#FTR with Dax Hardwood Live

[maloned]

CM Punk's Pipe Bomb: Reigniting My Passion for Wrestling and the Hope for His AEW Return

CM Punk's Pipe Bomb and Money in the Bank 2011 was the pivotal moments that reignited my passion for wrestling. As a Lapsed Fan who had lost interest in WWE and wrestling after the failed invasion angle and the original brand extension, I had limited my viewership to WrestleMania alone.

However, in 2011, fate intervened when a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant began airing all WWE PPVs. It was the perfect opportunity to enjoy the shows while indulging in some delicious wings and a raucous crowd of wrestling fans. Then, I stumbled upon David Lagana's podcast, "We Want Wrestling," specifically created for Lapsed Fans like myself. That podcast was fanning the flames of my fandum, preparing the way for what came next.

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The unforgettable Monday night of June 27, 2011. I still ignored RAW and Smackdown during that time, but I decided to tune into the end of the go-home episode of RAW before Money in the Bank, I was treated to CM Punk's legendary Pipe Bomb promo. It was a captivating moment. Punk eloquently expressed all the thoughts I had about the state of wrestling. He articulated the very reasons why I had drifted away from my favorite form of sports and entertainment.

That remarkable promo, combined with the electric atmosphere of the Chicago crowd at Money in the Bank and the phenomenal 5-star match between Punk and Cena, ignited a renewed excitement and hope within me. It carried me through the rollercoaster ride of The Summer of Punk and sustained through Daniel Bryan's (Bryan Danielson)'s YES Movement. upto the next Brand Split in 2016. Despite growing weary of WWE's questionable booking and the excessive time investment required, I was grateful for being drawn back into the wrestling world. For a few years, I had the privilege of experiencing WWE and witnessing the rise of Bryan alongside my daughters before they outgrew it.

In recent years, my rekindled fandom has found a new home in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Thanks to their English simulcasts on PPV, AXStv, and the NJPW World streaming platform, I've been able to delve deeper into the wrestling world. The captivating performances of stars like Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, the Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes led me to the first-ever ALL IN pay-per-view and the birth of All Elite Wrestling (AEW). AEW's shows have become a tremendous source of entertainment for me, reinvigorating my love for the sport.

The journey came full circle on August 20, 2021, when CM Punk made his triumphant return to wrestling in AEW. His arrival marked the beginning of a year that saw him headlining some of the most memorable in-ring pay-per-views in history. Through Punk's presence, AEW transformed from an exceptional in-ring promotion to a major box office draw.

"This is my plea to all four guys. Please find a way to make it work. If we can make it work, we can set up the future of professional wrestling for a long time and we can change the course of professional wrestling for a very long time. When you think about it, unselfishly, we're doing this for 20-30 years down the road so guys and girls can make a living." - FTR with Dax Hardwood podcast

"It's not in fashion right now, but you need to point out the fact that he lifted people's games in ways you wouldn't expect," Mick Foley said of CM Punk on the Foley is Pod podcast.

CM Punk's Pipe Bomb promo and Money in the Bank 2011 reignited my passion as a lapsed fan, taking me on a journey through The Summer of Punk and beyond. CM Punk's return in 2021 marked a full circle moment. His presence elevated AEW, reminding me why I fell in love with wrestling. I'm grateful to CM Punk for reigniting my love and hope to see him and many other young stars, shaping wrestling's future. He has a special ability to elevate others' games in this ever-evolving world of sports and entertainment.

[wrestlezon]

liveblog containment post for aew dynamite 5/25/22

my friend yelled at the cage match being the opening match and then doubleyelled at mjf's referee outfit. this dynamite is starting off strong (personally. i am looking forward to see ftr vs roppongi vice) whoa nice. handcuff fight? just for me? :)c are we gonna finally get our "breaking out of handcuffs" bit? if not now then when!! LMAO YES THERE IT IS YOU FUCKED UP! YOU FUCKED UP! YOU FUCKED UP! is it hard to see what goes on in a cagematch live? i wonder. i mean, i can barely tell whats happening in my microwave at any given time shawn spears is such a weirdo for chairs lmao. i love it when the guys are weird OH MY GOD there will be nothing left of the pinnacle by the end of this lmfao shawn spear's face. this rules ACTION BRYCE IS HERE short and sweet and extremely rewarding. lets fucking gooooo!!!!

