So Punk was the most recent guest on Colt Cabana's podcast and he finally explained why he left, any of you guys listen to it?

Explained a lot.

Also, I think Vince is responsible for a lot more than it seems.

Yep yep. Interesting stuff. There are two sides to every story, but with all the stuff leaking out about wwe lately, a lot of this is not hard to believe. The stuff about their in house Doctor is pretty damn reprehensible, and I think we've all just assumed that Ryback is a negligent dick since day one.

Finally got to hear it. [iTunes & Cabana's feed have been write-offs for days. Had to use the YouTube link.]

The biggest shock to me was that there weren't any shocks.

The truth, as it was told in [Punk's] own words, was a pastiche of the most credibly reported stories, and scenarios that have played out many times before. His perspective has been equal parts reported and presumed. The roles of all the players slot together in a pretty unsurprising way. Nobody was playing against type. The frustrated wrestler was frustrated. The machine was by and large unforgiving, self-sustaining, and rolled on in spite of him.

The biggest shock might've been the specific characterization and cost of medical staff's lax involvement. We have to know the institution employs (and maybe even demands) a flexible medical assessment. We know wrestlers work hurt. We know the demands of the system pushes guys to give whatever they can. It's usually down to the outcome to determine whether we laud it as commendable, or tragically foolhardy.

It's easy to understand Punk's perspective. He's had good reasons to feel frustrated. Unfortunately, neither party's perspective really has to take into account the others. If Punk and "WWE" could've met more in the middle, everyone might have prospered, but it's difficult for "WWE" to meet Punk in the middle if there isn't total trust. The same can ultimately be said in reverse, as well. Sometimes situations become untenable. This may have been the only possible outcome.

From the fan's side, it's a shame Punk couldn't have been given more so everyone could prosper. From the operational side, I can see why that would've been difficult.

The funny thing about that is, it seems like every opportunity the man tried to make/take to make his situation more palatable, (the sponsors, the movie, walking Sonnen to the octogon, etc.) was turned down at every pass. If these things were truly not possible on the operations side of things(understandable), then they wouldn't have transferred to the next guy so easily. How could he not have been frustrated.

The stuff regarding his health was the most troubling to me. I get it. Its a dangerous business, but the guy was falling apart near the end of his run. He suffered multiple concussions only to be met with a "well, what do you want me to do?", despite this "stringent" concussion policy. And to cap it all off, the freaking staph infection. Any doctor worth his salt would have seen that and pulled his ass off the road. Sheer fucking negligence.

I think that's the Punk/fan perspective. It's only looking at what he did to get what he wanted and the fact he didn't get it.

There's going to be margin for error when you're making that many decisions day to day. They won't always be bang on. If WWE gave him a little bit more, everyone might've got more out of it. I think both sides own reasons for that not being possible, though. Some completely reasonable (from both perspectives), others a bit less forgiving.

Example given - Punk was refused permission to wear third-party sponsors on shorts, before Brock Lesnar was given the same right.

As noted [on the podcast], Lesnar had pre-existing sponsorship agreements in place. That means if you want the mega draw that is Brock Lesnar - you get those with him. That's as good a reason as any to write the situation off right there. WWE is going to accept that. Television sponsors are going to accept that. Talent may have grievances with the perception of special treatment, but thems the breaks. There's a major creative component to these decisions, and creative favors differentiating.

Not considered are the creative differences. The context of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar wearing MMA shorts in a pro wrestling ring is worlds apart from CM Punk. It might be nice to see WWE reacquire some of that sports style, but that's not where things are at, so it has to be viewed as the exception. Is Punk going to be the one to create that exception? Probably not.

Punk had a great thing going with the trunks he had (and arguably had the best look of his career somewhere around this time). He didn't have an overwhelming association with the look and logic behind it. He's also a couple of decisions away from looking like an indie wrestler/street kid. Male power fantasy might make that work, but however you slice it, it's making Punk less special.

Punk says his attitude is - 'If you don't think I'm a big enough star to do what Brock Lesnar does, that's okay, but fire me'. That alone is going to limit his options from an operational perspective. Nobody wants to fire him, obviously. It's still a 24/7 business with a lot of working parts going through mutual conduits, though. So, by default of necessity, that means communication and options are going to be at a limit. There's no time for that many headaches. That attitude was always going to make it difficult for 'the office' to invest in him. You can't fault Punk for having his frustrations, but the machine rolls on. If they can't confidently count on a guy to do X, they're going to go to the one who can.

