10 Bold Predictions For What AEW Will Look Like This Time Next Year
3. CM Punk Won't Be There
CM Punk's position in AEW is untenable.
What everybody tends to forget in these situations is that they become harder to give a sh*t about as time does what time does. CM Punk didn't just bury the Elite, his programme with MJF, "Scott Colton": he buried the entire pay-per-view by stealing all attention away from it in a rant that was clearly in some way predetermined. Nobody set him off.
Nobody ever asks an inflammatory if fair question at these things, even if fans want answers to them. Punk volunteered this information and even said Nick Hausman had blown up "his spot" because the rehearsal in his mind didn't play out on what was in effect a stage. It's a miracle people still talked about how special the Acclaimed Vs. Swerve In Our Glory was. Imagine FTR & Wardlow Vs. Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns standing a chance.
And FTR are his mates!
Much like the rules, the passage of time does not apply to Punk. He seems to stew in his resentment and bitterness. Again: the man seemed bound and determined to set AEW on fire. The promo was actually fantastic, in a warped way. "You still do improv?" was rehearsed. It's easy to infer that much of it was.
Punk won't feel remorse or relax as the timeline unfolds. He won't soften. Given that he didn't unleash this tirade after Double Or Nothing - i.e. after the original Hangman Page promo - it seems certain, following the pattern, that he'll amp himself up more and more and reinforce his own opinion the longer this goes on.
The locker room might actually forgive.
He won't forget.