Why CM Punk Quit, Was Fired By, & Returned To WWE | WrestleTalk - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Why did CM Punk make his shocking return to WWE at Survivor Series?

00:04 Why did WWE bring Punk back when they could risk poisoning their own locker room?

00:09 And what does this mean for the promotion that fired him, All Elite Wrestling?

00:15 Right at

00:34 the very end of Survivor Series 2023, after the culmination of the 5 on 5 Men's War

00:39 Games match, even after the WWE copyright logo appeared in the bottom corner…

00:44 I WILL NEVER TRUST YOU FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE, COPYRIGHT LOGO!

00:48 CM Punk made his shocking return to WWE for the first time in almost a decade in his hometown

00:55 of Chicago.

00:56 Where he immediately anchored loads of people.

00:58 Drew McIntyre reportedly stormed out the building.

01:01 Seth Rollins exploded in a fit of kayfabe fury, likely masking, actual shoot fury.

01:07 And this guy, Oli Davis, who's been making CM Punk WWE return confirmed jokes for six

01:14 years, felt a bit let down.

01:17 Punk had returned to wrestling.

01:19 Yay.

01:20 But what did it cost?

01:21 Not everything he once claimed to stand for.

01:23 Just two days after Punk's return on the 25th November 2023, the 27th marks nine years

01:31 since the release of arguably the most explosive wrestling shoot interview of all time - CM

01:37 Punk appearing on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast.

01:42 Because to fully understand the reasons why Punk returned to WWE, we first have to understand

01:48 why he quit/was fired in the first place.

01:52 Which Punk detailed in great, almost libelous depth on his infamous 2014 interview.

01:58 Punk walked out on WWE after getting concussed in the 2014 Royal Rumble, though showing the

02:03 following night's episode of Raw.

02:05 He mostly kept silent on the reasons why until November later that year, where Cabana released

02:10 a tell-all podcast with his then best friend Punk - a lawsuit over the podcast that Punk

02:15 alleged WWE was funding would later destroy their relationship.

02:19 Which in turn would become one of the main factors why the Elite soured on him in AEW.

02:24 It's all connected!

02:25 In the podcast, Punk's reasons for quitting WWE can be grouped together in four main categories

02:31 - medical mistreatment, personal vendetta, perceived unfairness and Ryback.

02:38 Yeah, he hated Ryback.

02:40 That one's pretty self-explanatory.

02:43 Before I get into these, you've got to remember 2014 WWE is a very different place to the

02:49 Triple H run fed a decade later.

02:51 Hell, Triple H was a very different person in 2014 to a decade later.

02:55 Or at least that's what he's convinced us all of.

02:58 While some of Punk's issues might come across as trivial now, or WWE might've since improved

03:03 on, most wrestlers backstage at the time told Dave Meltzer they loved what Punk had said.

03:09 Also total coincidence here, Luke and I recorded a Patreon exclusive podcast where we delved

03:14 into Survivor Series 2014, and we covered all of this CM Punk stuff.

03:19 We recorded that last week, before Punk made his WWE return.

03:24 So if you want to enjoy the dramatic irony of me and Luke speculating about Punk's

03:28 WWE return while discussing Punk's 2014 shoot podcast, go over to Patreon.com/wrestletalk

03:35 now.

03:36 In the medical mistreatment section, Punk claimed he was often pressured or even booked

03:40 to work despite being injured or, at some points, still recovering from injury - giving

03:45 the example of famed orthopedic surgeon James Andres once clearing Punk's knee injury over

03:50 the phone, which Punk described as "witchdoctory bulls***".

03:54 Overall Punk said his health was the main factor in him quitting WWE.

03:59 The most explosive accusation was Punk alleging WWE doctor Chris Amann misdiagnosed and improperly

04:05 treated his staph infection, which could've killed him.

04:08 Amann would later sue both Punk and Cabana for defamation.

04:11 Although Punk and Cabana won that case, it caused years of stress and their relationship

04:16 was irreparably damaged by the strain.

04:18 PWInsider, however, have reported that Amann retired from WWE in September 2022, removing

04:25 that obstacle from Punk's return.

04:27 Waiting for people to leave to solve your personnel disputes.

04:30 How dated.

04:31 You want to make a whole different show for the people Punk doesn't like.

04:34 That always works.

04:35 Punk also had many grievances against WWE for the opportunities they did or did not

04:41 give him.

04:42 His complaints weren't just limited to booking, like losing to Brock, Undertaker or Rock,

04:45 or not getting to main event WrestleMania like he believed he deserved.

04:49 Perhaps a condition of Punk's return is that Mania main event that eluded him.

04:53 Punk's issues extended to opportunities outside the ring, which coincidentally involved

04:58 the man who also made his return at Survivor Series 2023, Randy Orton.

