Real-life pro wrestling chaos as CM Punk fights fellow AEW
stars after on-camera tirade
Real-life pro wrestling chaos as CM Punk fights fellow
AEW stars after on-camera tirade - 7th September 2022 (FOX Sports
Australia)
CM
Punk after a loss to Mickey Gall during the UFC 203
event at Quicken Loans Arena on September 10, 2016
in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images/AFP.
Source: AFP
Max
Laughton from Fox Sports
AEW,
the growing threat to WWE’s supremacy in the
English-speaking pro wrestling world, has descended
into chaos after a real-life backstage fight between
a group of the promotion’s biggest stars.
At
the centre of it all is former WWE champion and current
AEW (All Elite Wrestling) world champion CM Punk -
though he may not be the ‘current’ champion
for long.
AEW
was created three years ago by independent stalwarts
The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, ‘Hangman’
Adam Page and now-back-at-WWE star Cody Rhodes, and
funded by billionaire Tony Khan, attempting to create
a true competitor for the McMahon family’s company.
They’ve
begun to do that, with critically successful TV shows
and pay per views, a higher standard of wrestling
and strong ratings which have ensured they earn enough
money to run long-term - and a looming new TV deal
should ensure their profitability.
But
helping their growth was a 2021 signing spree of some
of wrestling’s biggest names, with Bryan Danielson
(formerly Daniel Bryan) and CM Punk joining Chris
Jericho and Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose) at
the top of the card.
Punk,
in particular, proved a massive drawcard, selling
out the Chicago Bulls’ home of the United Center
essentially on the rumour he would return to wrestling
seven years after quitting WWE.
Punk’s
passion made him an incredible performer but, at times,
tough to work with. His exit from WWE, sparked by
physical and mental health issues, saw him fall out
with his long-time friendship with fellow wrestler
Colt Cabana. That was after the pair were sued for
defamation for comments made on Cabana’s podcast
about ex-WWE doctor Chris Ammen; after winning that
case, they sued each other over legal fees.
That
made things more complicated when Punk was signed
in 2021 - after Cabana had already been wrestling
for AEW for over a year.
AEW
boss Tony Khan had to make it clear that an apparent
demotion for Cabana - he had not appeared on TV in
his previous role since Punk’s re-emergence,
and looks set to be part of the now-AEW-owned version
of Ring of Honor - had nothing to do with Punk.
Yet
rumours still circulated that Punk had either told
Khan he wanted Cabana gone, or at least that it was
hinted at - which Punk took serious exception to.
Following
Monday morning (AEST)’s All Out pay per view,
Punk was the first speaker at the post-show press
conference. Sitting alongside Khan, without even being
prompted, he launched into a stunning spray of Scott
Colton (Cabana’s real name).
“I
haven’t had anything to do with Scott Colton
for almost a decade. Probably wanted nothing to do
with him even longer than that,” Punk said.
“It’s
f--king unfortunate that I have to come up here and
speak on this when I’m on my time and this is
a f--king business. Why I’m a grown-ass adult
man and I decide not to be friends with somebody is
nobody else’s f--king business. But my friends,
if I fall backwards, will catch me. Scott Colton,
I felt, never would have.
“My
problem was I wanted to bring a guy with me to the
top that did not want to see me at the top, OK? You
can call it jealousy, you can call it envy, whatever
the f–k it is. My relationship with Scott Colton
ended long before I paid all of his bills. I have
every receipt. I have every invoice. I have every
email. I have (an) email where he says ‘I agree
to go our separate ways, I will get my own lawyer
and you do not have to pay anymore.’
“That’s
an email that I have and the only reason the public
did not see is because when I finally had to countersue
him, through discovery we discovered he shared a bank
account with his mother. That’s a fact. As soon
as we discovered that fact and we subpoenaed old Marsha,
he sent the email ‘oh, can we please drop all
this?’ Now, it’s 2022. I haven’t been
friends with this guy since at least 2014, late-2013.”
Punk
then declared his frustration with executive vice-presidents
the Young Bucks, Nick and Matt Jackson, and Kenny
Omega - seemingly suggesting they had leaked the story
that Punk had spoken out against Cabana.
“The
fact that I have to sit up here because we have irresponsible
people who call themselves EVPs and couldn’t
f--king manage a Target and they spread lies and bulls--t
and put into the media that I got somebody fired when
I have f--k all to do with him, want nothing to do
with him, do not care where he works, where he doesn’t
work, where he eats, where he sleeps… the fact
that I have to get up and do this in 2022 is f--king
embarrassing,” Punk said.
