REPORT: TNA Make CM Punk "Hulk Hogan" Sized Offer

[It's Damn Real!]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, TNA recently made an attempt to contact CM Punk, using an intermediary. It’s being said they were prepared to offer the former WWE Champion a major contract, with money in the range of what Hulk Hogan was making during his run. He would have easily been the most paid star on the roster.

Ideally, TNA would like to hire CM Punk and use him as the face of Impact Wrestling going forward, building the entire show around him. Of course, a new contract with such a well-known star could also give the company more leverage in negotiating a new television deal for 2015. That being said, Punk has no interest in getting back into pro wrestling at this point.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/517...m_campaign=Feed:+Wrestlezonecom+(WRESTLEZONE)

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Wow.

You'd have to imagine if this is true, TNA's television deal has got to be set, and just not announced yet, because Hogan was reportedly pulling in $35K per episode, totally nearly $2M by the end of the calendar year.

As it stands, if my memory serves, Angle is the highest paid star on the roster currently, and with his deal up, they could conceivably be using that money to award to Punk.

 

[justinsayne]

I kinda wonder if they made that kind of offer knowing he wouldn't take it but that it would draw attention to the company.

 

[ABMorales787]

I kinda wonder if they made that kind of offer knowing he wouldn't take it but that it would draw attention to the company.

Probably. Although, they should probably consider the stigma of being turned down by a major star with the amount offered being mostly public. This would be their second going at this as they made an attempt at Alberto Del Rio pretty public and that lead nowhere.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

Woooow,

I don't care one way or the other about tna. But I like punk...would love it if he'd stop whinnying but I like him. This would make me start watching tna weekly!!

 

[Alastor]

Wouldn't hurt to try to lure one of the true top stars in recent years that is still popular to TNA. And he has one thing Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle don't, it is that he can work a mic and make the story more compelling. His internet troll promos should sit well with the IWC crowd of TNA fans.

 

[Rayne]

TNA would be foolish not to make the offer; CM Punk would be foolish to accept.

TNA needs a star to sell to a new network, which right now they don't really have locked in place (either star or network.) Offering someone a large contract doesn't necessarily mean they've signed a network deal, because the offer could easily be made contingent on TNA receiving said network deal.

Flip side of the coin- one star does not make a company. To paraphrase the Ric Flair saying, to be the man, you have to beat the man, and how many "men" does TNA have these days? It doesn't make sense for CM Punk to go in and job to a couple of guys who aren't on his level for the sake of creating a believable feud; if he goes back into professional wrestling, the long-term money is in WWE. If he spends his credibility building guys in TNA, both offers disappear. This putative offer wasn't made because CM Punk is CM Punk, it's being made because CM Punk has credibility as a top guy in all of professional wrestling.

That's all assuming this offer wasn't made for the sake of saying an offer was made. There are no headlines coming out of TNA these days.

 

[terrylee]

You have to admire It's Damn Real - the poor guy always praying that TNA will amount to something more than a televised indy show, hahaha.

In all seriousness though, CM Punk would definitely be a marquee signing for TNA, probably their biggest signing ever, and would probably bring more viewers to TNA than Hogan did, as Punk is still in his best years...

... but you're an idiot if you think it's actually going to happen.

This is a man that obviously considers himself "the best in the world" - so much so that he left the WWE because he wasn't getting the treatment he felt he deserved. Why would he think joining TNA would solidify that title? The "Best in the World" wrestling anywhere apart from the WWE? That would make no sense. Before you all get your panties in a twist, I'm not a WWE mark, and I couldn't care less if he returns to the WWE, but let's be honest - if you're a guy that wants to be recognized as the best wrestler in the world, why would you want to be anywhere but the biggest wrestling stage on the planet? (Biggest wrestling stage =/= best wrestling company, I want to clarify). And even if TNA revolved their entire company around him - featured him in every segment, from backstage promos, in-ring segments, commentary, divas matches, their online media, handed him every title they have (on top of creating a "CM Punk Division Championship" for him), give him Hall of Fame status within 6 months - deep down, we know that won't be enough for Punk. Not with the WWE always overshadowing TNA. TNA isn't WCW.

