2014 Pro Wrestling Thread

The part where McMahon says that getting to wrestle Mr. Stephanie is an honor or whatever does not surprise me in the slightest.

 

For a while, there had been rumors that Bryan had been slated to work with Trips at WM because Punk left, and that it was considered a big spot to be able to work with a McMahon. This, without the title match that everyone wanted.

Punk also made a great point about how Bryan deserved the top slot and and that the McMahons basically had their collective heads in the sand.

 

Two other things that have crossed my mid so far: 1. How shitty does this make Vince look with the wellness policy, especially with the concussion issue that has been the rage for the past few years, and 2. Wanna bet Punk got, as he said, everything and more, from his settlement in exchange for not suing to get their independent contractor business model destroyed?

Now that, would have been the ultimate pipe bomb.

 

So in the past few months we've heard about BOTH Del Rio and Punk calling the WWE out on their shit and walking away like champs. How long until that independent contractor model falls apart?

 

My only problem with what Punk said really was the money. He claims that it's not about the money, then goes on to talk about it many times. Did he deserve to be paid as much as those other guys at WrestleMania? Sure. Did he deserve to get answers about money regarding the Network and PPVs? Sure. Did he deserve his royalties and whatever else when he left? Sure. So I don't get why he's trying to make it sound like he doesn't care about the money, when he clearly does. I think if Punk got paid the amount the other guys got paid and got one WrestleMania main event, he wouldn't be so bitter and he would also still be in the company. So I really think that it was mostly the money. He talks about sponsors, movies, interviews etc. which would all pay him, and he's pissed off that WWE didn't let him do those things. I'm not saying that Punk's only issues were money, but saying that it's not about the money at the start and then going in-depth about his payment issues in WWE makes me think otherwise.

I've heard of guys working through injuries, but if he had that huge green staph infection on his back that was visible I doubt that WWE would have allowed him to wrestle - even if it were just because of vanity. Also, I've heard of a lot of guys taking time off for surgeries and whatnot. If Punk really needed the time off to heal up, he should have just told that to them. Look at people like Rosa Mendes and Sheamus. They didn't have some huge incident happen that caused them to be written off, they just knew they needed time off to take care of themselves. Punk wants to say that if he took time off, he'd be punished, but let's be real - he's CM Punk and a big name in WWE. The way he made it sound, where he himself likes to work through injuries and whatnot, makes me think he just didn't want to be off TV. If Punk said he wanted to take time off to get surgeries and heal up, like Rey Mysterio and others have done before, I'm sure he'd have gotten months off and then a big debut storyline to come back to the company.

The one thing that I don't doubt Punk on is his relationship with Triple H. Hearing what he said to Vince and HHH makes me think that what happened at WM XXX was done purposely to spite Punk. HHH gave Bryan EVERYTHING that Punk wanted - going over HHH and a WrestleMania main event. Knowing who HHH is and who Punk is, I can imagine they don't get along well. Vince I can actually see being emotional that Punk was so upset.

Anyway, I'm taking what Punk said with a pinch of salt. He came off really bitter, and rightfully so, and I don't know the whole story because I wasn't there. Punk has a definite bias, but I'm sure some of the things he said were 100% true, while others were more or less true. The only one that really gets me is the Ryback thing. How does he know that Ryback was trying to hurt Punk on purpose?

 

They've certainly let Bryan do whatever he feels like doing in regards to being hurt, unless all that nonsense about hollistic healing and not having surgery that he needs is just drummed up for Total Divas. Cena, on the other hand, seems to treat his body like Boxer from Animal Farm or an NFL guy. Suggests its the talent's choice, at least at the main event level.

If Punk's happy, good for him. If he feels better out of WWE, more power to him. It's obviously much easier for him to make that call AFTER his big run with the belt made him a ton of money as opposed to before he re-upped for three years. So in that way it is about the mone.

 

To me, it comes off as Punk not wanting to make it about the money, but being so POed about everything else (health, creativity) that it became about the money, which just was piled on top of the other stuff.

Treat him respectfully regarding his health and give him his main event run at WM, and he might have been willing to let the money thing slide.

 

Its ridiculous that Cena/Punk wasn't a Wrestlemania main event. It was the best thing in the business for two years. I stopped watching in college because our dorm didn't get TNN, and I stayed away even after they went back to USA. I started watching again when people wouldn't stop talking about Punk's Vegas promo and that feud hooked me back in.

 

What's even more ridiculous is that Vince actually thought Batista/Orton was going to be one of the best WM main events ever.

Talk about being out of touch.

 

With Punk vs. WWE, as with most thing, I imagine the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I mean, since the Benoit thing, they have been demonstrably more careful when it comes to injuries and concussions. Dolph Ziggler would have never gotten back up the card a couple years ago because he wasn't willing to work through concussions, for example.

So, it's somewhat hard for me to believe that they were trying to force Punk to work through injuries. However, it wouldn't surprise me if there was just ALWAYS tension between them and Punk, given his perspective and the company's perspective. Triple H is a guy who finished a match with a torn ACL, and on the other end of the spectrum, Punk probably refused to even take painkillers. I imagine neither side really thought all that much of the other, and it's hard to bargain when you both come in with that mindset.

 

It looks to me like it's about respect, and not getting the money he felt he was due was a sign of that lack of respect.

 

This.
Like you said, there seems to be at worst some outright mutual disdain between Punk and Triple H, and "let's make money together" tolerance at best. I wouldn't doubt that Punk felt he had to work through his injuries or Triple H would use it as an excuse to slowly push him down the card. Hell, Punk was champion for a year and that sort of happened. If Punk took six months off to heal, he might be wrestling Hornswoggle in a cow costume when he returned.
And from Triple H's view, here's this guy who has been handed the keys to the kingdom -- a cannon shot from the upper midcard to a yearlong title reign -- who you've made a very rich man, and basically entrusted the future of the company to, yet continues to complain and be unhappy. What could he give Punk that would be enough to satisfy him?

Given that mutual dislike and distrust, Punk might have also seen some writing on the wall. If he's unhappy now, what happens when Vince eventually retires or dies and there's not a buffer between he and Triple H?