Someone explain the CM Punk/Mox squash match
AEW's booking has been the main reason I would rather read a summary of the show online then tune in every week.
Shit seems to be hitting the fan fast with Tony Khan. Like a bad NFL coach calling his own plays, maybe it is time for Tony to take a backseat and let the more experienced creative minds in the building book the show.
Two thoughts in my brain:
1. All this Punk backstage drama reported the last few weeks is true and he's frustrated and wants out.
2. He got bad news and/or his recovery is taking longer than thought, he wasn't a fan of the interim idea in the first place, and wanted to get the belt off of him bc he's shelved another 3-4 months. They can use this drama as a work for a bigger surprise return down the road.
Knowing Punk, both equally plausible IMO.
This is the heel turn for Punk. They telegraphed it with his scathing promo last Wednesday, and then the look on his face when Mox was celebrating? This is your main event at All Out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Punk used some underhanded tactics to win.
Yeah, I don’t get the overreaction to the squash match. Bianca got squashed by Lynch in 30 seconds. She recovered and is still the best they have.
Yeah, All Out is the upcoming PPV. That’s what I was referring to when I said this would be the main event there.If the rumors are true, the Punk/Moxley rematch is happening at the PPV... in Chicago... where Punk could pull out a gun and shoot someone and not lose any voters.
Regardless of the direction they go, it appears to have been a perplexing booking decision at best.
Yeah, All Out is the upcoming PPV. That’s what I was referring to when I said this would be the main event there.
Booking decision doesn’t bother me at all. I popped for it. Mox is on fire, and heel Punk means MJF was right about him (in storyline).
I don’t believe the match was ever announced for the PPV, it was just the assumption. Might have been the backstage plan, but they never said the bout would occur at All Out.In a vacuum, it was a fine piece of business. The concept of Punk rushing back from a legitimate injury, getting "reinjured" in the match because he came back too soon and ultimately getting blown out by an on fire Moxley is absolutely fine. I have zero issues with any of that.
I just don't really understand the logic behind basically everything else surrounding it.
It is particularly perplexing now that it appears they're still planning to run the same match 11 days later, only this time they're asking you to pay for it.
-They never explained why, when the match was already announced for the PPV, they needed to move the match up 2 weeks and stick it on free TV in the first place. That was just a "well we're doing this" seemingly done for no other reason than to pop a TV rating? Which would have been fine, except...
Top of the hour isn’t a dead zone time slot. Middle of the hour right before the main event is. That’s usually where they throw the women (which I don’t agree with)-We get to Dynamite and are, theoretically, about to see the biggest possible angle AEW has to give us with the two biggest stars they have and... they barely promote the match throughout the night? And on top of barely talking about it, they then bury it the 9:00p to 9:20p dead zone timeslot.
I don’t see the issue. The main event was an absolute banger that sets up a showdown next week between two of the biggest wrestling stars in the world.This was the two biggest stars in the company unifying the most important title they have and they didn't even mention the match the first hour of the show? And then as soon as the match is over we go straight into a Christian backstage promo and into a 6-man spotfest like this what should have been AEW world-altering angle basically never happened?
If that match doesn’t interest you, fine. The rest of the card rocks. I’m interested to see what they do with it. There’s a compelling story to be told. Let’s hope they tell it.Then after the show Meltzer confirms they're still doing the match as planned at the PPV? Ok?
I just don't understand how it makes sense it makes (in storyline or in real life) to have your champion get blown out in 3 minutes, then come back less than 2 weeks later and run the same match on PPV. Perhaps I'm fully in the minority, but my desire to watch that rematch is virtually non-existent if we're doing what we're told and suspending our disbelief and treating this like it's a shoot. Why would anyone want to watch a rematch 11 days after the first fight was completely non-competitive?
I’d be shocked if they went with the “Punk overcomes the odds” line because he’s been 100% heel since he returned.If the plan is to turn Punk heel, he is absolutely not going to get booed in Chicago whether he kicks Moxley in the nuts 50 times or not.
I have a sense they might be considering a "Punk overcomes the odds of his injury as the massive underdog in his hometown" babyface triumph story and if that's the route they go, yeesh.
I don’t believe the match was ever announced for the PPV, it was just the assumption. Might have been the backstage plan, but they never said the bout would occur at All Out.
Top of the hour isn’t a dead zone time slot. Middle of the hour right before the main event is. That’s usually where they throw the women (which I don’t agree with)
I don’t see the issue. The main event was an absolute banger that sets up a showdown next week between two of the biggest wrestling stars in the world.
If that match doesn’t interest you, fine. The rest of the card rocks. I’m interested to see what they do with it. There’s a compelling story to be told. Let’s hope they tell it.
I’d be shocked if they went with the “Punk overcomes the odds” line because he’s been 100% heel since he returned.