Why CM Punk's AEW Run Is The Best Of His Career | partsFUNknown - video Dailymotion

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Why CM Punk's AEW Run Is The Best Of His Career | partsFUNknown What's your favourite CM Punk run in his career? Let us know in the comments!  SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/ Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/ Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/

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00:00 I'll be honest guys, there was a big part of me that was very skeptical of a CM Punk

00:05 return.

00:06 There was never a single doubt that Punk's return segment would be an all-timer, that's

00:09 not what I'm saying.

00:10 But would a 42-year-old, chick magnet Punk really be able to come out of retirement and

00:15 kick ass?

00:16 That absolutely was not a guarantee.

00:18 He was beat up when he left, and 42 is very different than 35 when you're trying to start

00:22 up again.

00:23 But lo and behold, Charlie McAvoy Punk has proven me a fool for being skeptical because

00:27 this man has been having the best run of his career in AEW, and I know that statement is

00:31 gonna ruffle some truffles, but really, I've just been genuinely enjoying the work that

00:35 CM Punk has been doing since his return to wrestling, and would like to provide my case

00:39 as to why this run has clobbered the most ass of all the runs he has had.

00:43 Simple as that, really.

00:44 And of course, if Punk's run takes an unexpected nosedive after Double or Nothing, then feel

00:48 free to dunk on me in the comments for all time always, I don't mind.

00:52 Keep coming back because Evergreen Content is just hunky dory.

00:55 I'm Tempest Hailing from PartsFunKnown, and this is why CM Punk's AEW run is the best

00:59 of his career.

01:00 Punk's early career falls under a pretty wide range.

01:03 Whether it was the not-teenage-teenage anarchist of ROH, the straight edge savior, or the best

01:08 in the world, what I would consider the consensus best runs of his career, unless you really

01:13 like IWA or something, they all captured the minds of fans through their fantastic matches

01:18 and captivating character work.

01:20 Throughout his career, CM Punk was able to connect to his audience as a character, and

01:24 honestly, I think that's always been his greatest strength as a wrestler.

01:27 Since arriving in AEW, CM Punk's character has been more raw, real, and emotional than

01:31 he had ever been on a consistent basis.

01:34 Whereas the Pipe Bomb promo was a sudden emotional peak, a jarring display of realism that we

01:39 as fans weren't used to at the time, now the lines separating CM Punk the character and

01:43 Phil Brooks the person had been blurred to the point that it is hard to believe we are

01:46 getting anything but the real, authentic human behind all the living color and ice cream

01:51 bars.

01:52 The internet has always had its fair share of crazy, wacky characters, and if you prefer

01:55 the more over-the-top performances of the straight edge society punk, I certainly won't

01:59 say you're wrong for it, but I just gravitate more towards the grounded, human characters

02:03 these days.

02:04 Since he walked through the tunnel at the United Center, Cookie Master Punk has been

02:10 one of, if not the most interesting character in all of wrestling.

02:14 He's taken that mantle from Hangman Page, and soon that might not be the only thing

02:18 he'll take from him.

02:19 But what has made this character so interesting?

02:22 If you watched my video last year chronicling the rise of everyone's focused yeehaw man,

02:26 you will know a big portion of that story is what makes Hangman Page a good hero.

02:31 Upon watching CM Punk's promo in Long Island on December 8th, I once again found myself

02:36 pondering what makes a good hero, as I became intrigued by the direction taken by Punk as

02:40 a character.

02:41 In true Bretton, Canada, Shawn in America fashion, Punk was booed in favor of the worst

02:46 human on earth probably, MJF.

02:48 Punk was inarguably the hero of this tale, but his closing line was what really opened

02:52 my third eye.

02:53 Referring to MJF, Punk tells the crowd, "To me, if that's your guy, if that's who you

02:58 back, you're all chicken s***."

02:59 Whereas your tried and true white knight babyface would probably ignore the jeers and take it

03:04 in stride, the aging punk rocker stood in front of the first crowd to really boo him

03:08 so totally in almost a decade and said, "No, f*** you."

