CM Punk’s Future In UFC, Lilian Garcia, TNA On POP TV, & More

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such classic columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan in Less Than a Minute” and October 2015’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.”

Before getting started, my buddy Matt is looking to raise money and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis, so please take a second out of your day to check out all the information here:

http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/38_Gateway_St_Louis?px=2424373&pg=personal&fr_id=4925

This is your last week to donate!

Reader Feedback

Blodger42: “Hi, I’m Justin Watry.”

Stopped reading there.

You’ve been reading me for years and will continue to do so. Enjoy the comment section and those lovely upvotes…

Caliber_”Nickname”_Winfield: To those that said they didn’t read the column, he did say he wouldn’t write for 411 for a month if his friend’s donation deal got $100 worth of donations in the next 7 days.

Yep, and all the big mouths donated absolutely jack. Zippo. Nada. Clowned around in the comment section and did absolutely nothing to a) get rid of me and b) help out a great cause. Color me surprised there was all talk and no action…as expected. Yet another check mark in my win column, which is unfortunate because this was one of the rare instances where I was hoping to be proven wrong. Ah well.

DerrickCannon: Despite what a few of the regular Watry trashers are saying this was an incredible column. Everyday in life is an incredible gift. If you have the chance to witness an act such as Prince or Chyna, or anyone who gives their all to entertain us week after week, month after month, year after year, if there is a way to witness them go as you never know what could possibly happen the day after. This is non column related but a few years ago my sister fell off a bus and broke her back, fortunately she is fine and able to do many of the activities that she did in the past. I am incredibly thankful to have her as a part of my life, and never take life for granted. Life is the greatest gift and something to be treasured, Enjoy the relationships, the joys in life, the days and months and years that you are given, as curve balls can always be thrown and what is here now might not be here the next day.

Thank you for sharing this. Hope your sister is doing well.

Michael L: This was actually a pretty good column that highlights why you should always take chances to see someone you like when you can because you never know when that opportunity will no longer be available.

Agreed. Relating to wrestling, it is why sometimes we should be thankful for ‘hotshot booking.’ If you play a slow burn and let it simmer for months, who know what could happen? It is not always ideal and/or the best decision, but if you have the chance to do something NOW…just do it.

Steamy Ray Vaughn: I don’t get it, why did Chyna’s death have to teach us that? She’s not the first, nor the last celebrity death. How many wrestlers have died in the last 10 years? Why did this particular one got you thinking?

Re-read the column then – you clearly missed it. My buddy was a big fan of Chyna, and we planned to see her a few months ago but passed it up last minute.

AG Awesome: I hate missing out on stuff and try to enjoy life as often as I can. No regrets. However sometimes financial or other matters step in and stop it from happening. I’m still torn about whether or not to see Meat Loaf’s current tour. He isn’t what he once was, but sometimes that doesn’t matter when you’re actually there in the moment.

I would do anything to see Meat Loaf live in concert, but I won’t do THAT!

Rowlf: Homer Simpson: “You’re right, Marge. Just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, “I’ll go a little later, I’ll go a little later…” And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he’ll ever come back again, he said he didn’t know. Well, I’m never going to let something like that happen again!”

“I’m going into space right now!”

Backstory

Originally, the plan was to write another look at the difference between casual and diehard wrestling fans. However, that stalled and will be postponed. Maybe in a week or two. Instead, in a late scramble, the always reliable news cycle gave me plenty of material to ramble on about, so this will be a random thoughts style column. Nothing too exciting or bold – just my thoughts on a few of the major stories…

CM Punk Not Progressing Well As An MMA Fighter

The Wrestling Observer gave us a nice update on the CM Punk/UFC saga over the weekend. For those unaware, he has been signed for well over a year now, is currently out injured, and still has no debut date announced. On top of that, the new story is he is not progressing well as an MMA fighter and with each passing day, the big publicity stunt signing from 2014 loses its appeal. Pretty much sums it up, huh?

“In this world especially, a lot of people take themselves too seriously, and I know I certainly don’t.”

