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00:00 - Coming up...
00:18 - R-Truth Doesn’t Age
00:45 - CM Punk Return Confirmed
03:21 - AEW Creative Overhaul
07:18 - AEW Over WWE?
09:07 - Kurt Angle Shoots On WWE Firings
10:32 - No New WWE Intercontinental Championship
11:07 - AEW Hiring Rumour Denied
WWE Firings ANGER! CM Punk WWE Plans LEAKED! Moxley Running AEW?! | WrestleTalk
#WWE #CMPunk #JonMoxley
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Sources used for research:
/ fun_fact_rtruth_52_is_currently_older_than
https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/cm...
https://www.f4wonline.com/podcasts/wr...
/ select-answers-115748999
/ select-answers-115748999
https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/ku...
/ wwe-raw-writers-115882174
DailyMotion Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to DailyMotion auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
Are you enjoying Moxley's storyline in AEW? Let us know in the comments!
Support Movember! 👉 https://www.justgiving.com/page/wrest...
Wrestling Terms Explained 👉 • Secret Wrestling Terms EXPLAINED
WrestleTalk Patreon 👉 / wrestletalk
More wrestling news on https://wrestletalk.com/
Unlock the secrets to working in professional wrestling, sign up to https://www.wrestlingmasterclass.com/
00:00 - Coming up...
00:18 - R-Truth Doesn’t Age
00:45 - CM Punk Return Confirmed
03:21 - AEW Creative Overhaul
07:18 - AEW Over WWE?
09:07 - Kurt Angle Shoots On WWE Firings
10:32 - No New WWE Intercontinental Championship
11:07 - AEW Hiring Rumour Denied
WWE Firings ANGER! CM Punk WWE Plans LEAKED! Moxley Running AEW?! | WrestleTalk
#WWE #CMPunk #JonMoxley
Buy WrestleTalk Merch here! https://wrestleshop.com/
Sources used for research:
/ fun_fact_rtruth_52_is_currently_older_than
https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/cm...
https://www.f4wonline.com/podcasts/wr...
/ select-answers-115748999
/ select-answers-115748999
https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/ku...
/ wwe-raw-writers-115882174
DailyMotion Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to DailyMotion auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00CM Punk return confirmed, a WWE legend shoot on WWE firings, a major AEW creative overhaul
00:08and more.
00:09I'm Luke Owen and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:19Before we get into the main news, I just wanted to give this little PSA.
00:22No, not that I'm now on Blue Sky, go follow me over there at ThisIsLukeOwen, but this
00:27little fact that this Reddit user has pointed out.
00:30R-Truth, seen in this photo here, is 52.
00:33Sure, we all know that right, but let's compare that to this photo of Hacksaw Jim
00:38Duggan who returned to WWE in 2005 to team with Eugene when he was 51.
00:44What is your secret, Truth?
00:45And because Truth hasn't aged a day since he debuted for WWE in 2000, and he'll outlive
00:50all of us, that means he'll probably be around for the next return of CM Punk.
00:55CM Punk made his first return to WWE nearly one year ago at last year's Survivor Series.
01:04And while he has missed a portion of that year's return due to an injury he suffered
01:08at the Royal Rumble, he has had one of WWE's best and hottest feuds of the year against
01:13Drew McIntyre, which culminated at Bad Blood in October.
01:17Following that match, Punk announced that Hell in a Cell had a lasting effect on him
01:20and he'll be taking some time away.
01:22AKA, I don't really want to work the Saudi shows, so I'm going home for a bit.
01:27It had been previously reported that Punk's next match would be facing Gunther for the
01:31World Heavyweight Championship at this year's Survivor Series, but those plans were either
01:35changed or were never going to happen, as this week's Raw confirmed that Gunther's
01:40World Championship match at Survivor Series would be against former champion Damian Priest.
01:45In Fightful Select reports, CM Punk was not at Raw this week, and we've not heard about
01:50a return date for him as of yet.
01:52But sometimes in this crazy world of wrestling we don't need journalists to leak return
01:56dates when the venues they're booked for can do it for them.
02:00Madison Square Garden have revealed that CM Punk will be part of WWE's Holiday Tour,
02:05wrestling at the venue on December 26th.
02:07This is not a confirmation of his return to television, or of course whether he'll be
02:11factored into creative plans for Saturday Night's main event or the debut of Netflix,
02:15but one would presume he will be featured on the latter.
02:19What would you like to see Punk do when he comes back?
02:22And on the first episode of Raw on Netflix, it is Gunther defending the World Heavyweight
02:30Championship against CM Punk.
02:34Punk wins the world title on the first episode of Raw on Netflix, and your WrestleMania main
02:40event is CM Punk vs Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, the match they wanted
02:47to do at this year's Mania but couldn't due to injury.
02:50Meanwhile, Gunther has his match with Ludwig Kaiser.
02:54And that's sort of the blow up and the end of Imperium as a whole.
