Fans finally got their wish as CM Punk returned to WWE related programming. He was a boon for Fox, too, as CM Punk’s return increased WWE Backstage views by 80k. The beleaguered post-show show was in the tank with 100k views last week, so this was a welcomed change of pace.
There were a couple of caveats about this, namely his commentary was brutally honest, meaning he’s echoed many fans’ sentiments by pointing out what WWE executives don’t want to hear.
CM Punk doesn’t work for WWE
This is something some fans don’t know, and that’s understandable as he’s working for a show with the WWE name attached. You
But the thing is, he works for Fox. He explained he took the job because he’s working for Fox and he gets paid to criticize the WWE without fear of punishment. In short, he gets to do what nearly every fan (and probably a good number of former WWE employees) wants to do and be taken seriously by the fanbase.
It’s a refreshing change of pace from the sycophantic displays WWE’s commentators put on because it’s in their script, and it should only get better going forward.
Assuming it isn’t work.
Since agreeing to join WWE Backstage, CM Punk has been taunted by Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, with Rollins calling him out on social media to “Fight me.”
Punk’s response on the show was to say Rollins should delete his twitter account because he looks foolish.
Rollins then tweeted, calling him a coward.
Of course, Punk’s comments could be real and Rollins’ work. We know Rollins would say or do anything for the WWE and their big paychecks as evidenced by his willingness to compare bank accounts, so this is the more likely scenario.
All of this comes despite Punk’s claims that, “My agents just called me and Fox is throwing everything at this because they spent a lot of money on this and they’re all in to make it work. Originally, I thought it was a WWE thing, so I was just like, ‘meh, no.’ But then they said, ‘This is Fox.’
“I’m not dealing with anybody in WWE. They explained to me what it was, and I love Renee Young. Renee Young is a great person … she’s Canadian, so obviously she’s super over-the-top nice and friendly. I prefaced it with, ‘Guys, I’m not going to come in and dump all over stuff just to dump on it. That’s old Phil. But if it’s bad, I’m not going to be able to pretend it’s anything but bad.’
“So they want to present it like it’s a real sport and just have a show that recaps stuff, just like they do with the NFL, just like the NHL Network would do with hockey games and stuff like that. That’s where we are with that.”
(Thanks to Bleacher Report for the statement. Read more about it here.)
Will his honestly keep people tuning in?
Honestly, yes. As fans, we’ve have been dying to hear someone close to the business that shares our thoughts and can speak on it. So many of the former talent still want an active roll with the WWE, but since his lawsuit with them, Punk is anything but friendly. In fact, according to him, he hasn’t talked to WWE management and Renee Young was the only WWE employee that knew about his initial appearance.
This is the hope of Fox, as they try, to some extent, to rebrand the WWE as a legitimate sport. While professionally wrestling is far from fake (injuries prove that much to casual fans), it is scripted. It’s a hard sell that may be a misstep on Fox’s part, but they’re going to put their all behind it and CM Punk gives them the opportunity to do that.
CM Punk’s return was a definite step in that direction. The question is, will his efforts to coax the WWE into fixing their self-inflicted woes backfire and turn fans more against the company? Time will tell.