On TOP of all that, Punk has been pretty vocal about how he feels about TNA in the past, for example:

[youtube]6zOr51gqDbQ[/youtube]

Now, another wrestler, you may think "yeah, well people have swallowed their words in the past and jumped ship" - and that applies to anything; we've seen professional footballers join teams they swore never to do so in order to either advance their careers, or, as in most cases, make tons of money. That last sentence hammers my point home - going to TNA won't advance Punk's career, and he knows that. And money? I'm sure with his private bus and first class airfare, he wasn't doing too poorly with the WWE and isn't scrounging for cash with the other ventures he's gone into recently (i.e. Nerdist).

In my roundabout way of saying it, the reason why Punk won't join TNA is simple: he has far too much pride. That's not an intentional dig at TNA, it's the honest truth. This is a company he's made fun of in the past, he's made enough money to retire and live comfortably (along with providing a comfortable living to his loved ones), and he considers himself to be a premier, first draft, first pick, wrestler. He's not Hogan, he's not Flair - if he's out, he's out on his own terms, and if he comes back, he'll come back on his own terms, and not because a second tier wrestling company is desperately offering wads of loose change. If we see CM Punk in any other wrestling company other than the WWE, I'd only expect to see him in ROH due to his ties there (I don't think he'll consider his brief fling with TNA, the highlight of which was a pre-show brawl with another wrestler, much of a connection).

CM Punk in TNA will have to remain in either fanboys' dreams, or in a created in-game storyline - which will ironically be done so on WWE 2K15.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Is there a source for that Hogan number? That's an insane amount of money for such little work!

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

TNA would be foolish not to make the offer; CM Punk would be foolish to accept.

TNA needs a star to sell to a new network, which right now they don't really have locked in place (either star or network.) Offering someone a large contract doesn't necessarily mean they've signed a network deal, because the offer could easily be made contingent on TNA receiving said network deal.

Correct, if TNA are able to make an offer to CM Punk, then they would be insane not to do so. He's undoubtably the biggest start in wrestling still able to perform at his best and currently unnattached to any company. With the broken-down Kurt Angle's contract expiring then that frees up a high wage that could be used to bring Punk in (if he was interested). It would definitely get TNA alot of publicity and encourage casual fans to swich over- as well as loyal CM Punk fans.

However, Punk likes to think of himself as the Best In The World, and the BITW doesn't appear on the B-Show, especially a B-Show that's struggling to survive. If he returns to wrestling, it will almost certainly be with WWE, or in ROH (which although small, is where he honed his craft), it won't be with TNA.

That's all assuming this offer wasn't made for the sake of saying an offer was made. There are no headlines coming out of TNA these days.

I could see this being the case. TNA have tried to capitalise on things happening within WWE before, and could quite easily have made a substantial offer to Punk while knowing he almost certainly wouldn't accept, just to try and create a bit of a buzz about the product and company in the hope that a few more people will tune in. I certainly wouldn't put that past Mrs Carter.

 

[Rusty]

Look, good on TNA for attempting to lure a big star, even if it has almost no chance of happening.

If this somehow DID actually happen, it would only temporarily increase ratings for the show, before fans get tired of the same old shit they've been watching for years. Their entire business model/creative work has to change. They already have a solid roster for a second rate company, they just have no idea how to utilise them in a product that will be compelling to watch. And in my opinion, it's such a shame because if there was any time TNA would want to produce the best product available, it's right now, where the WWE is struggling to keep viewers interested, and people like myself want to watch a regular weekly show that intrigues me. And no ROH ain't an option because that's more for the hardcore fans.

With that being said, TNA is better with Punk than without him, that fact cannot be denied.

 

[Mustang Sally]

.... and how many "men" does TNA have these days?

That's the point; can you imagine the bad will TNA would create within it's own organization if they signed Punk, thereby destroying the sensible salary structure they've spent so much time creating by getting rid of the Hogan-like contracts and losing the great performers (ex. AJ Styles) whom they would have loved to keep.....but not at their existing salaries?

Then, in comes Punk who makes as much as the rest of the roster combined? It would add up to one unhappy group of people, no?