Punk
was also angered when then-world champion ‘Hangman’
Adam Page made an apparent reference to Punk’s
past during an on-screen promo building up their title
match.
Months
later, after winning the title from Page and recovering
from a serious foot injury, Punk came to the ring
for a promo and went against script by calling out
Page, saying it was “coward s--t” when he
didn’t come out. (Page, of course, didn’t
come out because it wasn’t part of the planned
TV show.)
“What
did I ever do in this world to deserve an empty-headed
f--king dumbf--k like ‘Hangman’ Adam Page
to go out on national television and f--king go into
business for himself? For what? What did I ever do?
… Didn’t do a goddamn thing,” Punk
said in the press conference.
“I’m
trying to run a f–king business. And when somebody
who hasn’t done a damn thing in this business
jeopardizes the first million dollar house that this
company has ever drawn off of my back and goes on
national television and does that, it’s a disgrace
to this industry, it’s a disgrace to this company.”
The
press conference continued after Punk’s remarkable
comments, but at one point a security guard could
be seen sprinting away towards a commotion.
That
commotion, as reported by multiple leading wrestling
news outlets, was a real-life fight between Punk,
his long-time friend and trainer Ace Steel, the Young
Bucks and Omega.
While
there are multiple narratives around exactly how things
went down, no-one is disputing that Punk punched Matt
Jackson, that Steel threw a chair that hit Nick Jackson,
and that Steel bit Omega and pulled his hair.
It
has become clear this is not a storyline and in fact
real - in wrestling parlance, it’s a shoot.
None
of those involved in the fight are expected to show
up at Thursday (AEST)’s live broadcast of the
main AEW TV show, Dynamite.
The
Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported there
have been suspensions stemming from the fight, while
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp tweeted “almost
all (AEW wrestlers) I’ve spoken to believe CM
Punk will have to go or make major amends to remain
with the company ... the heat on (anger with) Punk
is unreal.”
It
would be a remarkably brave decision from Tony Khan
to part with Punk, who is clearly the company’s
biggest ratings draw. But he won’t be parting
with the Bucks and Omega, who helped inspire and create
the company, and are younger than Punk.
Instead,
he’ll have to try and soothe these remarkably
inflamed tensions - and perhaps try and make money
from them. After all wrestling’s history is full
of off-screen turmoil turning into on-screen storylines.
The
most famous example is the Montreal Screwjob, where
WWE boss Vince McMahon conspired to force then-champion
Bret Hart to lose the world title to Shawn Michaels,
after years of real-life discord between the two stars.
McMahon
and his supporters still claim 25 years later Hart
was about to walk out on the company with the world
title and join WCW, even though that was not legally
possible and Hart had told McMahon he would lose to
Michaels but not in Canada.
The
dramatic situation, which saw Hart punch out McMahon,
resulted in the WWE owner turning into the heel Mr
McMahon character on TV, and then in a rivalry with
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin spark arguably
the hottest period in pro wrestling history.
No-one
is suggesting Khan should become an on-screen character
in the same way, but a match involving Punk and any
mixture of the Bucks and Omega would now have incredible
interest in a way it would not have before.
So
while this situation appears impossible to solve right
now, it could end up being the best thing for AEW
long-term.
SI.com’s
Week in Wrestling is published every week and
provides beneath the surface coverage of the business
of pro wrestling.
The
All Out press conference revealed one of the dirtiest
secrets in pro wrestling. From time to time, what
happens behind the curtain is more fascinating than
what takes place in the ring.
That
was the case as Sunday night moved to Monday morning.
CM Punk spoke at the post-match press conference and
took a flamethrower to the AEW locker room, laying
into fellow wrestlers, specifically Hangman Page,
the company’s executive vice presidents—who
are Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks’ Matt and
Nick Jackson—as well as Colt Cabana. The focus
of the press conference should have been on the stunning
return of MJF, but that major plot line became nearly
nonexistent as Punk went entirely off-script in his
critiques.
Once
Punk exited the press room, he exchanged words in
a locker room with Omega and the Bucks, which led
to a physical altercation. Punishment for that backstage
fight, Sports Illustrated has learned, will include
suspensions for every person involved. The list of
those receiving suspensions includes Omega, Matt and
Nick Jackson, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael
Nakazawa and Brandon Cutler. Multiple sources have
shared that Punk and Ace Steel will either be among
those suspended, or will no longer be with the company
by the end of Wednesday. Punk met with AEW owner Tony
Khan on Tuesday, so the two had an opportunity to
discuss how that exit could be handled.
