Why I think CM Punk gave a good, effective and (dare I say) Attitude Era promo

I’m sure you’ve heard about it at this point. CM Punk, storyline-wise (and apparently in real life) is leaving WWE after the next PPV. On this past Monday’s RAW he decided to air a few grievances he’s had with the company in what appeared to be a worked shoot. He dropped names that insider fans would know and outsider fans would shrug off. He effectively looked like he had gone off script and decided to deliver things in his own way. Call it the charisma, call it effective script writing, but CM Punk gave, in my opinion a very effective promo last night.

Funny, how it reminded me so much of why I miss the Attitude Era.

Does anyone else remember when Joey Styles decided he had enough and went off on everyone during an episode of RAW? Yeah, it was a worked shoot but that was the last time I came away from someone’s promo thinking that it had really tugged at parts of my emotions. That’s what good promos do. They take you on an emotional rollercoaster and make you feel involved in what’s being said. Now everyone, with the Punk promo, will be tuning into RAW next week to see how this follows up. That’s the type of ‘tune in next week’ attitude that WWE sorely needed.

Does anyone else remember when Matt Hardy had been gone from WWE and decided to make these ‘outsider’ appearances, interrupting matches and screaming stuff like Ring of Honor? While this wasn’t the most effective use of worked shoot it did show that things like that can draw people in to wonder what’s going to happen next. Punk just took it to a level that I don’t think could be matched (let alone exceeded) for a long long time.

But again, this reminds me of why I miss the Attitude Era.

See, in the attitude era, the wrestlers (I call them wrestlers, you call them Superstars if you want) nor the WWE gave a damn who they hurt, offended or satirized, but that made for effective television. We hung on every promo word because there was this hint of seeing if they would go off the rails. We felt connected to these wrestlers because we could insert some part of our life into their character. Stone Cold Steve Austin was great because he personified those who just didn’t want to take any shit from the boss; a person who wanted to do their own thing. Degeneration-X was effective because they personified our need to be rebels, to go against the establishment. The Rock was great because he personified a larger-than-life character that some of us wish we could be.

Look at it now, ladies and gents.

Give me one good reason why my life could fit, in any way, with the presentation of John Cena? Nuff said.

Things like Joey Styles and CM Punk’s promo goes to show that we need a segment of the show (if not the full thing) that returns to that era where we were on pins and needles waiting to see what would be said next. They’re kinda filling that void with R-Truth, but let’s face it, he’s now attached to this “Little Jimmy” thing when I think he should’ve just gotten off that immediately and gone onto something else, and further off the deep end.

Ever since WWE tried to create a product that caters to everyone, they eventually made a product that caters to no one.

Last night, CM Punk didn’t cater to anyone, and he got the attention of everyone.

That was called attitude. Kudos, my friend.

Fame Over Conscious: The aftermath of Ryan Dunn

When Ryan Dunn lost his life, many took to the airwaves to express condolences, grief and sorrow. They lost a friend, a brother, an entertainer. Many fans followed suit and express condolences to the family and looked back at Dunn’s career and how much laughter he provided for society. It was hard to imagine that someone that young could go this soon?

First off, let me say that to lose any life before it’s time is a tragic thing. Having said that, however, in this crazy society that we live in, he also brought to light this idea that celebrity trumps smart thinking. I noticed that it became more and more about the tragic end of a young career and less and less about the idiotic choice that got him there. Look, if I drank heavily, tried to drive a friend home and wrapped my car around anything, I would expect at least 80% of the conversations that follow to use the question: “What the fuck was he thinking!?”

In this story you also have Roger Ebert, well-known and beloved movie critic, who was quick to say that, in his own way, people shouldn’t just ignore the fact that Ryan Dunn did a boneheaded thing and suffered the ultimate consequence for it. Yet, instead of stopping to think about that, people quickly pounced on Ebert for saying something ‘insensitive’.

Insensitive? Really?

Ryan Dunn didn’t die in a home invasion gone wrong. He wasn’t mugged. He wasn’t robbed. He wasn’t in a plane crash. He didn’t suffer a heart attack. In other words, he wasn’t in a situation that was totally outside of his control. He should’ve found other means to get home (including cab or having someone else take him). Instead he probably did the “No, really. I’m fine.” routine and ended up a tragic story along with the passenger in his car.

What’s been amazing to me as this all unfolded is that society let’s celebrity be the factor that almost excuses the incident. Simply because he was well known, how does that cancel out that he did something that if any of the rest of us did, we’d be chastised for. When celebs are pulled over every day for DUI-related activities, what’s one of the first things we say. “Good, maybe this time they’ll straighten up. They could’ve killed someone.”

In this case, someone did.

Yes, have we forgotten that there was a passenger in the car. Another soul, who’s life was taken way too early. How come there isn’t massive coverage about what his family is going through? I wouldn’t call him totally innocent, however, because when presented with the idea of driving home with a friend who’s been drinking as much as Dunn has, why would he even think that was remotely a good idea?

I understand that Dunn was someone’s son, brother, friend. Like I stated before losing a life before it’s time is always something to give a person pause. However, I’m not going to let go of the fact that in this particular situation, the lives were taken thanks to an act that all of us would be chastised, criticized and scrutinized for.

I think this goes to a higher notion which is to say that society puts celebrities on such pedestals and alters of worship, that they almost don’t ever want to believe that they did something wrong, that they could do something wrong or that they’re incapable of stupid actions. Celebs prove practically every damn day that that’s not the case, so why continue to think that they’re these super human larger-than-life entities?

Had Ryan Dunn been a normal dude from West Covina and we heard about this on the news, we’d shake our head and cry out that there should be more done about drinking and driving and educating. Somehow, it’s Ryan Dunn and I haven’t heard much about that. All I hear is that Ryan Dunn was a dear friend, will be missed and loved.

I’m sure Ryan Dunn was all of those things, but in this instance he was something else: A human being who made a stupid choice.

Remember, every actor, musician, politician…celeb that you see is still human capable of making insane and inexcusable decisions. Being put into the public spotlight doesn’t flip a switch that immune them from such things and we should always remember that.

To Ryan Dunn, you did well on this Earth. You provided great entertainment to the masses and your body of work shall forever mark the positive contributions that you’ve made for people. However, sir, I hope that we all look to your final act as a lesson about the dangers of drinking, driving and making intelligent decisions.

Fame can save a person from a lot of things, but it shouldn’t save one from being excused for decisions such as this.