CM Punk: The "Holy Shit He Just Said That?!" Promo

I just finished watching Monday Night Raw from this week.  I get home at 10 on Mondays when I work, so I start watching it late.  With other interruptions, we never finish til about 1am.  But holy shit, did they end in one of the best ways I've seen in a long time.


In the current storyline with CM Punk and John Cena, CM Punk is the number one contender for the WWE Title.  He stated last week that his current WWE contract will expire on July 17, the same day as the Money in the Bank PPV where he challenges for the title.  He said that after he wins the title, he is taking it with him when he leaves.  What he meant by that is a little ambiguous, whether he would vacate it after leaving or take it with him to another promotion was unclear.

To further the story this week, CM Punk came out and interrupted Shawn Michaels and remind us of what he said.  He also almost challenged Michaels to a match, which would have been great in its own right, but his Nexus members got Sweet Chin Music for their troubles.

Then, later in the night CM Punk got involved in the main event of Cena Vs. R-Truth in a Tables Match.  He allowed R-Truth to spear Cena through a Table.  He then took a mic up to the top of the stage, sat down, and said this:



One of the best promos I have seen in a LONG time.  After watching that I was shocked.  I was shocked that he was able to say about 3/4 of what he said!  Not only was he doing the shoot in a Stone Cold Steve Austin shirt, which no wrestler usually wears another's merch, he said a lot of things that if wasn't told to say them, he would have gotten fired for it,  let alone "suspended".

So, let's break down what points he would have gotten fired, shall we?

• First of all, he called John Cena, Hulk Hogan, and The Rock ass kissers of Vince McMahon.  His mic would have gotten cut off on the fact that he called all three ass kissers of Vince McMahon.  His mic DEFINITELY would have been cut off at the mere mention of Hulk Hogan's name.  Now, with Savage's death last month, mentioning Hogan's name was necessary because of all those feuds.  But, to mention Hogan is no-no number 1 to Vince nowadays.  Also, the fact that he called The Rock "Dwayne" and using real names (which in this day of wrestling isn't too uncommon) is kinda taboo.
• He mentioned Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar.  Heyman isn't too much of a taboo, but now that I have read a little about him, I think it might as well be a taboo.  Heyman was not happy with the new ECW (which is understatement because EVERYONE was unhappy with the new ECW) and the fact that Heyman has publicly bashed WWE since doesn't help Punk.  Lesnar is not in good graces I believe with the WWE as well, considering the way he left.  If you don't know, I believe the way Lesnar left and the way Batista left are very similar.
• He mentioned the fact that he is a wrestler and constantly making fun of the fact that the WWE is moving away from wrestling and into entertainment.  WWE has definitely started moving away from wrestling more and more and the larger than life attitude of wrestling is definitely diminishing.  The fact that wrestlers are acting more real and less like superheros each day is showcasing that.
• He mentioned the main event for next year's Wrestlemania and putting down the "biggest match ever".  He called The Rock "Dwayne" again.
• He mentioned New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor by name.  Naming a competitor by name is a HUGE no-no.  But, this is where the line between Real Shoot and Worked Shoot began to blur (I will talk shoots later for those who don't know what a shoot means).  If Punk was legit shooting at this point, he would have mentioned TNA/Impact.  At that point his mic definitely would have been shut off and he would have been carted out.  But he didn't.  He mentioned two slightly smaller competitors and was left on stage to continue.
• He used a vulgarity and was luckily censored.  I didn't notice what the swear was at first, but I noticed on the replay that he said douchebag.  He also mentioned higher ups in the company and put all of them down.
• He said that the company might be better off with Vince dead (which is true, but that's another story), but that it will be taken over by his idiotic daughter and doofus son-in-law (Triple H).  If this shoot was real and he started on that, he probably would have cut out immediately and sent packing right then and there.  He was cut off before he could talk about the bullying campaign and that was probably when Punk might have gone a little too far with it, but the point was made anyway.

So, before I finish, for those who don't know what a "shoot" is, it is a wrestling term for when a wrestler comes out and says something that isn't scripted or planned by the writing team before hand and is usually honest and brutal.  I think from the video you just watch, that qualified.  Now, this is where the line blurs.  There is what is known as a "worked shoot" and a "real shoot".  In a real shoot, it is exactly as I explained above.  The wrestler involved usually is docked pay, dropped off TV for a while, or even suspended or fired. So, when I heard that Punk was suspended, I was sure that it was real and that he was exiting on his own terms.

But, then I read on where Punk's mic could have been cut numerous times in the promo and that's when it became more and more clear that it was more worked than anything.  Wrestling by nature is a worked entertainment, and what that means is that it is scripted like any movie or TV show, and most that is said or done is planned ahead of time.  Now, that doesn't mean that the wrestlers come out, grab a mic, and just speak lines from a script.  They are given an idea of what to talk about, promote, and even call out if the situation calls for it.  The better promo cutters can ad-lib during a promo and use crowd interaction, a flubbed line from the other wrestler, or even work off the other wrestler.  So, when a shoot is worked, it is planned in advance that the wrestler is going to come out and talk bad about the company and it will be played off that he did it on his own.

Now, the question still remains.  How much of Punk's shoot was worked and how much did he actually say from the heart?  I mean, he said A LOT of things that were impressive and truthful about how the WWE is being run at the moment.  He said it almost flawlessly and that is the sign of a really cool promo cutter.  Punk can come out and cut a really good promo and if he was given free reign to say what he wanted (with a few limitations) than it is amazing that he got away with what he said.  Look, I am watching the promo again because it was just SO well put together that I just need to listen to it again and dissect it.

Either way, Punk accomplished something amazing tonight.  His promo will be talked about for the next month because of how well it was delivered and the shock value of the promo itself.  It should add the intrigue of the story between Cena and Punk until the PPV and maybe beyond.  I read the spoilers for next week's Raw since it was taped after this week's Raw due to the Australia trip next week.  It is going to get interesting very quickly and the WWE really need to play this the right way and they might get back into the mainstream again.

That's is all.