FIGHTS: The CM Punk Situation

WWE'S AGENT OF CHANGE CUTS TIES WITH WWE, STOKES REVOLUTION, MMA RUMORS
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

If there's one guy who has no problem cutting himself loose of situations he's unhappy with, its CM Punk.  In January, 2014, news was reported that CM Punk walked away from WWE after The Royal Rumble, only months before WWE's biggest show, WrestleMania.  The move rocked not only the WWE, but the wrestling world, as Punk was one of the organization's brightest stars.

But for those who have followed Punk, and especially viewed his WWE DVD, 'CM Punk: Best in the World', the move should be no surprise.

One of the recurring themes in the documentary opens the whole DVD.  The first story told about CM Punk describes how he left his own home because he thought his parents were treating him unfairly, giving attention and resources to his brother.

What was Punk's solution to the problem at home?  He cut his losses and left his home, moving in with the family of a friend.  In his own words, he was, "...not getting what he needs, he doesn't cry about it.  He just goes here and gets what he needs."   

Look at the 'Summer (Slam) of Punk'.  CM Punk was ready to walk yet again and ended up with a historic modern title run.  His contract was up, and he was tired of where he was heading.  This was not like Ultimate Warrior vs. Jake Roberts at WrestleMania from years back, holding Vince over a barrel for more loot.  This was CM Punk wanting so much more for WWE than just a fat paycheck.

But the DVD also seems to put on display Punk's lack of confidence in management's belief in him.  Something that seemed apparent was that Punk was always ready to leave after a title run with the phrase, "Well, this won't last long."  Punk seems to always have leaving on his mind.

Since we're talking pro-wrestling here, you better believe I still think this could be some kind of elaborate work.  But considering his philosophy on life and what he's done before, he's probably gone unless Vince provides some kind of offer he couldn't refuse.  Which would be wise if WWE wants the gravy train that is CM Punk.

But 'wise' is certainly not a trait that management at WWE has had over the past few years.

MMA RUMORS

The DVD also revealed how the guy hates to stagnate, which also supports the idea that he is really gone.

He talked about 'doing everything he could do' in Ring of Honor before leaving.  This example could be yet another indicator of his mindset about his time in WWE.  He's been an ECW champ.  He's been IC champ.  He's been a tag champ.  He's won two 'Money in the Bank' matches.  He's had World Title runs. He's had WWE title runs.  When you think about it, the guy might have been thinking 'I've done everything I can do in WWE'.

It's that example that he's set, cutting himself loose from an organization when he feels he's burnt out, then it makes sense that he might make the rumored move to MMA.  The guy has experience and training in Jiu-Jitsu, so he could hold his own.  Even his jiu-jitsu coaches at the Gracie Academy are saying he's got potential.

I think Punk has a great chance to do well in MMA.  He's got a good foundation in grappling, and he's probably pretty tough when it comes to fighting.  And his tattoos are better than most every MMA fighter out there.

But let's face it, there's going to be a learning curve when it comes to getting punched and kicked in the face.  Brock Lesner had a great run in UFC, but he did not like being punched in the face.  Dave Batista also had a short run in MMA.  Punk's tough, but like an MMA guy couldn't walk into the WWE and 'pro-wrestle', Punk's going to need to take some time and participate in some bush league MMA scraps and cut his teeth in the pits of MMA before he can compete on the UFC's level.

However, Dana can smell money.  And he already knew what Brock did for him in regards to paydays, booking a UFC fight for Punk would be money for Dana.

And Punk.

It will also be another challenge, another mountain to climb for CM Punk.  If he's tired of pro-wrestling, then MMA might be his next big move.

I don't know about you, but that would be fun to watch play out.

Here's a clip of CM Punk practicing jiu-jitsu with a Gracie legacy.

PUNK'S WWE LEGACY

Could you consider Punk a martyr?  Maybe.  The guy came in wanting to change WWE, and you could say he did.  Now, without Punk on the program, the fans are rebelling against the WWE machine.  Just this past Monday Night Raw, sans Punk, the crowd spent the night chanting his name.  They could take away the fan's signs, but they can't take away their voices.

Maybe Punk did finally get that revolution he always wanted after all.

If you enjoy pro-wrestling and MMA fights, consider the 'Pit Fighter' combat sports book series from ZBFbooks.com.   'Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire' and 'Pit Fighters: Double Cross' are combat sports-themed books that features fights from the early days of MMA, and plenty of underground money fights.  You've got to check them out, and they're available on Kindle or paperback today.

 

 

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest story, 'Tejano Star and the Vengeance of Chaplain Skull' is a Tex-Mexploitation superhero story in the tradition of 'Machete' and 'Black Dynamite'.  Get it in paperback or Kindle today.

FIGHTS: RETROSPECTIVE - Extreme Fighting Battlecade 2 was EXTREEEME!

THE WILD AND WACKY EARLY DAYS OF MMA
By
Bowie V. Ibarra

Mainstream MMA's come a long way since the days of the first UFC, where the Gracie family used slick marketing and sensational implications to bring their Gracie Jiu Jitsu system to the states and make those US dollars.  In fact, UFC led the way, but there were plenty of imitators that tried to get their hooks into that MMA market.  Extreme Fighting Battlecade was one of them.  The second event, like the first, was steeped in controversy and brutality.  Here's some of the fun things that went down.