Per
sources, an external third-party investigation will
be conducted. Page had already left the building,
Sports Illustrated learned, which explains his absence
from the altercation.
Punk’s
fury was ignited during the press conference when
he made mention of former friend Cabana. Rumors have
circulated that Punk had Cabana moved to Ring of Honor,
and Punk clearly believes that those rumors emanated
from leaks within the company, possibly even from
Omega and the Bucks. Punk vehemently denied involvement
in any facet of Cabana’s career, and that topic
of discussion set him off.
All
this occurred at the press conference where Punk sat
beside Khan. It was an awkward, uncomfortable and
unprofessional scene. Punk is AEW world champion,
which adds another layer to this conundrum. The Bucks
and Omega are the inaugural world trios champions.
Remarkably,
there could still be a positive outcome if Punk and
FTR engage in a heated feud with Omega and the Bucks.
Punk
mentioned to SI two weeks ago that he is in AEW to
sell tickets and drive ratings. Real-life strife
sells in this industry, especially when harnessed
in the right manner—but sources from close to
AEW indicated a story line is not going to come out
of this situation.
Khan
is CEO, GM and head of creative. This incident highlights
AEW’s major need to delegate. Overseeing a wrestling
company is not a one-man show, and not even Vince
McMahon at the peak of his power in WWE ever pretended
to be that. McMahon surrounded himself with the best
minds in wrestling and put them in key roles, as with
Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, Jim Barnett, JJ Dillon, Gorilla
Monsoon and Arnold Skaaland. While he signed off on
all major decisions, it was never just McMahon behind
the scenes managing it all. Yes, McMahon may have
been the one to receive the praise and recognition,
but WWE’s success under his leadership was the
result of a wide range of contributions. AEW’s
lack of experience in executive leadership plays a
role in these issues. The company possesses a first-rate,
world-class roster, yet far less experience in the
front office.
WWE
also plays a role in all of this. As Khan noted during
the press conference, All Out did well commercially,
but not to the point where it set any company records.
That is largely because WWE strategically ran a must-see
event the day before in Clash at the Castle, as well
as an NXT special in War of the Worlds only hours
before AEW started its All Out pay-per-view.
For
WWE, that All Out press conference will undoubtedly
be used by newly appointed chief content officer Paul
Levesque as their newest recruitment play. Levesque
is following a wrestling blueprint created by McMahon
in the 1980’s. While McMahon had distanced himself
from it, Levesque is back to signing all the top available
talent.
Under
Levesque, there is a robust new wave of recruitment.
What happens if multiple talent in AEW attempt to
leverage their releases? That could be very destabilizing,
meaning it will likely be a point of emphasis from
WWE. AEW built so much of their brand as a contrast
to McMahon’s poor booking and lackluster presentation
of beloved talent. Yet that is now evolving, as WWE
has quickly strengthened its storylines since Levesque
took control of creative.
In
the shadow of all this are the expiring television
rights deals for AEW and WWE. Based on their ratings,
AEW should be in a position to receive a significant
increase in their rights fees when the current deal
with WarnerBrothers/Discovery expires at the end of
2024. But WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, Inc.,
forming Warner Bros. Discovery, and the marketplace
is unsure of their current strategy, creating question
marks around AEW’s future. WWE also has a need
for new network rights deals, as existing agreements
with NBCUniversal and Fox only run through the end
of September ’24. Weakening AEW while further
solidifying their own brand is, undoubtedly, WWE’s
objective.
For
AEW, this is the wrong time for chaos. The company
needs to tighten up its internal affairs, as the pro
wrestling industry is a far stronger place with two
major companies instead of one overwhelming monopoly.
CM
Punk, Swerve in Our Glory, Toni Storm & Chris
Jericho Comment | AEW All Out Media Scrum | 9/4/22
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from the broadcast or exhibition by the user of any
AEW content (including media scrums or other editorial
materials) without the consent of AEW.
