More on CM Punk, Hangman Page, The Elite
Added 2023-06-16 16:22:45 +0000 UTCCM Punk’s ESPN interview came out, and featured him speaking on the record about Brawl Out for the first time since it happened.
We’re told CM Punk did not do any other interviews ahead of AEW Collision besides the ESPN piece, and ESPN was the outlet AEW wanted.
Fightful learned about the interview after being told about something separate that was filmed in regards to the KENTA Forbidden Door match that was a little different than what AEW had anticipated. Hangman Page, The Elite and others were made aware that the interview was coming last weekend.
Since the publishing of the article, many have stated that it didn’t seem nearly as bad as indicated. Several on the AEW roster have pointed out that unlike many of the others in the situation, Hangman Page doesn’t have restrictions on being able to talk about his experiences with Punk, and still goes out of his way to not talk about Punk as to not stir anything up. Dating back to last summer, we’re told that Punk had met with higher ups and asked that the Hangman Page comments on TV that alluded to Colt Cabana be addressed in some manner, and that he’d grown very frustrated that nothing was done about it to the level of his satisfaction, which he referenced in the ESPN interview.
We’re told that despite this, The Elite’s contracts are still being worked on between their reps and AEW. Though there were some hiccups between CM Punk and AEW over Ace Steel not being present at shows, he’s been planning to work AEW Collision since he and Tony Khan came to an agreement for it. He and Khan stayed in regular contact, and Punk did outline that he’d be willing to apologize for the AEW All Out scrum, which he did in the ESPN article.
Despite being told that the backstage issues wouldn’t be turned into an angle, there have definitely been people on Punk’s side that are still hopeful that would happen. We haven’t confirmed that lawyers repping anyone rejected Punk reaching out, though that is something that Punk has indicated that he’d tried that months ago. Punk and Omega had a non-heated discussion in the minutes following Brawl Out where Punk said his issue was never with Omega, but the situation had not died down enough for them to have a constructive conversations in that environment.
See Marc Raimondi’s full article at this link: https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/37860179/aew-star-cm-punk-new-show-injury-elephants-room
Comments
Nah, surely it's everyone else's fault for Punk's behavior.
The Lane Family
2023-06-17 23:16:35 +0000 UTCI don’t agree with people saying the interview wasn’t explosive. Did we learn anything new? No. But one thing is clear: Punk still feels like he’s in the right. He apologised to TK(!) for how(!) he handled things. He didn’t apologise to Kenny or the Bucks, or Punk and Cobana for that matter, because what he said about them at the scrum was just as bad. What he did instead was acknowledge that he acted out but followed it the typical narcissistic way: I’m not at fault here. They made me do it. I had no other choice. I’m the victim. I’m real life, and I learned this the hard way, best way to deal with these people is by simply ignoring them. It gets narcissists frustrated when they realise they have no power over you. Therefore I support the Bucks in not responding, even though I am convinced they were actually advised by their lawyers to not get into contact with Punk.
Miss Laura Maria
2023-06-17 09:17:00 +0000 UTCYeah, I remember when my coworker threw a chair at me. I immediately wanted to talk to them and be nice.
rocksolid124
2023-06-17 01:01:12 +0000 UTCOh no. Hangman said some words that Phil didn't like. I guess that excuses his behavior the next 5 months including the scrum and Brawl Out. I'm not saying Hangman's shoot in the promo was right, but Punk needed to be an adult and let it go.
Forceofwilliam
2023-06-17 00:49:45 +0000 UTCDon't assume they didn't want to. Their lawyers may have advised them not to. As a reminder, Punk did a throw a chair at them.
Forceofwilliam
2023-06-17 00:43:27 +0000 UTCYes, that's noteworthy. He should have just lead with "I've got word that Cm Punk speaks with ESPN and an interview with his side of things" and just left it at that. Sure. Fine. But the way he reported it led to wild speculation where none was needed. The speculation did more harm, if any, than that interview did.
Doogie
2023-06-17 00:12:55 +0000 UTCI mean, Hangman Page hasn't spoken about Punk since Brawl Out, but he still shot a promo on him on live TV 5 minutes after they discussed their talking points backstage. I don't think we should pretend that Hangman is this innocent dolt of a party in all of this. Punk had no beef with him before he did that.
Terps
2023-06-16 23:33:56 +0000 UTCProfessional and honest interview by Punk. It's disappointing to hear that Omega and the Bucks won't even speak to Punk when Punk has offered the olive branch to them.
Daniel Rafferty
2023-06-16 23:16:45 +0000 UTCI expected more inflammatory statements
Talk About Your Psalms Talk About John 3 16 Femboy 3 16 Says I Just Licked Your Ass
2023-06-16 21:19:52 +0000 UTCThe best $5 a pro wrestling fan can spend.
Kurtis Allen
2023-06-16 21:16:26 +0000 UTCIt was literally the first time CM Punk has spoken on the record about this
Fightful Select
2023-06-16 21:13:35 +0000 UTCFTR TATTOO
Fightful Select
2023-06-16 20:59:21 +0000 UTCAnd?
