CM Punk

[wildfire]

How about that reception!! I mean, I know wrestling fans are a little crazy, but that was a solid 10 minute ovation.. amazing.

Pretty excited overall.... not sure if he can still work, but the promos should be amazing.

[Dustin]

It was cool, but I'm not sure I care much to see older CM Punk.

[TTX]

Feels like AEW is hitting critical mass. How will their young guys ever move up when AEW seems obsessed with signing every major name that leaves WWE?

[Shane Sullivan]

Aug 21, 2021 19:29:45 GMT -5 TTX said:

Feels like AEW is hitting critical mass. How will their young guys ever move up when AEW seems obsessed with signing every major name that leaves WWE?

Yeah. If they did an invasion angle done correctly, it would be very cool. But I think you're correct. It's kind of having that WCW vibe when everyone was coming over and taking top spots then the booking got really bad. So far other than high spot/ kick out fests, I've been enjoying AEW. At least the promos are way more fun.

[Wookie7969]

I think for now it's fine having them there. Like 90% of their roster have/had no real TV experience. They were used to very small crowds and halls compared to arenas. If you can have a jericho or Christian or punk working matches to help the young guys get used to that I think it's good.

For me the big difference between them and WCW is how people are coming in. Pretty much everyone who went to wcwas ex wwe was NWO and were running the show or had creative control. Whereas I don't see that ego here. Jericho and Christian seem to genuinely want to help the talent improve and I don't see Punk going for belts. A couple dream matches and that's it. Black, Miro, Spears, revival I'm fine with going for belts cuz they are great talent

[The Mysterious Budo]

It depends on how they're used. Miro, Moxley, and Punk are really the only ex-WWE guys on their regular product who do the "the other place bad" thing. Moxley as of late has been working with the younger talent, making them feel legit. Miro is basically just rehashing the US title reign which is still just as good. And Punk feels like he's here to make some guys feel legit, too, maybe a Kenny Omega match or two.

[ajcostello]

Just saying that the younger guys with little to no TV experience aren't likely to get a whole lot of opportunities to get that experience when they keep bringing in names from WWE and putting them on TV instead of those guys who need the experience.

Bit of a Catch-22, innit?

[wildfire]

I definitely share that concern, but they've handled it well so far. Christian has been surprisingly good. Jericho is due to step back a bit... he hasn't taken a tour break at all really, and he just got beat by MJF... I hope he steps away and they give Sammy the spotlight.

They've made Jungle Boy, Darby Allin and Adam Page into stars in just the short time they've been around, that's pretty good. (though I worry now Page isn't going to get his title run) They did add another hour of TV, so that'll help.

I do feel like they're gotten away from tag teams a bit, but some of that is injuries it seems like. They seem to be giving Cody time off (I assume for the baby and the reality show)...SCU ran it's course, so they're not letting guys hang around clogging the card.

(I do love Christopher Daniels, but he's clearly at the end of the line.. might be time for him to be a mouthpiece/manager. Kazarian can still work, and will be a great guy to work with and put over new talent if he's willing)

They've also had TONS of guest spots at this point, so they could cut back on that if needed.

Honestly, the only time I feel like a guy is wasting TV time is QT Marshall.

[Justin Case]

With AEW working with & willing to work with other promotions, they should be fine. As long as everyone involved play ball, the industry thrives! It's not just about AEW! WWE, start taking notes going forward. (I heard that WWE has stated they are open to working with other promotions! Go figure).

[Tournament Master]

I think the timing of the Jericho loss right before the punk debut was on purpose. I think Jericho will be gone for a bit and Punk comes in as the vet elevating some of the newer talent. One thing that seems to be taking place with all the guys signed is that they will give guys breaks and bring them back for meaningful programs, rather than just always have all the top guys on all the time and not have fresh stuff for them to do. That seems to be the case with Jericho, Cody and Hangman, who are all top tier guys that are not needed right now, but will be back and they give a break to others. Kind of a built in off season to help extend careers.