Sympathizing with the struggle Punk had was key to his success as a character, but when you stop watching the TV show and go behind the curtain, there's more to it. The organization is ultimately the one who has to live with it and has to have the authority and license to make the decisions. If they don't, the whole system starts to break down.

Even the doctor's situation has another dimension. The nature of the beast means there's an interest to keep talent active, and the fact that they can (and always have) worked hurt means a doctor is making calls in a sea of grey. It sounds ugly, but it's a function that is usually commended or condemned per the outcome. If nobody gets hurt, it's good times. Wrestlers can and do protect themselves and work within a certain amount of safety.

Missing/ignoring a staph infection is pretty outrageous, though. Bad calls are still bad calls and that's pretty damn bad!

Ha!

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on the sponsor-shorts thing because it's just never been done in wrestling except for Brock who already had those agreements to honor before he came in... (but maybe they SHOULD let the boys start doing that sort of thing, and if anyone was gonna be the first regular to adopt it, why NOT Punk? His fuckin' gimmick was to be the voice of change, after all)

But It's hard to see how any of management's decisions with the direction of Punk's career were the right ones for the business as a whole, like turning him heel just for Rock's benefit and spending his biggest year repeatedly throwing money at retired celebrities to come back and take the main event (always versus Cena) while the WWE Champion's match goes in the middle of the fucking card, and letting each one of those part-timers get a win over him (which does nothing but devalue the regular talent who do all the actual hard work on the road every day with no time off to rest or heal, by sending the message of "people should only tune in for these few shows, to see these nostalgic visitors from an era when wrestling was cool and popular because clearly the people we have now are not cool or popular") during a time when he was so whitehot that he COULD have been bigger than Cena, brought the kind of mainstream attention and crossover appeal that the company hasn't had since the Attitude era, and the company DESPERATELY needs to learn how to build other stars.

And obviously, there's no defense for the medical shit, they just need to fire that doctor.

Oh God the CM Punk interview, the Vince McMahon interview

This seriously is the Montreal of this generation. Is it a work? We'll never know!

Its just been announced at UFC 181, that CM Punk has signed a multi-fight contract with the organization. He's apparently either shooting for Middleweight, or Welterweight classes, which, for those unaware, are two of the deepest weight classes(talent wise) in the company.

Soooo...free Punk dlc for EA Sports: UFC?

Read about it on ESPN. Wow! That's gonna be very interesting! I don't agree with the sentiment thrown at him, but I kinda like that it brushes aside the rabble who want to shout nonsense about 'a real fight', having 'something to cry about'. In a way, it's the kind of tough-man pro wrestling response that pro wrestling hasn't had for a while. A modern twist on an old ideal.

Now two of WWE's biggest draws are UFC competitors. It'll be interesting to see if there's any reaction at all from WWE. It'd be great if it puts some more pressure on them to step up and perform and rely less on 'UFC aren't our competition', 'we're Entertainment. Not wrestling'.

Wild! Gonna be very interesting to watch this unfold! I dig it.

NXT is better than Raw almost every week.

eating flaccid dog ass is better than raw almost every week

Yeah... That's pretty true

Dammit. I missed NXT with Kevin Owens' debut.

So, as someone who hasn't watched a single episode...does NXT justify $9.99 a month?

The answer would be a certain Daniel Bryan catchphrase...

Hell yeah, you need to see NXT Takeover: R Evolution. It's the best pay per view I've seen all year.

I dig it.

- Bellator in talks with former WWE star Alberto Del Rio

Bellator president Scott Coker told MMA Fighting on Monday that his organization has been in negotiations with former WWE standout Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio, whose real name is Jose Rodriguez, fought in MMA for nine years, including a pair of bouts with PRIDE.

"I think that we did reach out," Coker said. "I'm not sure where that is and by no means is it in the 11th hour, but I know there's some dialogue going on."

Rodriguez, who competed in MMA under the name Dos Caras, Jr., has a notable head kick knockout loss to Mirko Cro Cop at PRIDE Bushido 1 in 2003 on his record. Rodriguez trained under Marcos Ruas and went 9-5 in his mixed martial arts career between 2001 and 2010. Seven of his nine career victories came via submission.