Cody
2023-06-16 20:59:19 +0000 UTCAnd to subscribe to Fightful Select
Fightful Select
2023-06-16 20:58:56 +0000 UTCCody, you're off base here lol
Fightful Select
2023-06-16 20:58:47 +0000 UTCEveryone was talking to reporters lol
Fightful Select
2023-06-16 20:58:25 +0000 UTCAs far as ESPN as a choice for the interview for AEW, Dynamite and Rampage are broadcast on ESPN in certain territories (e.g. New Zealand) so there is a relationship there.
Bevan Shortridge
2023-06-16 20:38:19 +0000 UTCThat article is a nothing burger. Wade Keller caused a commotion over nothing.
Doogie
2023-06-16 20:32:31 +0000 UTCThat article wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it'd be. Of course he gave his perspective, but I didn't see a lot of attacking anyone. Even the Hangman stuff was tamer then I expected.
Raphael Soohoo
2023-06-16 19:53:02 +0000 UTCIt wasn't explosive. Just more victim noises from Punk. Waaaa. Hangman said something. Waaaa. I was scared Hangman would shoot during the match. Waaaa.
Forceofwilliam
2023-06-16 19:46:21 +0000 UTCI mean WWE is on the upswing, and yeah Vince has done fucked up stuff aplenty whether it's alleged things or other. I am not a huge fan of WWE but I watch for Cody, Rollins, The OC, and Judgement day. WWE has been in business longer and I believe that in this specific situation, WWE would've handled it better, and solved things much earlier thus preventing the scrum and Brawl out. I think it's fair for me to say that if the wrestlers I enjoy leave AEW, I'm going to follow where ever they end up, and that due to the way Tony handles things or doesn't, I'd probably lose interest in the product. I'm not a fan of him trying to do everything on his own, but as of recent he has been hiring more people, and better utilizing his staff. Hopefully that leads to a better product. I'm newer to wrestling, The Elite and AEW are what got me into it. I don't want AEW to fail, but rather I want them to grow and thrive. Out of all that AEW has to offer, TKs decisions at times are just the most noticeable thing that can garner mixed reactions or concerns. He does good things as well, and he seems like a genuine person that cares about his staff and his roster, but nobody is perfect.
Vain Valor
2023-06-16 19:39:36 +0000 UTCI’m kinda glad that this interview was benign. I’m tired of all of this. Just let them wrestle. If the heat’s over, then work it into a storyline. Otherwise, keep ‘em separate.
Noah Drap
2023-06-16 19:28:42 +0000 UTCBut you have no problem watching WWE product with Vince running it? What has Tony done to potentially stop you from watching that could possibly be worse than anything Vince has done? “Ghosting” someone is worse than making talent move across country only to release them right after? See Alison Danger and Taya Valkyrie & Johnny Whatever. The Tony hate is unbelievably stupid to me.
Dave Stroble
2023-06-16 19:10:17 +0000 UTCLinked at the bottom of this article
mike stevens
2023-06-16 18:44:04 +0000 UTCI’m not a pro wrestler so I tend not to read too much into body language, if punk felt he was sandbagging or no selling, I think we would’ve heard about it. The chop missed and punk already didn’t really trust him, I get that, but my overall point was I think the idea of page trying to hurt punk seems a bit farfetched.
Left_coast_envy
2023-06-16 18:40:05 +0000 UTCI rewatched the match last night. Early on you can see the chop that went high, commentary even mentions the chop landing to punks neck. Hangman also appeared to be sandbagging a little during some top rope stuff. Neither guy is perfect but hanger definitely didn’t help the situation at all.
Hold up I just googled Dick Marcinko and this dudes beard grows all the way up to his eye balls what da hell is da beard doin
2023-06-16 18:30:19 +0000 UTCMountain out of a mole hill. Interview was meh.
Niners94
2023-06-16 18:24:20 +0000 UTCbro where on espn can i find this interview 💀💀
emmanuel eh
2023-06-16 18:15:48 +0000 UTCProbably. Wouldn't be surprised. Once again another situation that could've been avoided if TK delegated things. Hopefully he's figuring out what needs to be done to help AEW and it's roster. It's at a point where I watch AEW because it has the wrestlers I like, but if those wrestlers went to WWE, I would probably stop paying attention to AEW, and the main reason would be because of Tony Khan.
Vain Valor
2023-06-16 18:03:23 +0000 UTCI bet you that Tony Khan did with Cabana what he constantly does with people. He ghosted Cabana for months and left Cabana clueless as to what his status in the company was.
Cody
2023-06-16 17:59:42 +0000 UTCFTR Tattoo needs to calm down and apologize to Colt.
Michael Solko
2023-06-16 17:59:23 +0000 UTCAll it takes to hurt someone in a wrestling match is to be extra stiff with your moves or less protective of your opponent. It don’t matter how much tougher you may or may not be than you. CM Punk may have been reluctant to trust Page in a match because of the promo incident. That’s an understandable feeling. Punk didn’t know Page that well at the time either.
