Wrestling Wednesday…
World Wrestling Entertainment – Slapgate 2012 a.k.a. Saving Phillip Brooks
At the end of Monday night’s episode of RAW, CM Punk entered
the crowd to escape the clutches of Vince McMahon, John Cena, and Ryback. I
have no idea why Punk ran from these three individuals as I have not tuned in
to Monday Night RAW since the 1000th episode in July when I finally
saw enough from the once-premiere brand of sports entertainment. The reason I
know of what happened next is that the social media world erupted when the
above took place on national television. WWE Champion CM Punk struck a fan
twice on television.
The fan struck by CM Punk refused to press charges against
the WWE Superstar despite suffering broken glasses, a bruised knee, and bruised
ego. I also believe this fan refused to press charges after receiving a nice
settlement from World Wrestling Entertainment in the way of free merchandise, tickets,
and perhaps even relations from Eve Torres.
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| Punk can hit me in the face if it means I get a round with Eve. |
The reality of this matter is that CM Punk was in the wrong
by overreacting to a situation he brought upon himself. Punk said in his
account of the incident, “I think the whole situation sucks. It’s an
unfortunate and isolated incident. I was up in the stands, surrounded. Somebody
said, ‘let’s push him down the stairs.’ I got hit in the ribs three times. I
was getting shoved and I was getting punched… Then I started getting tagged in
the back of the head. Unfortunately, I lashed out in the heat of the moment and
I apologize. I’m really just glad nobody was hurt.” Now, while the video
clearly shows that Punk was smacked in the back of the head once, I have yet to
see footage of this attack that verges on the level of when Shawn Michaels was
attacked by the Marines Corps outside a Syracuse nightclub. Punk reacted to one
shot to the head with a vicious backhand in an audience full of women and
children. He’s lucky that he did not knock the light out of some 9-year-old
Little Jimmy. More importantly, CM Punk is lucky that he finally has World
Wrestling Entertainment manage on his side to cover his hide.
WWE released a statement covering Punk’s backside. The
company said, “During Monday night’s RAW televised event, WWE Superstar CM Punk
exited the ring and into the stands as part of the show. Unfortunately, WWE
security was not in the appropriate place at the time. Given CM Punk’s persona
as a ‘bad guy,’ fans were naturally heckling him, but unfortunately a few fans
began shoving him, and one struck him in the kidney and on the back. WWE
regrets that proper security measures were not in place, and CM Punk apologizes
for reacting in the heat of the moment. Other than this isolated incident, WWE
always provides proper security to ensure the safety of our fans.” Again, this
questionable gang assault on Punk was used as justification for Punk’s
unprofessional behavior.
More importantly though, everyone involved (WWE, CM Punk,
and CM Punk’s supporters) seem to ignore one important detail – what was Punk
doing in the crowd to begin with? There is a reason the barrier exists – to separate
the audience from the performers. When superstars go into the crowd, they have
security with them to keep overzealous fans off them. There was no security
because either Punk wasn't supposed to go in the crowd or he was supposed to be
professional in the matter. Punk should have known he'd get pushed and shoved
by some fans in the crowd. He is a heel and that is what happens. Therefore, he
should have known to not overreact by swinging wildly like that. You can't jump
into a lion's den at the zoo and act shocked when the lion bites you. As a
heel, you can't jump into the crowd and act surprised when someone shoves you.
As large as an arena is, there are multiple ways for CM Punk to escape the
heroic trio of a 67-year-old Vince McMahon, a one-armed John Cena, and a
walking mass of HGH known as Ryback without having to cross that barrier and
enter into the fan’s world.
This was an unfortunate incident. However, I do not believe
for one second that CM Punk was in the right for his action. The fan did not
cross the barrier and enter into the wrestler’s realm; Punk entered the fan’s
realm. Regardless of what was done to provoke Punk, this does not justify a
felonious assault on another human being. Thankfully for Phillip Brooks, he’s
got a company banking on “CM Punk” to pull his butt out of the fire.
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