September 7, 2023 by Joshua Bern

https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/news/a-deeper-look-at-cm-punks-dismissal-from-aew

Article: A Deeper Look Into at CM Punk’s Dismissal from AEW

Article By: Justin Barrasso

Overview of Article: Phil Brooks, who goes by CM Punk in the wrestling world, was fired a few days ago by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Punk has captivated audiences for decades with his boisterous promos on the microphone and his high-flying wrestling style. AEW Owner and Chairman Tony Khan addressed the AEW crowd ahead of the night’s event in Punk’s hometown, Chicago. Khan claims that he felt threatened by Punk and that he is a threat to others within the company. Punk has been known to cause chaos, as in the past, he was suspended from AEW for locker room altercations. He also had quite a few run-ins with WWE. While he wrestled there for most of his career, he did not have a good relationship with the company. Towards the end of the article, the author, Justin Barrasso, states that he believes this move will benefit AEW and Phil Brooks. He has proven after a few years off from wrestling (2014-2021) that he still has it, which could open many doors for him.

My Thoughts: I am shocked about Punk’s departure. Although I am no longer a huge wrestling fan, I am a Phil Brooks fan. He, John Cena, and Dwayne Johnson were the biggest superstars while I was growing up. During my first year of high school, I got a notification from ESPN that CM Punk had made a surprise appearance at AEW, and my mouth dropped. At that point, I had not watched wrestling for nearly a decade, and let me tell you, I started paying more attention when he came back after a seven-year absence from professional wrestling. I used to watch promos from Punk, and I would gawk at his public speaking abilities. His tone, pitch, and vocabulary are so impressive. Someday, I would like to possess his public speaking abilities. As for his wrestling abilities, while in the WWE, he had an excellent match at Wrestlemania (WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year) against the Undertaker. I remember watching Wrestlemania with friends around when I was twelve.I look forward to what Brooks decides to do next, as, like his wrestling style, he is very unpredictable.

As for AEW, this will affect them, but only minorly. AEW’s roster is filled with young talent, and I am super excited about the future of the wrestling industry MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman). MJF is even better than Punk on the mic, and even in the videos I have seen of meet-and-greets, MJF stays in his in-ring character, which is very rare. He has zero filter, enabling him to create memorable memories for the wrestling world. I am excited to see what the future has in store for him. As for the rest of AEW, As for the rest of AEW, it will be interesting to see how they try to compete with WWE. I will not be paying as close attention as I did when Punk was there, but I am still very intrigued.