02:58I gave my pitch on yesterday's WrestleTalk Podcast review of Raw that Punk faced Gunther
03:03for the world title on the Netflix debut and win the championship leading to the WrestleMania
03:08main event we didn't get this year of Punk vs Seth Rollins.
03:12Go check out yesterday's WrestleTalk Podcast in full to hear our in-depth discussions and
03:17thoughts on this week's episode of Raw.
03:19Speaking of creative directions, shortly before AEW's WrestleDream, it was reported that
03:23Jimmy Jacobs would be stepping away from the company.
03:26Jacobs had been credited as a writer for All Elite Wrestling, working closely with Chris
03:30Jericho on his Learning Tree stable and being Tony Khan's right hand man.
03:35It was reported that, outside of Tony Khan, Jacobs was at more AEW shows than anyone else
03:41in the company.
03:42Following his departure, Fightful noted that AEW saw WrestleDream as somewhat of a creative
03:47reset.
03:48Perhaps it's no coincidence that this show also saw the culmination of the teases and
03:53build of Jon Moxley's newly revamped Blackpool Combat Club, his winning the AEW World Championship
03:59from Bryan Danielson and putting an end to the full-time career of the American Dragon.
04:04The group has since been rechristened the Death Riders, and Moxley did an interview
04:08over the weekend, which was covered here on yesterday's WrestleTalk News, that the faction
04:12was forcing a hard reset of AEW.
04:15So that's just a kayfabe in-character interview, right?
04:19Well, maybe not.
04:20But before that, here's a word from today's sponsor.
04:26Another email sent.
04:28Time for a break.
04:32Is this you?
04:33Have you had an accident recently after sending an email that wasn't your fault?
04:37The accident that is, not the email.
04:39Has your accident affected you personally?
04:41Have some uneven floorboards made you trip and feel you deserve some compensation?
04:45Well, maybe it's time you get yourself some personal injury legal advice from injury lawyers
04:50Morgan & Morgan.
04:51You see, Morgan & Morgan is America's largest injury law firm, with over a thousand attorneys
04:57operating in all 50 states.
04:59They're more than just a traditional law firm, they're a national consumer-facing brand with
05:03a promise of being for the people.
05:05When you're seriously hurt, your injury could be worth millions, like little baby boy Luke
05:10here, who, after this fall, wasn't able to turn left ever again.
05:15Morgan & Morgan don't settle for low-ball offers.
05:17They achieved significant verdicts in the past couple of months for victims involved
05:21in life-altering car crashes.
05:23If you've ever been seriously injured, your case could be worth millions, and you're only
05:27a few clicks away from potentially changing your life.
05:31It's so easy.
05:32You can start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan using the link in the description below.
05:37Don't be a little baby loser boy like Luke.
05:39Ow.
05:47Speaking about the new direction of the company on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said
05:51of Jon Moxley, he's getting a chance.
05:54Tony is letting him do what he wants.
05:56Dave goes on to reiterate that Tony Khan is still the lead booker of all elite wrestling.
06:01Whenever a wrestler does something on TV or PPV, that was a Tony Khan decision.
06:05Wrestlers can make suggestions, and they do, but ultimately it's TK who makes the
06:10final call.
06:11However, he goes on to say that this Death Rider storyline is all Jon Moxley, effectively
06:16saying Moxley has creative control.
06:19Tony has to approve everything, but Moxley is pretty much in charge of turning this place
06:24around with this gimmick.
06:26That idea of turning things around comes in a few areas.
06:29The idea that their ratings aren't at the levels they once were, and their live attendance
06:33figures are down.
06:34One of AEW's strongest areas is their PPV buy rates, which still remain strong.
06:39Wrestle Dream, for example, reportedly got around 100,000 PPV buys.
06:43Comparatively, TNA's Bound For Glory got around 5,000.
06:46Meltzer suggests that this would be because AEW is still strong in the male over 34 demographic,
06:53i.e. due to my age, but they've fallen in the 18-34 demographic which usually affects
06:59live attendance.
07:00WWE, by comparison, have soared in this demographic, which dramatically turned around their business
07:06in 2023 and 2024.
07:08And just to make some people feel they might want to turn to dust, there are some 18-year-olds
07:13out there who were born after Jim Duggan made his 2005 return to WWE to team with Eugene.
07:18Speaking of those ratings, and they sent shockwaves across social media when the results of the
07:23Wednesday Night War from last week came in.
07:25It had been reported that The CW expected that episode of NXT to be the highest rated
07:30show they've ever done, but I speculated on this show that I wouldn't be so sure
07:35of that.
07:36It's on a different night, it didn't have big main roster styles like the first two
07:39episodes did, and it was going head-to-head with AEW Dynamite and presidential election
07:44coverage.
07:45And while AEW was the lowest factor on that list, it would likely still be a factor.
07:50And in the end, it wasn't much of a factor.
07:53As I expected, it was not NXT's highest rated show ever, but it did beat AEW in the
07:58ratings.