05:04 Punk spoke about being very excited when Triple H offered him the lead in 12 rounds too.

05:09 Not so much because he wanted the star in a crap movie, but because it meant he would

05:13 get time off to heal from injuries.

05:16 Punk pointed out, though, that filming dates would clash with WWE's European tour.

05:20 Triple H replied, "No they won't."

05:23 Punk said, "Yeah, they will."

05:25 Triple H said he doesn't know when the European tour dates would be.

05:28 And Punk said, "You do, but they're in November, like they have been for years."

05:34 Triple H said he'd go away and check.

05:36 And the very next day, without the courtesy of a phone call pattern of behaviour there,

05:41 he found out on the Internet that the role had in fact gone to Randy Orton.

05:46 Evidently from out of nowhere.

05:50 Punk was also angered when he was told he absolutely couldn't have sponsors on his

05:53 ring gear for Brock Lesnar to turn up with his Jimmy John shorts soon after.

05:57 WWE was very restrictive in the types of contracts it offered in the early 2010s.

06:02 But because of those deals with The Rock, Lesnar and others, modern WWE contracts have

06:07 been significantly more flexible, letting the wrestlers have far more control over when

06:11 they work and on outside projects.

06:14 Which you'd imagine would inform Punk's new deal himself.

06:17 A lot of the breakdown in Punk's relationship with WWE felt personified in his relationship

06:22 with Triple H. In Punk's booking of it, Trips was the Ultimate

06:26 Heel back then.

06:27 There was the weird European tour situation backstage.

06:30 There was Punk turning down a WrestleMania non-main event against Hunter.

06:35 And there was the accusation that it was Triple H that fired Punk on his wedding day.

06:41 Despite leaving WWE in January 2014, Punk revealed he was fired through a Federal Express

06:46 letter on the 13th June - the day of his wedding to AJ Lee.

06:53 Punk claimed the company knew about the importance of that date, as he had requested time off

06:57 for it and the honeymoon.

06:59 And because AJ Lee was still working for them at the time and had done the same.

07:03 Punk claimed he had even spoken to Triple H, whose department was in charge of this

07:07 stuff, just two days beforehand over the phone about the wedding.

07:12 Because Punk was fired, rather than his contract simply expiring - which would've happened

07:16 in a matter of weeks anyway - this severely impacted Punk's royalty payments, and suddenly

07:21 meant he had a one year non-compete clause, meaning he couldn't appear for any other

07:26 wrestling promotions or the UFC.

07:29 It's Triple H's fault Punk wasn't an MMA success.

07:35 Being suddenly hit with that on the morning of your wedding was probably quite frustrating.

07:41 And Punk blamed this on Trips.

07:43 But like I said earlier, Triple H has changed a lot from his old, evil ways.

07:47 This was Prius all loving him for NXT.

07:50 Punk returning to WWE almost a decade later shows that he must believe Triple H is a good

07:55 person now, that they can talk about their shared love of wrestling, and how they can

08:00 both put on the best product for WWE fans.

08:07 And also because the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they both hate AEW.

08:14 Dave Meltzer has compared CM Punk's WWE return to Cody Rhodes' move in 2022.

08:19 That's two people I love that told me they'd never leave AEW.

08:22 Quick, sign Prince Nana to a 20 year contract!

08:25 Meltzer argues that Cody leaving AEW for WWE was the real start of the wrestling war momentum

08:31 shifting, the beginning of WWE's business being the hottest it's been in decades.

08:36 He believes Punk will have a similar effect.

08:39 Unless he screws it all up backstage.

08:41 Punk might've been plotting this even before his return to AEW on the premiere episode

08:46 of Collision on the 17th June.

08:48 Just six weeks before then, while still under contract with AEW, he showed up backstage

08:54 an episode of Raw in Chicago.

08:56 He was seen having a 1-2 minute long conversation with Triple H, where they shook hands.

09:02 Punk also reportedly spoke to The Miz, where they "cleared the air" for Punk once telling

09:07 Miz "to go suck a blood money covered dick in Saudi Arabia, you f***ing dork."

09:12 This reconciliation with Trips, maybe over a shared hate for AEW, was a shrewd move.

09:18 Because another reason Punk returned was that Vince no longer has creative control.

09:24 After Punk did his own thing for about five years - writing comics, losing in the UFC,

09:29 acting in horror B-movies - he suddenly softened his stance on returning to wrestling.

09:34 In a weird way, Punk kind of already actually returned to WWE four years ago.

09:39 In 2019, as part of the billion dollar deal that put SmackDown on Fox, the Network wanted

09:44 to launch a new sports show that wasn't afraid to tackle shoot stories behind the

09:48 scenes - and to prove that, its special host was CM Punk.

09:53 Fox reportedly pressured WWE to take Punk back, and Punk himself teased in a Reddit

09:58 AMA that all it would take for him to return is "a very big bag of money".

