Ex-employer AEW takes a sharp swipe at the fired CM Punk on the TV show Dynamite – and meanwhile prepares the big farewell match of a legend
In a week and a half, CM Punk’s first big match after his sensational return to the wrestling market leader will take place at the WWE Royal Rumble. The feisty top star has received another sharp side blow from his former employer AEW.
On the latest edition of the TV show Dynamite, the competitor aired a juicy interview with the “Young Bucks” Nick and Matt Jackson – the two league co-founders with whom Punk had an ugly internal conflict that was a catalyst for the events that led to Punk’s ouster.
The Jackson brothers took the opportunity to use a covert attack to settle what they believed was unfinished business.
Young Bucks will be Sting’s farewell opponents
The Jacksons are set for a big match at AEW themselves: at the Pay Per View Revolution in early March, they’ll face former rival Hulk Hogans and Sting’s young protégé Darby Allin in legend Sting’s farewell match.
In the process, the Bucks appear to be redefining their character and making a heel turn in the role of villains. The Jacksons debuted a sleazy new look last week – and now portrayed themselves as bitter about AEW’s evolution in a backstage interview with host Renee Paquette.
Sharp jab at CM Punk
The Bucks insisted on being addressed as “Nicholas” and “Matthew” when talking to Paquette. They were key decision-makers at AEW and would now take their role more seriously again (in fact, their power has been very limited since AEW boss Tony Khan took de facto full control of the product four years ago).
The Bucks now recalled that when AEW was founded (along with Khan, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, who has since also moved to WWE), they once promised to “change the world”. On the one hand, they had achieved this, but on the other hand, they had recently strayed from this path
The league and its image had changed for the worse, the dressing room had become “toxic” since too much emphasis had been placed on the “egotistical, superficial, cancerous stars of yesterday”. Sting is one of these yesterday’s stars and although he personally is not a problem child, but a “model employee”: with his CV, he stands for a “dying breed”, for the past and must be weeded out in order to secure the future of wrestling.
The previous jibe was clearly aimed first and foremost at Punk – the word “cancerous” in particular is a well-known catchphrase among Punk’s numerous enemies
Brisant history
The Bucks and Punk have a long history of mutual dislike, with the internal strife escalating in the fall of 2022 into a public anger Punk’s PK after the Pay Per View All Out and a subsequent backstage brawl. The ongoing anger surrounding Punk culminated in the summer in another brawl with young star Jack Perry and Punk’s dismissal.
Piquant fact: Both Punk and the Bucks had actually signed confidentiality agreements not to talk about “Brawl Out” in public. Since then, however, both sides have repeatedly indulged in indirect jibes about the other party.
The fact that the Bucks are now turning real-life events into the basis for a new villain image is a new stage of development – and possibly not the only piece of the puzzle in a larger story.
Title feud brewing between Samoa Joe and Hangman Page
Just a few days ago, a comeback of the recently suspended Perry also caused a stir: He showed up at the AEW partner league NJPW and tore up his AEW contract – it smelled like a scripted production due to the actual cooperation between the promotions.
Meanwhile, in the main bout of the show, AEW set up another big match for Revolution: Newly crowned World Champion Samoa Joe defended his title in a match worth watching against the young Hook – son of the legend Taz. This was followed by a confrontation between Joe and former champ Hangman Page, who will probably be put in position for Revolution
The centerpiece of the show, however, will be the farewell match of Sting, who, according to a report by the Wrestling Observer, wanted to face the Bucks after having harmonized excellently with them in a clash last year.