07:59A truer sign, if any, that WWE is currently hot and AEW is not.
08:05But while it sent shockwaves across social media, it might not have done in All Elite
08:09Wrestling.
08:10In a Q&A post when asked if there was any reaction within AEW to losing the ratings
08:14war on home night turf, Sean Ross Sapp replied that there wasn't much of a reaction at
08:19all.
08:20Fans are far more worried about that kind of thing in 2024 than I think companies are.
08:25SRS adds that Warner Bros. Discovery are less concerned about the overall rating number
08:30and more where they rank in the most watched shows on cable.
08:34And that episode ranked 6th for primetime shows on cable, which is the usual good performance
08:38for AEW Dynamite.
08:40And it may not just be AEW that is over the ratings discourse.
08:44As SRS adds, WWE typically tout those numbers internally and to some media members, but
08:50I didn't hear of anything last week.
08:52With both shows heading to streaming platforms next year, Raw on Netflix and AEW on Max,
08:57we are truly seeing the end times for the ratings discussion here on the WrestleTalk
09:01News.
09:02I'm going to miss you, DemoCharts.
09:05And speaking of missing things, it's been two weeks since the news broke that WWE had
09:10released Tegan Nox, Indi Hartwell and Baron Corbin, and two weeks since my mustache debut
09:15was spoiled.
09:16It's been reported that Corbin's contract was coming to an end and WWE decided not to
09:20re-sign him.
09:21There was some speculation that the same thing was the case for Nox and Hartwell, but nothing
09:25has been confirmed.
09:27Corbin himself replied to a comment on Instagram saying that WWE fumbled his push, agreeing
09:32with the statement.
09:33And it's not just that fan, as Kurt Angle has taken his shot against Baron Corbin not
09:37being re-signed by WWE.
09:40Speaking with WrestleZone, Angle said that he was, "...disappointed in WWE's follow-up
09:44to Baron Corbin beating him at WrestleMania 35, Angle's last match."
09:49He said, "...it's a little disappointing to know that he beat a legend at WrestleMania,
09:52the legend's last match, and they didn't really do much with him after that.
09:56For me, it makes me feel like I did that for nothing."
10:00Angle says he had no issues losing to Corbin, but did so because he thought WWE might have
10:07some plans to push Corbin as a top guy after the win.
10:11He added, "...so I was a little disappointed that they didn't do much with him and then
10:15they let him go."
10:16Corbin himself retweeted Fightful's aggregation of the Angle quote with, "...to be fair,
10:21that's one of the reasons I wish I'd become world champion.
10:24It would have paid honor to what Kurt did for me.
10:27I will forever appreciate it and wish I could have done more to make it worth it for him."
10:32Nox and Hartwell won't be around for the chance to become the inaugural WWE Women's
10:36United States Champion, which was announced on last Friday's Smackdown.
10:40The idea of a mid-card title for the women's division has long been rumoured, especially
10:44after NXT debuted the Women's North American Championship, with the idea that Smackdown
10:48would have a Women's United States title and Raw would have a Women's Intercontinental
10:53Championship.
10:54But on this week's Raw, there was no announcement of a title made.
10:58And now Fightful Select our reporting talent we spoke to said, there was no discussion
11:03of a Women's Intercontinental title backstage at WWE Raw.
11:07And lastly for today, there was some online speculation that Speedball Mike Bayley could
11:11be on his way to All Elite Wrestling, but Fightful Select reported that Bayley is still
11:16under contract with TNA.
11:18He adds, I don't believe they've had any conversations as his deal extends through
11:22the end of the year.
11:24Similarly, it would appear that the early speculation that British wrestling sensation
11:27Michael Oku could be AEW bound was misplaced.
11:31Oku, accompanied by Amira, picked up a win on a dark match prior to the Dynamite taping
11:35in Wales ahead of All In, and over All In weekend, dropped his Riott Cabaret World Championship
11:41to Mark Andrews and the British Heavyweight Championship to Luke Jacobs.
11:45Many, myself included, thought he'd be in the Casino Battle Royal, but he wasn't.
11:50Hilariously, he told me ahead of time he wouldn't be in the match, and I just didn't believe
11:54him.
11:55In an update, Fightful Select write that AEW still have eyes on him and Tony Khan likes
11:59him, but he's not signed and we haven't heard he's going to be imminently.
12:03I've used words on this show like kayfabe and shoot, but what exactly do those words
12:08mean?
12:09Here's Oli Davis to explain.
12:10Do you ever get confused when people use pro wrestling language like kayfabe and heat?
12:17Are you concerned you might be a queen or a strawb?
12:22Does this Hulk Hogan tweet melt your brain?
12:25Goodnight Hulkamaniacs and Jabroni Marks without a life that don't know where to work when
12:29you work a work and work yourself into a shoot marks.
12:33Then you need to learn how to speak wrestling with me, Oli Davis.