10:04 Principles.

10:05 But Vince McMahon refused, with Wrestling Observer Radio reporting there's only two

10:10 guys Vince never wants to do business with again - CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio.

10:17 Look, I know Punk is controversial, but that is some unfair company.

10:21 Oh no, Alberto Del Rio to WWE return confirmed?

10:25 It appears Vince's removal from power meant he could no longer block CM Punk's comeback.

10:30 Wrestling Observer Radio have reported WWE re-signing Punk did not involve McMahon, who

10:36 has found himself increasingly powerless in the new TKO corporate structure.

10:40 It wasn't even led by Triple H. Instead, it was the decision of WWE President Nick

10:45 Khan, the man responsible for signing WWE's new TV deals.

10:50 Remember that for later, as that could be the most important reason of all for why Punk

10:54 has come back.

10:55 WWE has had a financially booming 2023, mostly thanks to the star power of Roman Reigns rising

11:02 all boats, but his bloodline story has cooled massively since August Summerslam.

11:06 Reigns himself is increasingly absent from WWE TV, and for the first time in months,

11:11 that appears to be having a noticeable effect.

11:14 WrestleNomics has reported WWE live event ticket sales, which are seen as the canary

11:19 in the coal mine for a promotion's momentum, has seen negative market-to-market performance,

11:24 with November having a significant decrease in attendance.

11:27 Dave Meltzer has speculated that WWE signing Punk is a way to jumpstart their live events

11:33 business from its plateau.

11:35 And yeah, that's kind of it.

11:37 That's all the reasons in my notes there.

11:40 I've got Punk's bonded with Triple H again, Vince no longer being a factor, they can sell

11:47 a few more tickets, and overall it'll hurt AEW.

11:51 That's it.

11:52 That's the end of the video.

11:53 I s-wait.

11:54 No.

11:55 No, what are you doing WWE copyright logo?

11:58 No!

11:59 No!

12:00 This is David Zaslav.

12:01 He's the CEO and President of Warner Bros Discovery, the company that owns the networks

12:07 on which AEW airs.

12:08 He's also, according to CM Punk, CM Punk's biggest fan.

12:13 On Punk's AEW return promo on that premiere episode of Collision, he took a shot at Matt

12:18 and Nick Jackson, calling them "counterfeit bucks", whereas he, in comparison, is a

12:24 big money draw, saying "You know what David Zaslav calls me?

12:29 One Bill Phil."

12:32 The Bill was referencing the then-reported, but then dismissed $1 billion deal AEW was

12:38 looking for from Zaslav's company WBD.

12:42 According to Punk, at least, he's a big deal in getting big deals.

12:46 And that's exactly what both WWE and AEW are looking for in 2024.

12:52 CM Punk might be the Kingmaker.

12:55 WWE President Nick Khan has already negotiated new, even bigger money deals for SmackDown

13:01 moving back to the USA Network and NXT going to CW.

13:05 He only has Raw left to sort out, whose deal with the USA Network expires in September

13:10 2024.

13:11 AEW's deal with Warner Bros Discovery expires at the end of 2024.

13:16 Punk's return could signal WWE's intention to knock AEW off its own Network, as Brandon

13:24 Thurston insinuates.

13:26 For what it's worth, with Monday Night Raw rights still on the market, WWE now has the

13:30 wrestler who, according to Phil, David Zaslav called "One Bill Phil".

13:36 Nick Khan is in charge of the Raw TV negotiations.

13:39 He's also the man who led the charge on bringing Punk back.

13:44 In August, it was reported WBD was interested in making a play for WWE programming.

13:49 In the UK, WWE already airs on WBD stations.

13:55 And with Punk's deal a reported multi-year one, Khan can go into negotiations promising

14:00 not just a few months of a big star, but the length of a whole TV contract.

14:04 Unless Punk gets injured every other month, of course.

14:07 Or has a bust up with someone backstage.

14:09 Or tweets something inappropriate.

14:10 But expect Punk to be mostly on Raw to drive that show's viewership and star power as

14:15 Nick Khan negotiates its new TV deal behind the scenes.

14:20 And one parting Doomsday scenario thought.

14:23 WWE often write into their TV contracts that they are the exclusive wrestling provider

14:30 for those Networks.

14:31 With SmackDown on USA Network, NXT on CW, and potentially Raw on another different station,

14:38 WWE WBD, the options for AEW's own new TV deal and their negotiating leverage become

14:45 severely limited.

14:47 How do you think CM Punk's WWE move will affect the wrestling industry?

14:51 Let me know in the comments down below.

14:53 And does AEW actually make money?

14:56 Watch our deep dive into those financials to find out.

Why CM Punk Quit, Was Fired By, & Returned To WWE | WrestleTalk

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