Wrestling top star CM Punk brings his conflict with “The Elite” back into focus. Backpedalling or already guerrilla marketing?
Does someone not want to let a personal animosity rest? Or is it already guerrilla marketing by now?
Wrestling star CM Punk has returned the spotlight to his feud with the Elite group, which escalated into violence last year, after the latest edition of the TV show Collision – with jibes in the direction of former World Champion Hangman Page.
CM Punk taunts Hangman Page
After the main event of the show – in which Punk and the tag team champions FTR lost a trios title match to the House of Black – and the end of the TV broadcast, Punk made Page the focus of his final address to the fans on site at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Punk responded to various fan posters for Page – local hero at North Carolina State – saying, “So I was in a supermarket here today and now I know why they call him Hangman. The toy section is full of Hangman action figures and nobody wants to buy them. He’s a slow seller – while I’m moving merchandise, doing TV ratings and selling toys.”
In indirect reference to the recent contract extension of Page and fellow Elite members The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) and Kenny Omega, Punk added: “People at AEW say, ‘I’m the heart, the soul, the good spirit of the league here.’ Well, that’s subjective. People who say that are not the chin of the league in any case. “
The word “chin” was boxer-speak in the context: especially in English, “chin” figuratively refers to the quality of being able to take a lot of punches, just as a boxer must take many blows to the chin without falling over.
Unresolved conflict between Punk and “The Elite “
The conflict between Punk and Page was the catalyst for last year’s big scandal involving Punk, who publicly insulted Page and the Bucks at the post-Pay Per View All Out press conference in September and then got into a backstage brawl with the Bucks and Omega when they tried to confront him.
Page had placed unsanctioned side swipes at Punk in a TV rematch a few months earlier – before his title match against Punk – and Punk countered with attacks of his own on Page. The background to this is the accusation, denied by Punk, that he had asked AEW boss Tony Khan to fire his former best friend Colt Cabana, who works at AEW as a backstage producer and wrestler.
The resulting anger on both sides – Punk also accused the Bucks of backstabbing him – eventually led to “Brawl Out” and Punk’s near exit from AEW.
As is known, Punk was brought back, but the conflict has not yet been resolved: Punk has been physically separated from The Elite as the main attraction of the new Collision show, which is the focus of Wednesday’s Dynamite.
According to Punk, there is even a no-contact order overseen by lawyers; Punk, the Bucks and Omega are also said to have signed confidentiality agreements – which Page is left out of, however, because he was not part of the brawl: he had already left the arena by then. Page has long been silent on the issue and reportedly just wants to put it behind him.
“It’s so easy “
The question many fans are asking: Will the conflict eventually be settled after all and translated into a scripted on-camera rivalry? The scheduling of the Young Bucks’ match against Punk’s friends FTR at the All In mega-show at London’s Wembley Stadium in a fortnight’ time is no indication in that regard: FTR had stayed out of the conflict and only recently expressed hope again for a productive resolution.
What Punk’s purpose is in keeping the matter simmering is harder to fathom. In any case, however, he has obviously set his sights on making things interesting again.
Shortly after the speech, he meaningfully posted on Instagram the song “It’s so easy” by Guns’n’Roses and a picture of actor Martin Landau in the classic film “Ed Wood” – it the scene where he turns to the audience in character as Dracula actor Bela Lugosi and shouts, “Puppets you are.”
The shows feature Punk’s current rivals Samoa Joe and Ricky Starks, the two parallel feuds also pushed further on Collision: Joe – who had challenged Punk for All In – attacked Punk at the end of the show, costing “CMFTR” the victory over House of Black.
Starks previously received a 30-day (storyline) suspension for his attack on legend Ricky Steamboat last week. However, he announced he would continue to attend the shows with a “manager’s license” and continue to “wage war” on Punk.