All along, I've presumed Phil Brooks' misery stemmed from differences in the amount of creative control WWE would give him, as opposed to what he wanted. ("If they'd just do everything my way, the company would reach new heights!") The only reason I can think of him joining TNA is the possibility they'd agree to give him unlimited power.

At the same time, he's probably smart enough to understand that it never works that way in reality; that essentially turning the creative department over to him (not only for his character, but the company as a whole) would spur dissension throughout the organization that could decimate it.

No, I believe TNA figured it would give signing Punk the old college try.....never really expecting anything to come of it. That Punk rebuffed them is probably best for everyone involved.

 

[shafe_41]

Punk doesn't need to work and he knows it. Sure Punk and WWE obviously split on some pretty bad terms, TNA may seem pretty appealing. But Punk is also a pretty smart guy. He's not going to rattle Vince's cage any more than it already is no matter how much Punk wants to make you believe he doesn't care if he ever goes back to WWE. Punk's not dumb enough to accept that offer from TNA. Especially when the people that work for TNA now constantly had trouble getting paid. It's that simple. He's not going to tarnish his name and legacy in TNA because he's not that desperate for money.

I do have to shake the hand of TNA though for actually reaching out and making an offer. It shows they're trying. But I don't blame Punk for rejecting.

 

[Duality777]

CM Punk can have, if he never does anything else in the public eye again, the legacy of being that guy that said fuck it while he was on top, walked out, and went on to live the rest of his life care free and happy on the money he smartly saved. Going to TNA would completely ruin this legacy and turn him into another ex WWE guy who won't be able to "fix TNA".... it would be a stupid move... if he cares about such things.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

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Wow.

You'd have to imagine if this is true, TNA's television deal has got to be set, and just not announced yet, because Hogan was reportedly pulling in $35K per episode, totally nearly $2M by the end of the calendar year.

As it stands, if my memory serves, Angle is the highest paid star on the roster currently, and with his deal up, they could conceivably be using that money to award to Punk.

Oh my, they truly haven't learn from they're errors haven't they?

And I talk as a person that really enjoyed that really liked TNA even when people where bashing it.

At this point I'd have gave up with them though and them yet again try to dump truckload of money into an ex-WWE rather than trying to homegrow their own or maybe aquire some solid indie guys to repackage, just confirms my feeling.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Oh my, they truly haven't learn from they're errors haven't they?

And I talk as a person that really enjoyed that really liked TNA even when people where bashing it.

At this point I'd have gave up with them though and them yet again try to dump truckload of money into an ex-WWE rather than trying to homegrow their own or maybe aquire some solid indie guys to repackage, just confirms my feeling.

I get what you're saying, but in a way I would disagree in this way. If you have chance to sign a top guy in his prime you try. If Mike Trout left the Angels would you blame another team for trying to pick him up? I doubt it. The thing is that TNA had to make this move. It makes total sense, homegrown or not Punk is a talent. No one ever said WWF shouldn't sign Steve Austin because he wasn't home grown.... You have to take that chance as you could build a show around punk where as an angel or hogan can't do that anymore. So yeah you need to try.

 

[Weems2k]

When the source of this suppose news is the Wrestling Observer with Fat Madden's butt boy Meltzer; I can't really take it seriously. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they intentially made it up just for some cheap web clicks.

If Punk were to actually sign, and take TNA to new heights, then you can't deny him of being the Best in the World since he did what nobody else before him ever could.

 

[Raysvan]

Punk will not sign for the Bush league promotion of TNA. If he decides to wrestle again it will be in the only promo that can afford him WWE.

Why would Punk risk his Wife's career by signing for a "competing" promotion. Punk was, like most fans were, sick and tired of seeing wrestlers who deserved a shot getting screwed over for part timers. In my opinion anyway.

 

[Slash-LN]

Punk will not sign for the Bush league promotion of TNA. If he decides to wrestle again it will be in the only promo that can afford him WWE.

Why would Punk risk his Wife's career by signing for a "competing" promotion. Punk was, like most fans were, sick and tired of seeing wrestlers who deserved a shot getting screwed over for part timers. In my opinion anyway.

Charlotte works in WWE and her husband Bram works in TNA. I don't see either company punishing them for where their spouse works.

Is it different with AJ and Punk just because of how popular the two are?