03:13 And so this got me to question, is it better to be a character like Hangman Page, who is

03:17 more wholly good, or is it better to be a character like CM Punk, who feels wholly real?

03:22 I don't think there's a right answer to that question.

03:24 However, it is that realism that made CM Punk's work must watch since his return.

03:29 The first real example of this came as Chris Masters Punk stood opposite Eddie Kingston

03:33 in a promo duel on Rampage.

03:35 Now Eddie Kingston is the most authentic speaker in all of pro wrestling, and a ludicrously

03:40 popular star, so a promo between these two guys, who very publicly did not like each

03:44 other, could not feel anything but authentic.

03:47 What we got was a very personal, very real moment, pulling out dirt from decades beforehand

03:51 and providing a reason for these two stars to have a match on pay-per-view.

03:54 In one promo battle, CM Punk and Eddie Kingston told you everything you needed to know about

03:59 their history and how they felt about each other, and they sold a f*** ton of pay-per-view

04:03 buys in the process.

04:04 That to me is a massive success in one segment, but it would be indicative of what was to

04:08 come as well.

04:09 There was valid criticism that Punk's AEW run was a bit slow to get off the ground,

04:13 as he didn't launch himself into a main event feud immediately after All Out, but

04:18 to me it wasn't an issue.

04:19 His segments were never bad in the meantime, and AEW still told a logical story of Punk

04:24 dipping his toes in slowly with matches against Matt Sydal, Daniel Garcia and Bobby Fish,

04:29 rather than jumping in the deep end after seven years away from the ring.

04:33 That and the aura of CM Punk returning to wrestling really was enough to carry his segments

04:37 those first few months.

04:38 Honestly, it probably still could, because I mean, I don't know about you guys, but

04:41 this still hasn't even sunk in for me.

04:43 From that point onward, CM Punk's presence in AEW deepened, and immediately following

04:47 his defeat of Eddie Kingston at Full Gear, Punk would turn his attention to where it

04:50 would remain for most of his run so far - MJF.

04:54 While the Eddie Kingston rivalry opened the CM Punk brand of emotional worm cans, the

04:58 MJF feud furthered the actual character work of both Punk and his misguided former fan.

05:03 There could be a whole video dedicated solely to the CM Punk/MJF rivalry, as it is chock

05:08 full of long-talking segments, and I could never go over every detail here.

05:13 But the themes on display during this rivalry are what really needs to be focused on, rather

05:17 than the actual words.

05:19 When this rivalry started, MJF was taking potshots at Punk for his failed UFC career

05:23 and for walking away from WWE.

05:25 They generated big pops in the building, but those were low-hanging fruit, but intentionally

05:30 so, as called out by Punk himself.

05:32 The real sauce was coming, and as this rivalry progressed, you could almost feel things getting

05:36 more and more personal each week until the entire storyline took a completely unexpected

05:41 turn.

05:42 MJF revealed his supervillain origin story for the first time in AEW, emotionally talking

05:47 about being abused by anti-semitic teammates on his football team in high school, but taking

05:51 solace in meeting his hero CM Punk, only for Punk to quit wrestling in 2014, leaving Max

05:56 feeling abandoned.

05:58 Again, that Eddie promo broached the idea that everyone's favorite, CM Punk, who has

06:03 admittedly been a prick at times in his life, could be a scumbag.

06:07 And now Punk wasn't being shouted at by an angry Eddie Kingston because of locker room

06:11 beef from 20 years ago, he was being told by a crying fan that he had failed him.

06:16 Punk's next promo was the most powerful one yet, as Punk, when faced with the consequences

06:20 of his actions, did not lash out, but instead looked inward at himself and said that he'd

06:25 always asked himself whether he was the good guy, and now his answer is, he's trying.

06:30 Hook this content into my goddamn veins.

06:34 This promo really should be put on display, because it is perfect.

06:38 Literally perfect.

