Without even realizing it — or maybe he has — CM Punk just changed the industry forever. His comments will forever be remembered as ones that hopefully made the current-WWE superstars ponder their current position in professional wrestling. Punk’s intention was not to dishearten wrestlers to suddenly quit. It was to shed light into the industry that has seen its amounts of controversial moments. Pro wrestling is arguably the most controversial sport in history.
The Chicago native isn’t ill-informed, which would lead the logical person to insinuate that he’s telling the truth 100 percent. Punk’s controversial comments will always be remembered. As for the other side, they are beginning to come out one at a time.
Let’s first cover Ryback, who Punk called ” dumb as f***,” and “steroid guy.” Those are exact quotes and Punk stands by his words. Ryback clearly caught wind of those phrases and decided to take to Twitter and respond.
For the record if I quit for being fragile and insecure I would make up excuses too. Things didn’t go my way for a long time and I kept
— The Big Guy (@Ryback22) November 28, 2014
Going day in and out. Slander is a powerful thing and to state complete made up nonsense for no reason shows his insecurities. I will
— The Big Guy (@Ryback22) November 28, 2014
Continue to bust my ass study matches every chance I get, cut promos when driving and push myself for hours on end even when hurt. Thank you — The Big Guy (@Ryback22) November 28, 2014
Give credit to Ryback for keeping his cool. It isn’t every day that someone gets told what Punk told Ryback on Colt Cabana’s podcast. Ryback is very popular when it comes to Twitter. His gimmick last year was about, “Tweet. Delete. Repeat.” As of this writing, Paul Heyman has not filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
The next person is Brian G. James, or the Road Dogg Jesse James. He’s an official backstage for WWE and does a great job at doing so. Last year, he and his partner Billy Gunn made their return to wrestling and competed mightily at an older age. His reaction to the Punk remarks also came out on Twitter. On his page , you can find all of the responses to a fan. However, here’s a tweet from him that was an attempt to justify his outbursts.
Didn’t mean to argue and I’m sorry to those I offended. I’ll just keep quiet on this subject. I’m passionate about the business. I’m sorry.
— Brian G. James (@WWERoadDogg) November 27, 2014
Trust me when I say that his conversation with the WWE fan is good entertainment and it also give the WWE Universe insight on how James thinks about the business. He posed the argument that there are always two sides to a story. James is not incorrect.
Last but not least, the WWE made an official statement about Punk’s remarks. It’s not what was hoped for in a statement from the WWE, but it does address the comments Punk made towards the medical staff. The medical situation with WWE is a very serious topic, so there is no surprise that they made a brief statement on that.
“WWE takes the health and wellness of its talent very seriously and has a comprehensive Talent Wellness Program that is led by one of the most well-respected physicians in the country, Dr. Joseph Maroon.”
On Cabana’s podcast, Punk ripped the WWE’s medicals staff to shreds, especially Dr. Chris Amann. After listening to that part, it made it sound like the WWE doesn’t care about its wrestlers. If that were the case, Dolph Ziggler would’ve wrestled after his most-recent concussion. While Punk’s case is absolutely justified, the WWE medical staff cannot be that incompetent.
In just 24 hours, the WWE Universe’s world hit the fan and then some. James may be right when he said the WWE probably wouldn’t ever address the Punk podcast. They would make an intelligent case by doing so, but at the end of the day, it’s negative press no matter what. The WWE doesn’t need more negative press. Be sure to listen to next week’s Art of Wrestling podcast when Cabana and Punk answer questions written by the fans. It will definitely be a must-listen, just like today’s was.
[Image via complex.com]