On topic though I 100% couldn't see Punk going to TNA. Especially when he left on bad terms. He seems to me to be a guy that would hold a grudge. That's just speculation on my part though.

 

[ABMorales787]

Punk will not sign for the Bush league promotion of TNA. If he decides to wrestle again it will be in the only promo that can afford him WWE.

Why would Punk risk his Wife's career by signing for a "competing" promotion. Punk was, like most fans were, sick and tired of seeing wrestlers who deserved a shot getting screwed over for part timers. In my opinion anyway.

Good thing it's just your opinion then. Cause people too low on the totem pole were getting World titles like candy up until he left.

As for him in TNA, if he really wants to change wrestling like he loved to claim he would, this is his chance. Because it's proven he's not gonna jack shit in WWE.

 

[Trill Co$by]

You never know what could happen. Chris Jericho said once that when he left WWE years ago, he was close (very close) to signing with TNA before Bischoff signed. He said that with the young talent getting the spotlight, he wouldn't have minded leading that charge. Would've definitely fit in well with MEM or the Frontline. But as fate would have it, Jericho decided that he wanted to do music and only music at the time so he declined.

That being said, I'm pretty sure CM Punk (having been TO TNA) would definitely decline the offer. I'm not so sure him declining though is the question we should be asking, nor is it how much was he offered. I think we should be wondering how interesting of a contract was it for CM Punk, and would he have said yes to it at a different time. I firmly believe that if TNA were a little healthier, he wouldn't have minded accepting the contract.

Also, I am a firm believer that TNA did this knowing full well that CM Punk would decline. Why would they do something like that? Because it's no secret they need somewhere to go in January. Flaunting around some cash to convince a network that you can hold up your own end of an investment isn't a bad idea. If TNA can show WGN (for example) that they can afford someone like CM Punk, or at least make a viable offer, then WGN will be more likely to go into a deal with them.

 

[Lowdown]

I'll admit that I've never been a CM Punk fan; just never dug the guy or his appeal. But at the same time the man has mass appeal. I highly doubt he's considering coming to TNA, but if he does it could be huge. Keep in mind I said "could be". There was hoopla all over the place when Hogan arrived four years ago, and we know how that turned out.

 

[Ric 'The Nature Boy' Flair]

I like punk,come back to WWE!

 

[lowandmighty]

I wish someone like CM Punk did go to TNA and they got a couple of other well known and mildly talented people from WWE like Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.

We might then actually get some interesting times back in wrestling. they need to get rid of that 6 sided ring though, seriously.

 

[TDFG]

The story has gotten TNA a bit of news at a time when they have nothing really happening, so that in itself is good for TNA.

Apparently CM Punks has enough $$$ to live without worry for the rest of his life so it's unlikely that he'll return to wrestling let alone TNA.

The only reason I would ever see him taking an offer like this with TNA would be to top up his bank account with a relatively easy schedule. Punk vs Roode, Storm, Aries = all quality matches.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that CM Punk is one of the very, very, very few guys in wrestling that could come to TNA and, even in the short term, make some sort of impact in terms of growing the audience. Because of that, getting Punk on the roster MIGHT be a deciding factor in nailing down a new TV deal.

It could be something of a gamble because there's ultimately no way of knowing whether not Punk would be able to help grow TNA's audience in the long run. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that people could tune in for a while, see what the initial details are gonna be, how Punk's gonna be used and then steadily begin drifting away or turn away in droves until they're ultimately back where they were. On one hand, if the audience did go back to normal after Punk's presence helped secure a new TV deal, it would've at least bought TNA some valuable time. On the other hand, TNA would be right back in the same boat they've been in numerous times before: left with the pressure generated by TV network honchos of growing the audience without really knowing what to do or where to go.

If I remember correctly, Hogan was making $30,000 per appearance for TNA and that's a hefty price tag for them. If Punk was on TV each week, even if he didn't wrestle each week on the show or work house shows, plus the 4 ppvs they produce, it'd come to $1,680,000. In the long run, IF Punk accepted but was ultimately unable to help move TNA to another level in terms of the size of its audience, it might not be an investment that's worth it. After all, TNA's gone down the road of shelling out big money to big name stars without ultimately having too much to show for it in the long run lots of times.