oh! jas backstage segment! NOT THE POOR BACKSTAGE STAFF MOXLEY FAN!! JERICHO...!!! hes out of control. someone get the wizard council on him have a faction become the wizard council to do this. i have suggestions

oh! cm punk and hangman time! i cant wait to see how theyre gonna banter at each other and by banter i mean. you know. get worked up at each other heel punk... heel punk... alternatively: hangman page turns evil look if EITHER of these two have even the slightest fall from grace i will win. SUCCUMB TO THE DARKNESS!!!!! or not. either way would be riveting punk: this is not personal. but you should definitely take it personally. do it. i dare you. come on. please hangman: >:/ how is hangman gonna destroy punk at his own game... the game of Talk im SO excited to see how hangman is gonna pull this off you can't do it... kiss him hangman. kiss him PARAGON HANGMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OGUHGHUGH im-- HANGMAN!!! I LOVE U. REVEALING SECRET EVIL CM PUNK TO ME punk pulling the "you are just mad because you are angry" tactic. i love it. i love him EGO PUNK YESSSS IM GETTING IT ALL I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE ANGLES YESYSYYSYSYSYSSYYSSSS HES LITERALLY TROLLING GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS

omg ok im rewatching and-- did i literally blank out this jade vs anna jade promo. i was too drained after the hangman punk promo

oughhhh ok whats-- whats going on here what is the JAS up to. i dont know whats going on im still recovering from the punk/hangman bit OH ITS AN EDDIE MOXLEY TAG VS PRIVATE PARTY??? YAY!!!!!!! EDDIE MOXLEY TAG TEAM!!!!!!! aew going fucking ham on ppv week as usual. delicious its a good thing i'm going to watch this again with another friend later tonight because i. i dont have enough braincell for this EDDIE MOXLEY TAG MATCH (!!!) eddie: im going to take on 3 guys by myself i dont give a fuck regal: yeah im not getting up for this. theyre fine they can handle themselves

im not used to my media pandering to me directly. i dont know how to handle it. what IS this

oh boy! roppongi vice!!!! ...did he call him dick hardwood rocky puttin on da moves! hell yea trent and dax trading chops in the corner :)c yay hey man i know theyre not gonna get the tag belts im just here for a good match double knee!! tag team moves! yesss!! oh no the rollup-- the counter rollup!! whoa how did trent get lifted up so high so fast WHAT THE!!! ENEMY NJPW WRESTLERS HAVE APPEARED? all my favorite guys are being thrown through tables now! oh no! wait did they ring the belt to cancel the match i didnt even notice those guys seem cool... interested in seeing where this goes

i enjoy hearing the hardy boys ramble

oh!! its the swerve vs starks vs jungle match!! they should just take turns beating up jungle boy so he can have an arc being a sad weirdguy (i love sad weirdguys. cant get enough of them) ricky starks with the sick burn against audience member mr starks that is a lewd manuever. obscene my god he's tripling down LMAO good lord. he sticks the landing theyre just having a three way free for all right now this rules i like that little leg move swerve did to break that hold oooh jungle boy with the hold wait you can just combo a rope break into a drag and another hold? why doesnt everyone do this oh swerve gettin it swerve winnin it!!! oh boy are we gonna get a "big guy in the tag team" match now... for friday... lmao keith lee just pickin up swerve

OH NO DAN LAMBERT ALERT u_u well... at least he didnt say anything terrible this time

thunder rosa! whoa... rare paintless... i like her hat oh my. i hope thunder rosa wins because i do not want her to lose.

omfg. red velvet you are being SO evil right now. you used to be friends with stat... the betrayal... the severity in which you are throwing statlander under the bus... did some radioactive Evil Particles get into the water at the hirsch/velvet/statlander house or what i feel like all three of them have so severely succumbed to the darkness

toni storm vs britt baker!! whoa is the ref standing next to a mic he is so loud and clear SIGN DESTRUCTION love it when the chin is cradled like that. :)c hee hee what the whats all this i looked away for 1 second the ref is pulling gloves outta his pockets oh toni storm got a bloody nose :0 hayter distraction (friendly fire) GASP... rope cheatery.... please give me britt baker vs statlander. i want statlander to win even tho... i doubt they wouldve planned for that, since statlander was a fill-in replacement right

oh!! matches!! matt sydal is fighting on friday! cool look at all these moving graphics lol they went for it man this ppv is PACKED jr please stop calling things slobberknockers. please

ah the final match. samoa joe vs kyle o reilly in my heart of hearts i want samoa joe to win. but i feel they want to do the tag team infight angle... sigh... i guess that could be cool too. but i'd rather see samoa joe fight wait why is kyle oreilly covered in pepperonis. does he do that cupping thing personally i think the athletic tape looks cooler than having pepperonis. you can still do cupping or whatever i guess, im not a muscle expert. whatever makes you feel better. but consider the design applications of tape. there is so much opportunity though i think it would be funny if there was a guy really dedicated to cupping and was just an evil polka dot pepperoni man noooo not chekov's lead-pipe-damaged arm!!! oh that was a cool roll up eww spitty oh!!!!!!!!!!! joe won!??!?!?!?!!!!!! yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!

oh lmao are people cyberbullying trent about that table bit