--  'If they're both dead, we'll stop the fight.  No change in position.'

That was an actual quote from John Peretti, the promoter for the event, after Orlando Weit asked if the ref would break stalemates in the ring.  Remember, this event was 'Extreme', and Peretti was probably working the camera, but he planted that seed in 90s viewer's heads that death could occur. 

-- MONTREAL MOHAWK RESERVATION

Since the first event was kicked out of New York due to the Athletic Commission forbidding the fights, it ended up in South Carolina.  This event was scheduled to take place on the Kahnahuake Mohawk Indian Reservation just outside of Montreal.  But as you might expect, after political pressure from the government, the event was threatened to be cancelled even though it was on the sovereign land of the Mohawk Indians.  The 'extreme' angle was played up by Don Zuckerman, who claimed the worst that could happen is 'The Army shows up and stops the fights', but there's history between the Canadian Army and the Mohawks.  The cable companies could end up not showing the event, either.

It was that kind of pressure that made Orlando Weit of UFC II fame and his wife cash out of the event on their honeymoon.

-- NUMBER ONE DUDES WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF

So, we're told by Peretti that the #1 Wing Chun guy is going to be part of the event.  I imagine with no governing body in Wing Chun or promotion, perhaps Steve Faulkner was #1.  When he took on Igor Zinoviev in his fight, it took Steve Faulkner :51 seconds to use his Wing Chun to tap out to a rear naked choke from Zinoviev.

Steve Nelson was booked as the #1 Sambo guy in the US.  Nelson used his tremendous Sambo skill to tap out within the first minute of his fight against Ralph Gracie.

--  RALPH GRACIE

When Royce became the face of UFC and MMA in the 90s, he was the true 'Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu' surfer dude, a true beach bum.  You could almost call him the slacker of the Gracie's, known for going by the Gracie gym to bum money off of his brother, Rorion.

That's when you see Ralph Gracie, who looks like somebody took a shit in his Wheaties and someone told him the dude across the ring did it.  When it comes to Gracie's with bad attitudes, Renzo has nothing on Ralph, who took his victory not with his vaunted Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, but with repeated strikes to the back of his opponents head within the first minute of the fight.

--  PENTHOUSE PETS

Elizabeth Hildon, Leslie Glass, Amy Lynn, Alex Taylor, Stacy Moran, Lydia Schoen.

You go ahead Google these educational winners and have at it.

-- NO ROUNDS, NO JUDGES... NO WINNERS?

No Rounds!  No Judges!  It's EXTREEEEEME!

It also does nothing to help out when a match goes the full 15 minute time limit.  Jasan Canals vs. Nigel Scantleberry went the full 15 minutes.  And because we anticipated 'knockouts, submissions, or death' if Peretti is to be believed, we don't need no stinking judges. 

Well, it turns out we did.  Canals and Scantleberry ended in a draw.

-- DUDES THAT LOOKED LIKE YOUR P.E. COACH

In the early days, there were some older dudes that competed in MMA events that kind of seemed out of place.  When you've got young, tattooed up dudes like John Lewis and Conan Silviera, Jim Teachout looked like someone's dad having a mid-life crisis.  He looked out of place in this promo video, and looked even more out of place when John Lewis finished him with elbows to the neck and spine.
John Lewis vs. Jim Teachout

--  ELBOWS AND PUNCHES TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD

Here's a detail that looks pretty extreme now in retrospect:  Elbows and punches to the back of the head.  Attacking the spine with elbows are currently outlawed via unified rules.  Also, punches to the back of the head.  That's good sports regulation if you ask me.

--  A PRE-DRAGONBALL Z JIU-JITSU CARLOS NEWTON DEBUT

Carlos Newton gave up 60 pounds when he competed for the first time at Extreme Fighting Battlecade 2.  He took on Jean Riviere in a pretty competitive fight that went over 8 minutes until Riviere used his weight to fold up Newton and suffocate him.

--  'CONAN' SILVIERA

You just saw a dude like this back in the day who knew Jiu-Jitsu and you were like, man, this is totally not fair.  Well, Conan put that power and might as well as Jiu-Jitsu skills on display by using what I guess is jiu-jitsu punches to beat Carl Franks into submission in the first two minutes of the fight.

-- FIGHTERS GETTING HAULED OFF TO JAIL AFTER EVENTS

This tape ends with a closer to the opening segment, featuring the cops showing up and hauling off fighters to jail.  The charge:  Participating in an Illegal Prize fight.

It would seem natural that Igor Zinoviev, sitting in the back of a cop car, would be smiling as he is hauled off to get booked.  He smiles and gives a thumbs-up.  No sweat. 

If you get a chance to find this title, its a pretty good indicator of the early days of MMA.  You can definitely see how far the sport has come since then.

And if you're a true fan of UFC and MMA, you'll love both 'Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire' and 'Pit Fighters: Double Cross'.  Both are combat sports-themed books that features fights from the early days of MMA just like this event.  Like the early days, its 'Style vs. Style' in the pits of south Texas.  You've got to check them out, and they're available on Kindle or paperback today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest story, 'Tejano Star and the Vengeance of Chaplain Skull' is a Tex-Mexploitation superhero story in the tradition of 'Machete' and 'Black Dynamite'.  It's available in paperback and kindle today.

Bowie earned a BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie for updates and news at his official website, ZombieBloodFights.com.