About
AEW
Founded by CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan
in 2019, AEW is headlined by CM Punk, Jon Moxley,
Thunder Rosa, Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, Claudio
Castagnoli, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks (Matt and
Nick Jackson), Adam Cole, Sting, FTR, Jungle Boy,
Jade Cargill, Dr. Britt Baker, Scorpio Sky, Hangman
Page, Sammy Guevara, Matt Hardy, Samoa Joe, Swerve
Strickland, Miro, Lucha Bros., PAC, Wardlow, Darby
Allin, Nyla Rose, Red Velvet, Ruby Soho, Toni Storm,
Hikaru Shida, Athena, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo,
Christian Cage, Eddie Kingston, Ethan Page, Orange
Cassidy, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Luchasaurus,
Lance Archer, Keith Lee and many more. For the first
time in many years, AEW is offering an alternative
to mainstream wrestling, with a roster of world-class
talent that is injecting new spirit, freshness and
energy into the industry.
“AEW: Dynamite” airs every Wednesday from
8-10 p.m. ET on TBS and attracts the youngest wrestling
audience on television. The fight-forward show “AEW:
Rampage” airs every Friday from 10-11 p.m. ET
on TNT. AEW’s multi-platform content also includes
“AEW Dark” and “AEW Dark: Elevation,”
two weekly professional wrestling YouTube series,
“Being the Elite,” a weekly behind-the-scenes
YouTube series, and “AEW Unrestricted,”
a weekly podcast series.
Media
Man Group
Welcome
to the Media Man Group including but not limited to
Media Man Int, Media Man International, Media Man
News, Media Man Australia and Media Man Network
A
terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United
States) is a group of radio stations, television stations,
or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement
to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source.For
example, PBS (US), CBC (Canada), BBC (UK), ABC (Australia),
KBS (South Korea) and ABS-CBN (Philippines) are TV
networks that provide programming for local terrestrial
television station affiliates to air using signals
that can be picked up by the home television sets
of local viewers. Networks generally, but not always,
operate on a national scale; that is, they cover an
entire country.
Streaming
media, Internet radio, and webcasting are sometimes
considered forms of broadcasting despite the lack
of terrestrial stations; its practitioners may also
be called "broadcasters" or even "broadcast
networks".
News
broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting of various
news events and other information via television,
radio, or internet in the field of broadcast journalism.
The content is usually either produced locally in
a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by
a broadcast network. It may include material such
as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports,
political commentary, expert opinions, editorial content,
and other material that the broadcaster feels is relevant
to their audience. An individual news program is typically
reported in a series of individual stories that are
presented by one or more anchors. A frequent inclusion
are live or recorded interviews by field reporters.
The
Internet (or internet)[a] is the global system of
interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet
protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks
and devices. It is a network of networks that consists
of private, public, academic, business, and government
networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad
array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking
technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of
information resources and services, such as the inter-linked
hypertext documents and applications of the World
Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, and file
sharing.
The
origins of the Internet date back to the development
of packet switching and research commissioned by the
United States Department of Defense in the 1960s to
enable time-sharing of computers. The primary precursor
network, the ARPANET, initially served as a backbone
for interconnection of regional academic and military
networks in the 1970s. The funding of the National
Science Foundation Network as a new backbone in the
1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial
extensions, led to worldwide participation in the
development of new networking technologies, and the
merger of many networks. The linking of commercial
networks and enterprises by the early 1990s marked
the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet,
and generated a sustained exponential growth as generations
of institutional, personal, and mobile computers were
connected to the network. Although the Internet was
widely used by academia in the 1980s, commercialization
incorporated its services and technologies into virtually
every aspect of modern life.
In
mass communication, media are the communication outlets
or tools used to store and deliver information or
data. The term refers to components of the mass media
communications industry, such as print media, publishing,
the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting
(radio and television), digital media, and advertising.
The
development of early writing and paper enabling longer-distance
communication systems such as mail, including in the
Persian Empire (Chapar Khaneh and Angarium) and Roman
Empire, which can be interpreted as early forms of
media.[4] Writers such as Howard Rheingold have framed
early forms of human communication as early forms
of media, such as the Lascaux cave paintings and early
writing. Another framing of the history of media starts
with the Chauvet Cave paintings and continues with
other ways to carry human communication beyond the
short range of voice: smoke signals, trail markers,
and sculpture.
The
Term media in its modern application relating to communication
channels was first used by Canadian communications
theorist Marshall McLuhan, who stated in Counterblast
(1954): "The media are not toys; they should
not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan
executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists
because they are art forms." By the mid-1960s,
the term had spread to general use in North America
and the United Kingdom. The phrase "mass media"
was, according to H.L. Mencken, used as early as 1923
in the United States.
The
term "medium" (the singular form of "media")
is defined as "one of the means or channels of
general communication, information, or entertainment
in society, as newspapers, radio, or television."
