IC Title. Of course, CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE!

 

[Brocklock]

I was let down by the Seth/Nak matches this year, but that triple threat could be super fun.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Has there been any main roster Nakamura big main event matches that were kind of disappointing? I just think the man is kind of on cruise control now and only lets his freak flag fly in little moments (which means a house show match in Portland, Maine *could* be decent!)

 

[Brocklock]

Nak's probably had less than ten main roster WWE matches that weren't disappointing. I remember enjoying his match with Seth at Survivor Series 2018 or 19, but these two matches from 2023 were close to a half hour and just dragged.

I do have to say, he might be the weirdest member of the WON Hall Of Fame. I thought it was way too early when he got in during 2016 or whenever it was, but I feel the same with Omega, Ibushi, Naito, etc all the guys getting in while they are in their prime. Roman Reigns getting in this year would be the exception, since he's really shut me up with this Tribal Chief run. But, everything Nakamura has done since he got in the WON HOF has been mostly underwhelming, and confirms that he doesn't belong.

 

[Hawk 34]

had a certified banger with Cena when he dropped Cena on his damn neck.