In something of a recurring theme, a WWE Superstar disliked Crown Jewel. Plus, has CM Punk disappointed in AEW?
WWE Superstar Disliked Crown Jewel
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A WWE Superstar disliked Crown Jewel.
More to the point, this Superstar disliked the idea of traveling to Saudi Arabia.
Considering the controversy of recent WWE events in the Middle East? I don’t blame them.
Add to it the well-covered travel issues from past events? Hard to blame anyone for disliking the idea of going.
Of course, there is money as a motivating factor…that always works for some.
So which WWE Superstar disliked the idea of going to Crown Jewel?
This time around, that would be Edge.
His dislike for the trip came up while speaking with The Kids On The Escalator podcast.
While some have gone into politics or human rights issues, Edge did not.
However, as a really awesome way of turning a negative into a positive, he also explained the referee.
Jessika Carr worked the match in Crown Jewel. She also was the referee at SummerSlam.
Edge said the subtle jab may have been missed by some (many?), but he enjoyed it. Specifically, you had a female leading a match between two male Superstars.
In a country where women generally never can do that.
Not too shabby, if you ask me.
Look, if the company insisted on having the possible conclusion of the Edge-Rollins feud in Saudi Araba…and you really did not want to go…
You might as well have some fun working the show.
Has CM Punk Disappointed?
This might be a surprising question, but since his arrival in AEW…has CM Punk disappointed?
Eric Bischoff, a man who knows plenty about being disappointed and disappointing, thinks so.
Bischoff said as much on his own podcast.
Part of this latest shot stems from Punk’s own comments, saying the arrival of he and Bryan Danielson was better than Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to WCW.
Bischoff, who had a front row seat for Nash and Hall in WCW, disagreed.
So why does Bischoff think CM Punk has thus far disappointed?
From a simple perspective, Bischoff points to the ratings.
Everyone knows that when CM Punk arrived, that Friday show did great ratings.
However…the shows after? Not so much.
After his debut, that initial buzz wore off and numbers dipped.
For one remark, Bischoff feels like it wasn’t even comparable, specifically the Punk signing.
Hall and Nash, like Bryan Danielson, basically went right from WWE to WCW.
Punk had 7 years away.
Another area where the comparison of Punk and Danielson to Hall and Nash falls flat? The ratings battle.
The arrival of Hall and Nash basically kicked off the Monday Night Wars.
It was a time when WCW went up against a mostly taped WWE RAW. WCW would often disclose RAW spoilers during their live shows.
There was even a night where Rick Rude appeared live on one and taped on the other.
But, for the better part of two years, WCW beat WWE head to head.
AEW is not head to head with WWE. And they aren’t beating WWE for the most part.
Sure, there are ticket sales wins and some wins in key demographics…but it is not exactly the same thing.
I’d go with this approach. The two events can’t really be fairly compared.
If for no other reason, the wrestling world is a different thing now versus the late 90’s.
Never mind the fact that the two promotions aren’t going legitimately head to head.
If both start working the same time slots and nights, then things could get interesting…but even then, for now, it’s fair to wonder: has CM Punk disappointed?
