Meditations on a CM Punk Promo
By JustinRuff · · 6 CommentsYeah, I know. Everybody is going to be talking about the CM Punk promo from last night. Any why shouldn’t we? I can count on my hand the number of times wrestling has gotten “real.” Montreal Screw Job was one. Bash at the Beach (Russo’s promo) was at best what we still think was one. Edge’s retirement promo was one. And last night on Raw was a real moment. Or at least we think it was.
It was reminiscent of Paddy Chayefsky’s “Network” (which if you have never seen, is one of the best movies of ALL TIME). Another scene it reminded me of was the opening scene on the short-lived show “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” which had Judd Hirsch cutting a very Punk-like promo on the state of his television show.
Was it a work or a shoot? I still can’t decide. My Twitter timeline was filled with person after person calling this the greatest promo ever, the greatest moment in the history of Raw, CM Punk is a god, etc. Stone Cold Steve Austin called the promo one of the best he’s ever seen. My wife (who is usually asleep by 8:15 central time) was on the edge of her seat asking “What is going on?” She asked me to update her tomorrow morning. She made us go talk to my sister-in-law (who is temporarily living with us) to try to describe it to her. I LOST SLEEP thinking about this because I was so excited! Do you know the last time pro wrestling made me lose sleep?
I’ve watched wrestling since 1996. It’s hard for me to believe that anything that happens on WWE’s television isn’t a work. First of all, if Punk grabbed the mic and they didn’t want him to talk, it would have never turned on. And if he veered off the topic, he would have been cut off the moment he mentioned the fourth wall. Random stuff DOES NOT come on the WWE’s television. Second of all, notice that when he was cut off, he was talking about Vince McMahon. Now the only question is did Vince McMahon suspend Punk or did Mr. McMahon suspend Punk? Third, they mentioned New Japan and Ring of Honor and Colt Cabana. This is not the first time Ring of Honor has been mentioned on WWE TV (Matt Hardy, anyone?). And what money is the WWE going to lose by New Japan being mentioned? Notice he didn’t say anything about TNA? (And yes, I know. He was already there once and they didn’t know what to do with him. I doubt he will be going back there.)
Have we seen something new here? Is Triple-H (who we have heard is beginning to run things) trying something that will work? Did Trips give him the microphone and say “Shoot. I’ll cut you off when you start talking about Vince and Bullying”? For the first time in a LONG time, I am on the edge of my seat. Raw is must-see, can’t-miss. I have one million questions and reasons to turn into Raw. Whomever let this happen, I give you full credit. This is the best thing I’ve seen on Raw in a long time and possibly, ever.
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6 Comments
_G_
I think you nailed it on the head at the end of your meditation. It was a bit of both. Punk is able to improvise, and he was probably given that same freedom to do so, while told a certain direction to take the promo. I'd bet he was also told to avoid a couple particular topics (e.g. TNA, UFC) as well.
You also point to some of the more classic shoots of the past, but note that this is 2011 WWE… his microphone would have been cut much earlier if they wanted it cut. And there lies the rub. That, and the fact that they taped next week's RAW last night as well… so…. let's just forget that there are spoilers out there… Let's just suspend disbelief and revel in one of the best moments in Professional Wrestling history for a week, shall we? 🙂
Awesome writeup Justin! Spot on, I've read and heard from people who barely watch WWE (if at all) also intrigued by that segment. I stayed up way too late as well….
_G_
readingfoxhound
He gets me every time with the "hello Colt Cabana" comment. I loved it! Here is to something just as equally epic happening again in the near future. Even with his product still aimed toward kids,Vince still finds time to make an amazing product.
_G_
Well, I suppose I should tell you then that I made that Colt Cabana wave into an animated gif. Spoiler? Yep, it will appear after the Cole gong hit gif as a rule.
ThinkSoJoE
I know when I told you to go ahead with posting this I said that I might post something later on in the week about it – but I feel no need any longer because you and, in her comment, Drow hit the nail right on the head.
I absolutely hate the fact that my curiosity got the best of me last night and that I bothered to read the spoilers for next week. I wish I were still able to sit here right now and wonder what really happened. Of course, WWE's wording of Punk's "suspension" pointed in the worked shoot direction anyway.
Rather than tell my wife that I KNOW it was a work (though, from what I'm hearing, Punk was told to say whatever he wanted and they'd cut him off if it got out of hand), I told her why I THINK it's a work – and that was something that is mentioned in this article: He didn't mention TNA.
Ring of Honor gets it's shout outs on WWE every now and again, and Hulk Hogan has never REALLY been off limits. Paul Heyman gets referenced subtly from time to time, and Brock Lesnar almost came back to work a match with Undertaker earlier this year. At the time you're watching the show live, however, you don't think about these things. When he said that John Cena was almost as good at kissing Vince McMahon's ass as Hulk Hogan, my jaw dropped and the words that came out of my mouth were probably "holy shit!"
I made a very conscious decision sometime over the last few months that I wanted to watch wrestling – and particularly Monday Night RAW – as a fan again. It's things like this that make me glad I made that decision. I completely drop off the grid from 9PM EST Monday until I get to watch the entire show later in the night. It's not exactly watching it live, but I don't know what's going on until I see it for myself, and I love that. CM Punk, being one of my top 5 (and top 2 active) wrestlers, cutting the promo that he did was a mark out moment for myself. Shoot? Work? In the moment that I was watching, it didn't matter. And that's what being a fan means to me.
Joey Peterson
god dam it This shit like this is what Christian should be doing not Beggeing for one More time One more chance After every time Randy Orton defeat him