Those who want actual sports news and not “sports entertainment” news can skip this one, but I recently watched the documentary Monday Night Wars, providing a look behind the curtain of the pro wrestling business, and so I’m finding this particularly interesting.
Phillip Jack Brooks, a Chicago native who wrestles under the name C.M. Punk, has been fired by the WWE after he took the microphone on Monday Night Raw and berated Vince McMahon and just about everyone associated with the WWE, including its fans.
“I would like to think that this company would be better after Vince McMahon’s dead,” C.M. Punk said, live on the air. “But the fact is it’s going to be taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son.”
C.M. Punk’s rant was real, not scripted. At least, we think it was real. You never know for sure with this stuff. But the WWE released a statement strongly suggesting it was real.
“CM Punk was suspended indefinitely for his unprofessional conduct as soon as Raw went off the air,” the statement says. “With his WWE contract expiring on July 17, one can only assume that this suspension effectively terminates CM Punk’s tenure with WWE.”
For as ridiculous as the scripted parts of pro wrestling can be, one of the most fascinating aspects of it all is that you’re never completely sure where the script ends and real life begins. I stopped being a pro wrestling fan when I was a kid, and I couldn’t care less who wins a wrestling match on Raw. But I can’t help but be fascinated by the way Vince McMahon has spent decades as the puppet master in this business. The real Mr. McMahon is more interesting than any wrestling gimmick.
Video of C.M. Punk’s rant below.
Via SportsGrid.