Cody
2023-06-16 17:58:02 +0000 UTCIt’s worth wondering why people in AEW felt the need to blab about this interview to reporters before it came out. What were their motivations?
Cody
2023-06-16 17:55:00 +0000 UTCI am more curious what “to his satisfaction” is. Hangman already publicly in the ring said he won’t have a chance at the world title for a long time- pretty sure that is part of his punishment (though he is on Max’s list so🤷♀️) and I am still foggy on if he did or didn’t apologize to Punk? But the man has been the quietest about the whole thing, at least from my imperfect memory.
jennifer griffin
2023-06-16 17:36:54 +0000 UTCMan the articles on the main site suggest the entire issue is that Punk decided Hangman hated him and has acted a fool ever since. Hopefully he figures that out.
Ryan Cremeans
2023-06-16 17:36:35 +0000 UTCYour mileage may vary, I didn’t think so
Left_coast_envy
2023-06-16 17:25:46 +0000 UTCEither they're working on rehabilitating Punks image, or this is actually genuine. If it is genuine, TK should've allowed Punk to speak on this a long time ago. Seems like Punk may not be this monster that he's made out to be. I mean is he perfect? No. Did he handle things well at the scrum, and then after? No, but there was alot of context missing. I hope AEW can learn from this, and I'm hoping CM Punk can have a good relationship with the Elite again. Sounds like before Tony moving Colt Cabana when he did, for motives that did at the time seem odd, everyone was fine. At the end of the day, it very much seems like AEW needs to manage their talent better, and TK needs to get things in order when it comes to handling things. Sure, Hangman going into business for himself is bad, but from his point of view, things looked how they looked. From that point going forward, things were not handled well and it made things worse and worse...
Vain Valor
2023-06-16 17:25:21 +0000 UTCThe match was very good.
thenumber9door
2023-06-16 17:25:12 +0000 UTCThe more that comes out about this whole situation, the more it seems like Punk needs some serious therapy or something over the whole Cabana thing. Somehow, every issue comes down to him reacting negatively to something or someone in relation to that whole thing. I mean, dang.
B. Joseph
2023-06-16 17:12:22 +0000 UTCThe idea that hangman would try to hurt him seems so paranoid and almost like a ret-con for the match being meh.
Left_coast_envy
2023-06-16 17:11:54 +0000 UTCIt is fn nuts the concern that "that" article has caused in the last 24 hours!! Unless TK got that completely and utterly edited, which I don't believe Marc would agree to, anyone would think certain ppl are trying to destroy Punk 🤔
S B
2023-06-16 16:55:09 +0000 UTCfuck that dude
BugabooJonez
2023-06-16 16:48:23 +0000 UTCI don't think there's anything in there I didn't know, except maybe that Page chipped his tooth but realistically that was no as "explosive" as I was expecting.
Naomi Randall
2023-06-16 16:48:15 +0000 UTCSome very interesting tidbits in that interview..
Noir
2023-06-16 16:43:17 +0000 UTCThis all reads like talent management is the source of all these issues. If the Colt rumors were all addressed from the jump, much of this wouldn’t have happened. Can’t fault Hangman entirely for believing what he heard, although it would’ve been best addressed off screen. Also can’t blame Punk for being frustrated about his name being tarnished for something he didn’t do. Someone should have been there to address this before the Hangman promo, if not immediately after. I will say, the ESPN article and this info make me more hopeful that they will all do business
Ray Hernandez
2023-06-16 16:42:28 +0000 UTCIt was a really interesting interview and you can never tell when CM Punk is in work mode which makes it somehow more interesting it's like trying to solve a puzzle box and really hoping it's not the lament configuration.
Insomnia Inc
2023-06-16 16:40:25 +0000 UTCLove that sweet sweet Fightful context
Shmingy Dingy
2023-06-16 16:39:54 +0000 UTCThere's literally nothing to that interview. No new information if you've been following the story. What did we learn? Hangman chipped Punk's tooth and The Elite still won't work with him? Okay, cool.
Kurtis Allen
2023-06-16 16:32:44 +0000 UTCCan we maybe take a lesson from this and stop getting outraged every time CM Punk's name comes up? The discourse over an interview that no one had even seen yet was absurd.
Almaida
2023-06-16 16:30:33 +0000 UTCIt’s amazing how not inflammatory this interview was! It makes me wonder about the motivations of people who were talking to reporters about the interview before it was released.
Cody
2023-06-16 16:29:30 +0000 UTCEDIT: I know you have zero control over that. I was simply just thinking outloud. Hopefully there will be some updates to this becuase I’d love more insight given it’s been nothing but speculation (for the most part) for the last 9+ months.
DMT Vape Bro 69
2023-06-16 16:27:47 +0000 UTCThe interview wasn’t nearly as explosive as I expected.
Dave Stroble
2023-06-16 16:27:03 +0000 UTC