06:39 Could not be improved.

06:40 I could go on and on about how too often these days you see babyfaces letting their guard

06:45 down around heels, and when it bites them in the ass, you think to yourself, what a

06:49 stupid babyface, but this segment is just so much more nuanced than your typical wrestling

06:54 schlock.

06:55 Punk knows who MJF is, but he lets his guard down in one attempt to make MJF see the light,

07:00 only for MJF to once again stoop so low as to betray his idol.

07:04 It's like if the killing joke ended with the Joker killing Batman instead of the two having

07:08 a f*cking laugh.

07:09 Because while Punk may have been naive to trust MJF even a little, leaving himself open

07:14 to an attack in an attempt to save MJF's soul, to put this in way too dramatic of terms,

07:19 was the heroic thing to do.

07:21 It was the right thing to do.

07:23 You simply aren't finding this kind of ridiculously in-depth character development on other weekly

07:27 wrestling shows these days, folks.

07:29 Again, real characters are my cup of tea, and CM Punk has told one of the realest feeling

07:34 long-term stories, but still in a very concise manner, that I can remember experiencing as

07:39 a wrestling fan.

07:40 For years, Punk always said it was less about the dream match and more about the story he

07:44 could tell if he were to return to the ring.

07:46 Honestly, I don't think there is a story AEW could have told for CM Punk's first year back

07:50 in wrestling that would have been better than this one.

07:52 If you're comparing the character work of this run to the other periods in his career,

07:56 I have to give the point to this one.

07:57 Hey, did you know that CM Punk was referred to WWE at one point by Mick Foley, and Mick

08:01 Foley went to high school with Kevin James, and do you know what Kevin James wrote in

08:03 Mall Cop?

08:04 A segue!

08:05 Thanks for that segue, brain!

08:06 I got you, homie!

08:07 To take this conversation in a far different direction, how is it also possible that after

08:12 seven years away and at age 43, this is the best working CM Punk there has ever been?

08:18 Well, there are a few reasons as to why this is the case.

08:21 First of all, it is entirely possible that Charles Murphy Punk has just gotten wiser

08:24 and sharper despite not accumulating any reps in the ring during most of his time away.

08:28 Punk has never been the most athletic or coordinated guy.

08:32 In his WWE DVD, his trainer Ace Steel would say that Punk had lead in his ass, and you

08:36 can watch old clips of Punk struggling to do basic wrestling rolls, so it's very clear

08:40 that this did not come easily to him as it did to some others.

08:44 As such, I don't find it hard to believe whatsoever that Punk would be smarter about his wrestling

08:48 style today than he was in Ring of Honor or even in WWE.

08:51 I can believe that.

08:52 I can believe that Crash Mandicoot Punk will have become a smarter worker over time.

08:56 I can also believe that my man is living this run out as one giant Bret Hart tribute tour,

09:01 and ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, I am all the way here for it.

09:05 From literally the first match back against Darby Allin at All Out, the Bret Hart tribute

09:09 started.

09:10 Less than 30 seconds in and Darby gives him an arm drag, and Punk does a little head tilt

09:13 like damn, alright, it's go time.

09:14 This thing, this thing right here.

09:16 Perfectly ordinary thing to do, except it's a tribute to Bret's match with the 123 kid.

09:20 Does this make the matches any better?

09:22 Not considerably, but if you're someone who likes the smaller details in wrestling, these

09:26 are some of the moments of fan service that AEW really excels at.

09:29 Enhancing the story if you understand the extra context, but not making it the focal

09:34 point of the story so it becomes too niche, and honestly, if there is one person you should

09:38 emulate if you want timeless, consistently great matches, I don't think there's a single

09:43 better person to study than Bret Hart.

09:45 Punk's matches haven't been perfect.

09:47 A slip off the top rope against Pentahere, a messed up pin on Bobby Fish there, but botches

09:52 and mistakes are not a death sentence for a match if those involved can actually work.

09:56 I don't think you needed this masked man to tell you that CM Punk can certainly work.

