TW: Suicidal ideation
On September 2 2023, CM Punk’s contract was terminated with cause for All Elite Wrestling following an altercation that had occurred at AEW’s All In PPV a couple of days prior. This termination got here after Punk reportedly sparked an altercation due to one thing stated by “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry. This combat obtained unhealthy sufficient that manufacturing folks and AEW proprietor Tony Khan felt endangered. In truth, Punk reportedly lunged at Khan himself.
This occurred a couple of 12 months after Punk was suspended and left AEW tv for about ten months following one other incident he sparked at AEW’s All Out PPV 2022, the place he verbally attacked a number of wrestlers who helped discovered the corporate and induced a brawl backstage that noticed grown ass males biting one another. Punk was rewarded with mainly his personal present and supposedly the ability to veto who appeared on the present with him.
As is the case with wrestling, as quickly as Punk was terminated by AEW, rumblings occurred about whether or not or not he would return to WWE, the place he left in equally huffy style again in February 2014. This is regardless of a number of instances of Punk having pissed off a number of events within the firm, together with the man on the head of WWE inventive, Triple H. And additionally, y’know, getting terminated for bodily attacking his final boss.
While prior to now few months, these rumblings of Punk to WWE have been seemingly debunked by folks like Sean Ross Sapp (or on the very least confirmed the 2 sides haven’t spoken within the whereas), it didn’t cease a number of days of followers speculating and getting excited on the prospect of seeing him again on their screens and the sheer quantity of drama he would trigger off their screens. This was fueled closely by WWE Survivor Series this 12 months going down in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.
Even extra not too long ago, Punk was confirmed to be backstage at TNA/Impact Wrestling’s greatest present of the 12 months, Bound for Glory. This is along with what seems to be an open door to be concerned with NJPW.
All the hypothesis additionally made me personally fairly rattling upset.
That’s as a result of CM Punk virtually actually wants some type of assist for his psychological well being and all anybody can speak about is the place he’s going to point out up subsequent, all whereas I’ve been pressured to face 30 years of psychological well being issues which have induced my private life to warp round me.
Around the time of the All In incident, a collection of occasions despatched me right into a horrid spiral of hopelessness and suicidal ideas that obtained unhealthy sufficient, I used to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Afterwards, I started an intense however extremely enriching remedy program. I pushed towards a lot of it initially as a result of it could get in the way in which of the work I used to be doing or was assigned to do. Clearly, the fractures in my psychological state may not be ignored and individuals who cared about me made certain I obtained the assistance I so desperately wanted.
CM Punk doesn’t have to be in AEW. He doesn’t have to be in WWE. He doesn’t have to be in TNA. He must be in remedy.
I say this not understanding something about how he’s dealt with his personal remedy of any psychological well being prior to now, however I do know he has a spouse who has a whole model centered round it. AJ Lee is open about her bipolar dysfunction and speaks about it fairly candidly in her autobiography, in addition to being an enormous advocate for psychological well being on the whole. So he very a lot has folks in his life which might be near him which have at the least a number of the instruments to assist him. On prime of that, I’m certain he was making absolute financial institution in AEW on each his megastar contract and monster merchandise gross sales. He’d have the financial sources to afford some assist for certain.
Of course, understanding how Punk has operated for many of his profession, he does seem to be the type of man who can be provided loads of psychological well being help over time and has refused to partake. Or if he has, he’s obtained a lot willingness to imagine that solely he has the solutions or no matter that it won’t stick.
All I’m saying is as “entertaining” because it might be to see him again on a display screen or trigger extra backstage drama, it’s unattainable for me to have a look at any of those rumors with any type of objectivity or lack of fury when this man has had all the things handed to him for 2 years, nonetheless acts like a blubbering toddler, makes Instagram vagueposts in Comic Sans, and would possibly get one other likelihood someplace when I’ve the overwhelming homework of renegotiating my complete worldview.
Part of what drove me into the bottom is defining myself by my work. As a freelancer and as a creator, it is a harmful space I used to be greater than vulnerable to and I fell into the pit laborious. Especially right here within the American work tradition, it’s straightforward to get wrapped up in solely how a lot you or different folks can produce or that you just’re solely value one thing whenever you produce one thing. Hell, the way in which our monetary programs and work cultures are arrange, that kind of view is enthusiastically endorsed and outright celebrated. We are punished, typically passively, for having the gall to say that we want a break or that one thing is an excessive amount of for us to deal with.
That’s additionally why seeing a person as apt for self-destruction as CM Punk present again up within the information cycle centered on the place he would possibly work subsequent was a reasonably upsetting factor. Even as followers we’re kind of engineered to only hold occurring and get swept up within the hype of what’s to return subsequent. Comics might be a lot of the identical, with comics creators and aspiring creators falling simply as laborious into the “production identity” pit as I did. Wrestlers are artists as nicely and I’m certain they’ll undergo related spells. In truth, I wouldn’t be stunned if AEW and ROH proprietor and booker Tony Khan isn’t leaning into a few of this as nicely, being solely answerable for anyplace between 5-10 hours of wrestling programming each single week and not too long ago having his personal kind of breakdown on social media.
This isn’t me excusing something about Punk’s actions, by the way in which. Shit psychological well being might not essentially be anybody’s selection, however it’s our accountability. It wasn’t an excuse for my very own habits and it isn’t for him both; being an asshole has penalties and whenever you’re an asshole that’s an outright hazard to presumably everybody round you, you get no condolences on the way in which down. When you permit an enormous black mark on a comparatively younger firm in your approach out, it doesn’t win you any followers both.
Now that some chilly water has been placed on these rumors, I hope Punk and anybody who considers themselves a fan of his considers the person. He made his mattress, and he ought to have the time to lie awake and self-reflect in it. Even if historical past exhibits he’ll be taught completely nothing from this. At least perhaps KENTA will get some peace.
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