Broadcasting
is the distribution of audio or video content to a
dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications
medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic
spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting
began with AM radio, which came into popular use around
1920 with the spread of vacuum tube radio transmitters
and receivers. Before this, all forms of electronic
communication (early radio, telephone, and telegraph)
were one-to-one, with the message intended for a single
recipient. The term broadcasting evolved from its
use as the agricultural method of sowing seeds in
a field by casting them broadly about.] It was later
adopted for describing the widespread distribution
of information by printed materials] or by telegraph.
Examples applying it to "one-to-many" radio
transmissions of an individual station to multiple
listeners appeared as early as 1898.
Over
the air broadcasting is usually associated with radio
and television, though more recently, both radio and
television transmissions have begun to be distributed
by cable (cable television). The receiving parties
may include the general public or a relatively small
subset; the point is that anyone with the appropriate
receiving technology and equipment (e.g., a radio
or television set) can receive the signal. The field
of broadcasting includes both government-managed services
such as public radio, community radio and public television,
and private commercial radio and commercial television.
The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part
97 defines "broadcasting" as "transmissions
intended for reception by the general public, either
direct or relayed". Private or two-way telecommunications
transmissions do not qualify under this definition.
For example, amateur ("ham") and citizens
band (CB) radio operators are not allowed to broadcast.
As defined, "transmitting" and "broadcasting"
are not the same.
Transmission
of radio and television programs from a radio or television
station to home receivers by radio waves is referred
to as "over the air" (OTA) or terrestrial
broadcasting and in most countries requires a broadcasting
license. Transmissions using a wire or cable, like
cable television (which also retransmits OTA stations
with their consent), are also considered broadcasts
but do not necessarily require a license (though in
some countries, a license is required). In the 2000s,
transmissions of television and radio programs via
streaming digital technology have increasingly been
referred to as broadcasting as well.
Bitcoin
SV is Revving up for Potentially Unlimited Scale -
4th March 2021
With
the latest release of its software. Switzerland-based
industry organization the Bitcoin Association has
announced the release of the Bitcoin SV Node software
v1.0.7 in an effort to boost up for potentially unlimited
scale.
Calvin
Ayre, a big proponent for Bitcoin SV, retweeted the
news on Thursday.
Why
This is Important
The
Dynastic update to Bitcoin SV Node software means
a lifting of limitations that were previously imposed
on apps so that enterprises can increase throughput
and effectively scale.
The
update has improved support for long chains of unconfirmed
transctions, as the default limit for ancestor and
child-pays-for-parent (CPFP) transactions has been
extended from 25 to 1,000.
The
Dynastic release completes the process of replacing
the legacy block assembler, implemented in later versions
of the Bitcoin Core (BTC) software, with a new journaling
block assembler for the Bitcoin SV (BSV) network.
This
change now supports long chains of unconfirmed transactions
and has introduced simplified transaction selection
logic.
Prioritizing transactions based on how much miners
can make in fees is no longer necessary on the Bitcoin
SV network, which has low-fee transactions. Those
waiting for transactions to be confirmed on the BTC
network may have noticed the occasional 6 hour wait
time for those who did not pay the prioritized fee.
Steve
Shadders, technical director of the Bitcoin SV Infrastructure
Team: "Along came a 1MB block size limit and
ideas about a fee market. The idea was that limiting
the block size would create demand for block space
and drive up the transaction fees users would effectively
bid to get included in a block. But this created a
new requirement for the Bitcoin software to manage.
If a miner can't select all the available transactions
due to the 1MB limit, they need to ensure they select
the ones that pay the highest fee rates to maximise
their revenues, leaving the less lucrative transactions
for another miner to pick up later."
Shadders
added: "The removal of the CPFP and ancestor
limits from the Bitcoin SV network has been one of
the most requested improvements we've received from
businesses and end-users alike."
Heyman
Hustle pushing the envelope with WWE, pro wrestling
and MMA coverage; Sports models get risqué
Sports
Data "wars" for supremacy likely to heat
up in United States, UK, Australia; May expand beyond
Football, American Football, Union, Soccer; Could
pro wrestling, MMA, Judo, Boxing and even surfing
be the new frontier; VR elements for gaming
Numerous
WWE pro wrestlers aka sports entertainers keen to
do more Hollywood work; Following Dwayne Johnson,
Bautista, John Cena, Miz and Roman Reigns success
MTV's
tipped to bring back Celebrity Death Match; Classic
matches hit YouTube. Click
here
