I'm not going to make a big deal out of CM Punk dealing with heckling fans at a recent WWE show in Adelaide, Australia. At least not from a being offended stand point. He may have been genuinely irritated by some of the fans or he may just be working his heel mojo on unsuspecting members of the crowd as he motions he's hooked them like a fish after they've taken some sort of bait. A good heel who can incense the audience is not only entertaining to watch, but an asset to a company that survives financially by getting butts in seats, either in an arena or in a living room in front of a televised Pay Per View.
I have no problem if Punk decided he wanted to verbally eviscerate a couple of rowdy Aussies ring-side but the cheap heat he went for is pretty sad to see. In the fan video shot of the incident CM Punk resorts to calling the two guys he's having a shouting match with 'women' after making light of being a woman beater. He then calls both of them 'Vaginas' a couple of times while probably internalising 'Don't say c*nt, don't say c*nt ..." before completely dropping the ball and calling them 'homos', straight faced and sporting a Freddie Mercury 'tache. If only his character was a prejudiced redneck that could fall victim to the irony of being in the closet.
Sadly CM Punk is not that character, but the anti-social straight edger who has been the talk of the town since his inspired worked-shoot promo just over a week ago on Monday Night RAW. It's long been thought Punk was leaving the WWE when his contract is up to take some time off and that maybe his recent utilisation is either a way to serve as a fitting send off as he takes a sabbatical or a way to build to something significantly more as far as long term storylines and booking goes. In the space of a week CM Punk has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous with his inability to ad-lib and scorch the hecklers in a more sophisticated way than going after their masculinity and throwing a gay slur at them. 'Homo' doesn't have the bite 'F*g' does, but in either case it shows a worker who is either creatively bankrupt or creatively exhausted.
If CM Punk didn't reflect backstage after his match on how lame the altercation went and how he wishes he'd been just a little bit smarter, I'd be shocked. And while I don't expect CM Punk to be confronted by the likes of The Washington Blade like John Cena has at least if he is I'd expect him to make a better case for himself than being 'misconstrued' while stumbling over his words and digging himself a deeper hole. We know he's capable of much more than cheap heat, but this incident suggests he really needs the time off from the perennial road trip that is the WWE lifestyle in order to reset and recharge. Punk's fortunate the profile of this incident is relatively low but thanks to the power of social media it hasn't gone unnoticed.
Update: Cm Punk apologised via his twitter and on his website a day ago. HT Cageside Seats reader who me:
Celebrity website, TMZ released a video capturing an incident over this past weekend at a WWE house show in Australia. The comments have stirred up some controversy. CM Punk took to his twitter to apologize for his comments, read below.
I’m glad TMZ posted that video because everybody needs to be held accountable for their bullshit, me included. What I said was bullshit. I’m embarrassed. I own up to being a total douche in this situation and I offer a sincere apology to anybody I hurt with careless words.