What’s the story?
Austin Aries recently responded to a tweet by the WWE Network about his encounter with NXT Superstar Hideo Itami at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. Aries played down the incident while also taking a cheap shot at CM Punk.
Aries was referring to the fact that Itami is the actual creator of the Go to Sleep, but also subtly implied that Mickey Gall put CM Punk to sleep in the former WWE Champion’s UFC debut. Gall made Punk submit in two minutes and fourteen seconds with the help of the rear naked choke.
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In case you didn’t know...
Hideo Itami a.k.a. Kenta is credited to be the creator of the Go To Sleep. He currently uses the move as a finishing maneuver. The move was, however, made famous by CM Punk and many wrongly believe that Itami adopted the move from Punk. The truth, however, is the other way round.
The heart of the matter
CM Punk has been at the receiving end of some not so subtle insults this past week, with both RAW and SmackDown Live emanating from his hometown of Chicago. It was Stephanie McMahon who started the barrage when she responded to the CM Punk chants by saying that if the Chicago crowd could continue the chant for two minutes and fifteen seconds, they would have lasted for a second more than Punk did.
The next night on SmackDown Live, John Cena also took a jab at Punk asking the WWE Universe at the Allstate Arena in Chicago if they were chanting ‘CM Punk’ or ‘Cena Sucks’.
What’s next?
As of now, CM Punk hasn’t responded to any of the jabs aimed at him by the WWE. The self-proclaimed ‘Greatest Man that Ever Lived’ has been out of action for a month after he suffered an orbital fracture in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura and has been a regular feature of the commentary team on 205 Live alongside Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves. He will return to action as WWE rolls on into the WrestleMania season.
Sportskeeda’s take
CM Punk is a name that has been all but erased from the annals of WWE history. Announcers have often refrained from mentioning his name and his 434-day championship reign is all but forgotten. WWE is known to be petty in these matters and the creative team often takes jabs at superstars they have had a fallout with. But Stephanie openly mentioning Punk’s name was a shocker for many. Punk has been clear that he will not return anytime soon and it is in the best interests of everyone to just move on.
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