10:00 And this really is why this run has been phenomenal so far in my opinion.

10:03 At the time I'm writing this, CM Punk has had 18 matches in AEW, and as I'm looking

10:08 down this list, there are only maybe 2 or 3 that haven't been at minimum really good.

10:13 The Sean Spears match was like 10 seconds, and the Wardlow bit was more of an angle than

10:17 a match if you want to get specific.

10:19 But otherwise, every time we see CM Punk in AEW these days, he's having a great match

10:23 or cutting a great promo.

10:25 If the rivalries and storylines are the building blocks of a great run, then the matches are

10:29 the cement that seeps between the cracks and holds everything together.

10:32 Part of this unbelievable string of performances is due to the strength of the AEW roster of

10:36 course.

10:37 I mean, a lot of people like to point to Punk's WWE Championship reign as his best run, and

10:42 I won't deny the impact and importance of that reign.

10:45 But as it was happening week to week, Punk was facing the Miz's, R-Truth's, Ryback's,

10:50 and Big Show's of the world more often than not.

10:53 You can take the differences in company philosophies about matches out of things for a moment,

10:57 but I don't think the names I just listed are going to outwork the likes of MJF, FTR,

11:02 Penta, Lee Moriarty, or Dustin Rhodes.

11:04 Not impossible by any means, but the results are in front of us, and I have to say these

11:08 matches are f*cking BOMB.

11:11 Also keep this in mind, the things that have made the AEW roster feel so special apply

11:15 to CM Punk as well.

11:17 He's able to wrestle his own style again, and mesh that style with the wide array of

11:22 styles AEW has to offer.

11:23 This is something that hasn't been possible for Punk since his days in ROH, and now he

11:28 has nearly two decades of additional experience and ring psychology to pull from.

11:32 These awesome TV matches have also been paired with some excellent performances on PPV, with

11:36 Punk and Eddie Kingston having one of the most emotionally driven matches of Full Gear,

11:40 and Punk and MJF having THE most emotionally driven match of Revolution.

11:44 But honestly, as much as CM Punk has completely reinvigorated his career with his fantastic

11:49 matches and his captivating character work, those are not the biggest reason as to why

11:53 this has been his best run.

11:54 The biggest reason is he's happy.

11:57 Look at him.

11:58 I bet CM Punk literally cried tears out of his face because he loves pro wrestling.

12:03 Congrats Righteous Reg, you earned the PlayStation trophy for making CM Punk cry.

12:07 But who thought we would be seeing this?

12:10 I tell ya, I probably could have been convinced in like 2015 that Punk would someday return

12:15 to wrestling, but I never thought I would see the day that CM Punk would be weeping

12:20 because wrestling means so much to him.

12:23 He's not shy about it.

12:24 He's been loudly proclaiming how much he loves wrestling since the day he came back, but

12:29 more than just being able to hear it, we're able to see it.

12:32 You can see it on his face every time he dove into the crowd with a real excited energy.

12:37 You can see it when he talks about the business with renewed vigor.

12:40 You can see it when Miserio Cantare blasts out to the audience at Revolution, only for

12:44 the fans to sing it right back to him.

12:46 These aren't meaningless, neat little moments that pass amidst a sea of other wrestling

12:51 things.

12:52 They matter.

12:53 Why is CM Punk's AEW run the best of his career?

12:56 Because it matters the most.

12:58 It matters most to the character of CM Punk, but it matters most to the person that is

13:02 Phil Brooks as well.

13:03 Don't get me wrong, I don't know CM Punk personally, but I can't help, as a fan, but to watch this

13:08 entire AEW run with the biggest smile on my face knowing that this man is happy and fulfilled.

13:14 And even if this doesn't end up being his all-time best run when all is said and done,

13:18 that doesn't mean it will have been any less special.

13:20 [MUSIC]

13:30 [MUSIC]

Why CM Punk's AEW Run Is The Best Of His Career | partsFUNknown

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