WWE Fans Slam CM Punk For R-Truth Comment After Raw Went Off Air

CM Punk and controversy go hand in hand, and Monday Evening Uncooked on the 2nd of June was no exception.

Stay from the BOK Middle in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the WWE Universe made themselves heard. Throughout an off-air phase that includes Punk, chants of “We Need Reality” rang out throughout the sector, and never for the primary time that evening. It was a heartfelt gesture, a tribute to the just lately launched R-Reality, a long-time fan favorite who gave WWE 20 years of unforgettable moments.

R-Reality’s WWE contract formally expired on the first of June. His exit shocked many followers, and the chants had been a transparent present of assist for somebody who had grow to be a cult hero inside the firm. Then got here Punk’s reply.

It was sharp, reducing, and delivered with out hesitation. Straight away, the feel-good vitality within the area shifted. What had began as a nostalgic second shortly turned one thing way more divisive. And for anybody acquainted with CM Punk, that can come as no shock.

On-line response was instant. Many followers criticised Punk’s remark as disrespectful and tone-deaf, particularly given the timing. R-Reality, actual title Ron Killings, had earned huge goodwill throughout his WWE profession, not just for his comedic genius, however for his resilience and longevity within the enterprise.

To dismiss the followers’ chants in such a chilly method, on the very first present after Reality’s departure, didn’t sit nicely with massive sections of the viewers. Some felt Punk had crossed a line. However others noticed it otherwise.

Different Followers Noticed & Understood CM Punk’s Reference

Again within the day, his title was chanted continuously when he was now not there

CM Punk isn’t any stranger to strolling the tightrope between actuality and storyline. His best promos have at all times lived in that gray space, the place it turns into laborious to inform what’s scripted and what’s private. This second felt like one other a kind of blurred strains, and it could possibly be precisely what he supposed.

It’s potential that Punk’s phrases had been extra than simply an informal comment. They may have been a deliberate provocation. In traditional Punk style, he created a second that followers can be speaking about lengthy after the cameras stopped rolling.

He could not have been making an attempt to bury R-Reality, however fairly shake the viewers, remind them that the current issues greater than the previous, and even lay the groundwork for a much bigger story to come back.

WWE has usually been accused in recent times of enjoying it protected, sticking too rigidly to the script. CM Punk doesn’t do protected. He pushes buttons. He creates discomfort. And whether or not followers find it irresistible or hate it, they at all times react.

With R-Reality now gone from the corporate (not less than in the intervening time), there’s real uncertainty round what comes subsequent. Might Punk’s remark be a tease for one thing down the road? Is Reality actually completed with WWE, or might this be the start of an surprising return angle? That sort of ambiguity is classic professional wrestling, and few know easy methods to weaponise it higher than CM Punk.

WWE has a wealthy historical past of mixing sport with leisure. From Mike Tyson to Logan Paul, the corporate has at all times embraced personalities who can stir debate. CM Punk suits that mould completely. And so did R-Reality, albeit in a totally completely different approach.

However Monday evening’s second wasn’t about R-Reality. It was about management of the narrative. Punk took the mantra, flipped it, and made it about himself. Whether or not that was disrespectful or good relies upon solely in your perspective.

This second could have rubbed folks the flawed approach, however in a WWE panorama that generally feels overproduced, perhaps that’s precisely what was wanted. CM Punk stays one of many few performers who can hijack a phase, divide an viewers, and depart everybody speaking.

Love him or hate him, Punk made positive Uncooked wasn’t wanting drama, and that, in the end, is what retains followers coming again.