CM Punk Fans, Sorry To Disappoint: TNA Never Even Considered Him
CM Punk was courted by TNA Wrestling, if you believe rumors reported yesterday at The Inquisitr and various other media outlets. Now at least one source is denying those efforts to sign the Straight Edge Superstar ever existed.
The star has been in hot demand since walking out on the WWE shortly before the company launched its flagship WWE Network in February.
The rumor mill has kept his name in the mix even though WWE has taken steps to distinguish him as past talent, and he has stated that he would never go back to the company.
Also since his departure, a number of CM Punk chants have broken out at televised tapings, particularly when wife AJ Lee, who still works with WWE, is cutting a promo or wrestling a match.
Fans don’t want to let thoughts of a CM Punk return go, and TNA was the next likely target for a “sighting.”
Unfortunately for fans eager to see it happen, TNA denies that such efforts to lure CM Punk to their brand ever existed. PW Insider (via Cageside Seats) put the question to “several high level TNA sources,” and they said “no one ever made Punk an offer and there’s no truth to the rumors out there.”
Critics of a CM Punk to TNA move say it’s likely for the best.
TNA Wrestling has been in danger of going under ever since Spike eliminated them from television. The show has never been able to reach a 2.0 in ratings, and has been pretty much stagnant since its premiere.
While owner Dixie Carter has done a fine job of reaching out to international audiences, most wrestling insiders agree that a U.S. television contract is essential to their survival, and at present, they don’t have it.
If what sources are saying is true about there being no efforts to reach out to CM Punk, it’s likely because the company knows it can’t afford to pay him, or bringing him in would teeter a company on the brink of collapse over the edge.
A CM Punk to TNA scenario would be like placing the entire purse on a single bet and hoping for the best. If it were to succeed, it could blow up huge. If it did nothing, it could result in the company’s immediate collapse.
(And that’s a more likely situation since TNA has brought in a number of bigger stars over the years only to see the show go nowhere in the ratings.)
Do you think TNA is telling the truth? Did they never even consider CM Punk? And if they didn’t, why wouldn’t they in their current situation?
