10 Most Unprofessional Performances In AEW History
6. CM Punk Buries Hangman Page (Again)
AEW Collision was a compromise about which few were happy, and to underscore that, neither was the star of the show. He knew as well as everybody else that the pseudo soft roster split was untenable.
It was nonetheless the perfect imperfect situation for CM Punk, if that makes sense. He was the top star. Much of the show - its no-frills approach, lengthy main events, methodical plotting - was his doing. He got to hang around with his mates. When people who decidedly weren’t his mates were asked to show up - including the Head of Talent Relations, somehow - Punk, reportedly, told them to hit the bricks.
He held almost complete dominion over Saturday nights, as Tony Khan chanted his name in the go position.
It was perfect. He had no excuse to…to be CM Punk, basically.
But then, prompted by absolutely nothing at all, he, on the August 12 episode, buried Hangman Page after it went off the air. He said ‘Hangman’ is an apt name because his unsold action figures remain hanging on the shelf. Now, Punk did apologise, but that was as unprofessional as it was unjustified. Page, remorseful over the events of the prior summer, had kept quiet since.
One thing about Punk: he knows how to pick his spots. A top name can get away with this sort of thing in a dark segment.
A lower name can’t get away with it on the biggest show of the year…