Rodriguez, 37, is 6-foot-5 and more than 230 pounds, so he would likely compete in either the heavyweight or light heavyweight division.

If only by virtue of Punk's interest in distancing himself from pro wrestling, I think Alberto [El Patron] is probably the most interesting free agent in the world right now. Would be very interested to see him add Bellator to his growing list of dates!

Wait, I thought that Del Rio won his job back in a law suit or something, but now he could go to MMA shit? What?

What the hell have I missed?

No, the big stink after his departure had to do with wwe possibly trying to enforce a no compete clause in his contract. It seemed to blow over pretty quickly though, likely due to the company not wanting to face up to the racial allegations surrounding Del Rio's departure.

He seems to be all the better off for it though. He's AAA world champ, is gonna be on the next season of Lucha Underground, and apparently TNA is making a big money play for his services. The Bellator thing would likely go hand and hand with TNA rumors, as Viacom seems to like mixing their chocolates and peanut butters.

Don't forget the big Ring of Honor bouts in January, too! Keeping very hot!

So, where does everyone fall on the Royal Rumble?

All the talk is a two horse race between Roman Reigns and Bryan Danielson. The jetpack hot shot, and the returning fan favourite with unfinished business.

In my mind, there's no debate. If Danielson is fit to return, then the fairytale comeback is the way to go. You bring him back, enjoy the ride, and have him pick up right where he prematurely left off. It's the cake they didn't eat last year, but probably should have. Maybe sweeter than before - because this time he can win the title in a straight one on one match, sans shenanigans.

If Danielson's an injury concern, then he shouldn't be involved. He can only detract from an alternate winner. Reigns, if he really must be, can run as a back-up, but I don't think he's ready to go, and pushing him prematurely will only hurt his potential. Everyone is better off with a Danielson win. Reigns gets seasoning, Danielson is mined for value before his eventual expiration, Mania gets a good spread.

Of course, the real problem becomes who defends as champ.

Brock Lesnar works for both guys as the ultimate notch. Personally, I like the potential of Danielson/Lesnar better, delivered in a similar mode to Guerrero/Lesnar. Danielson can inject excitement into the match, whereas Reigns runs the risk of bringing back bad memories of another Lesnar bull basher - WMXX v Goldberg.

John Cena defending against Danielson could work, but the real resonance is with a fresh babyface who Cena can pass the torch to. Danielson has too many miles on him for that angle - so Reigns seems the better choice. If they aren't going to turn Cena heel, they could easily build it on the back of the torch passing. They might even think about having Reigns pick up the US (or IC) title on the way, and treat it like Hogan/Warrior. If Reigns isn't ready heading it, it might make him.

Seth Rollins seems to be the only other logical player and I don't see that he can run a Wrestlemania main event with Reigns or Danielson. That is not a marquee match-up for the biggest event of the year. The only shot Rollins might have is in a three-way, but that's passe, especially after last year. He's got a few months on the MITB. Probably better to save him for the guy who wins the belt. He could be handy as a transitional champ, taking it from the Mania high of Danielson, to a Reigns mid-year trial run. You could try Reigns/Rollins for the MITB at Mania, but the way the deck is stacked, it seems like the heel MITB is of more value.

Danielson/Lesnar is probably my preferred Mania main event.

- The cream rises to the top: 'Macho Man' Randy Savage to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

As officially announced Monday on Raw, “Macho Man” Randy Savage will finally be inducted as the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 the night before WrestleMania 31 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Live during the biggest weekend of the year in WWE, the late legend will be inducted by longtime friend, rival and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.

Rumors began to trickle in early Monday morning with TMZ and a live breaking news update on WWE Network reporting on the possible announcement. Speculation reached a fever pitch six weeks ago when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin pressed WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on the issue during a live podcast special.

For many, the Hall was simply not complete without the iconic “Macho Man.” Now, that all changes. As WWE rose to national prominence, no Superstar rivaled Hogan’s popularity as much as the flamboyant “Macho Man.” An early highflier with bright neon trunks, Randy Savage was the definition of a larger-than-life superhero. Nobody looked anything like him before he came along, and no one has come close since.

I want everybody to freak out, freak out. The Macho Man is going in to the Hall of Fame. Ohhhh yeeeaahhh.

Stumbled across a tweet of this Macho Man baseball card, which is pretty damn awesome, too.