As part of this year’s Slammy Awards, WWF Champion CM Punk presented a honorary lifetime achievement award to his nemesis and current interim Raw GM, John Laurinaitis. As part of the tribute, Punk had a video package made of all of Funk Man’s “highlights” throughout the years. The video itself is classic but the music really brings everything together nicely. Despite his reputation as a hardass behind the scenes, Laurinaitis is actually a pretty good new onscreen character. He straddles the line between being a serious decision-maker and oblivious comic relief. I’d like to keep seeing more.
Archive for the ‘CM Punk’ Category
Slobberknocker: Johnny Ace
Posted: December 18, 2011 by Keith Stone in CM Punk, Executive VP of Talent Relations, videos, wrestling, WWF0
When CM Punk did a series of promos a few months ago and seemingly shattered the fourth wall of professional wrestling, it appeared a new era was about to begin. It couldn’t have come at a better time. After the over-the-top Attitude Era, where blood and references to tits and ass were more prevalent than the Brooklyn Brawler’s defeats, the WWF transitioned into a more family-friendly place. Programming was rated TV-PG instead of TV-14 and it became stale and boring. John Cena became the people’s champion of a younger and younger demographic. He liked to rap, yo.
Wrestling has always been full of characters, and for good reason. George Steele is a fat old man. George “The Animal” Steele is not. Characters drive ratings and put asses in the seats.
But the times, they are a-changing. With the rise of reality TV and social media, as well as an ever-cynical society, wrestling was at a crossroads. The fans know it’s a show (at least most of them) and can access Twitter to find out what their favorite wrestlers are doing in their real lives and communicate back-and-forth. It’s like seeing the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. This openness had never been had before.
And then Punk cut his first shoot promo. He was breaking all the rules. He used wrestlers’ real names, talked about never-before-seen executives, and aired his grievances live on the air. It was well-known that his contract was expiring and he was likely to leave after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in his hometown of Chicago. Was this all a part of the show or was a fed-up Punk going rogue knowing that he only had a few weeks left with the company?
Wrestling Video of the Week: Punk Wins
Posted: July 21, 2011 by Keith Stone in CM Punk, Slobberknocker, videos, wrestling, WWFCM Punk beat John Cena this Sunday to win the WWF Title as he rode out into the sunset. I’m not sure if he’s coming back but for the past month Punk has made wrestling more compelling than it’s been for a while. Here he is winning his first Title, as Mr. Money in the Bank cashed in his opportunity right after Edge took a beating from Batista.
Rainman Suite 