– CM Punk, February 2016 interview

A laughable quote in and of itself, but here is what I wrote about CM Punk signing with UFC the week it was made official. From December 9th, 2014, right in the middle of the big ‘Punk rips WWE’ lovefest:

Besides being shocked and stunned by the initial news, a few things jumped out at me right away:

1. No Agenda, Huh? – Perfect timing doing the interviews with Colt Cabana, releasing your new t-shirts, and then signing with UFC all in a row. Obviously, this was in the works for awhile. Clearly. It is why I wrote last week it was laughable that the interviews were supposedly just for ‘fun’ and ‘no agendas’ involved. Please! Colt got attention for his podcast, Punk gets big t-shirt money, and now UFC has the buzz going forward with this news. No knock on the guys – I said it was brilliant timing last week, but there is always an ‘agenda’ with these things. Now we know what it was.

2. Politics! – Dana White has made some pretty ridiculous quotes in the past about NOT signing guys from other promotions because they have not fought anybody worthwhile or have just defeated tomato cans. Um Dana, remind me again who CM Punk has fought. Imagine the MMA fighters out there who UFC has turned down that actually have scratched and clawed for years busting their butts for a contract…but Punk is friends with Dana White, so he gets signed. Riiiight. Heck, even current UFC stars are speaking out against this, and I can not blame them. Pretty transparent and blatant money grab. They have every right to be upset. At least Brock Lesnar was younger, had a wrestling background, and had fought MMA elsewhere before UFC signed him. Oh, but Punk does not play politics! No, not him. He hates part-timers and guys who skip ahead of the hard working crew. Funny how that all changes when it benefits you, huh? Only mean old Vince McMahon and Triple H are the big poopy heads who help their favorites. Everybody, EVERYBODY plays politics folks, including the beloved internet darling CM Punk…

3. Desperation? – UFC has faced a huge amount of injuries during the past year or so. Suspensions too. Their pay-per-view numbers have gone down, interest has decreased because of the 384,475 shows they run nowadays, and the company is desperate for a “name” fighter. The Brock Lesnar rumors fit into this as well. You thought the Kimbo Slice stuff was a publicity stunt? Dana White has always said UFC would never go the ‘freak show’ route. Well, welcome to a pro wrestling styled UFC. I can already picture Colt Cabana walking down the ramp with CM Punk with Cult of Personality playing. Hey at least he can wear those Slim Jim sponsored shorts now, right? CM Punk was available, and desperate times call for desperate measures, and that means bringing in a former WWE Champion who is 36 years old with a beat up body and not one single MMA fight on his resume. Makes sense from the financial side, even if it does reek big time.

4. Health Issues, Huh? – Punk just listed all these health concerns, concussion history, complained about Ryback being unsafe to work with (which I do not believe and is borderline slanderous with his accusations), and now he is getting in the octagon. For real fights! Am I understanding this correctly? Is he going to tell the fighters not to kick him tooooo hard? Will he demand to be in the UFC main event as part of the contract or else the pain may not be worth it? Seriously. You know, I thought I was a little critical on his Art of Wrestling interview last week. However, the more I read, the more I think I was dead on with my thoughts. None of this is adding up. As noted above, something reeks big time with all of this.

5. Cold Hard Facts – Ultimately, here are the facts: CM Punk is 36 years old and will be closer to 37 years old by the time he fights. He had had concussion issues (according to his own words). He has not had ONE single professional MMA fight ever, and now he is signing with UFC. Those are the facts. Excuse me if I am a tad bit skeptical over Dana White even doing this in the first place, much less the slim chance this equals long-term success minus a few big paydays/PPV buy rates and then a quick CM Punk UFC retirement.

Another W in the ‘Watry may actually know what he is talking about’ column.

Look, all joking aside, I am NOT going to shut the door on his future fighting in the UFC. A lot of folks are probably shoveling dirt on his ‘career’ choice but not me. Not yet. If this type of thing keeps up, then yeah, it isn’t looking good for even ONE fight. Much less the multiple fights Punk recently said would take place.

The issue, like most things, comes down to ego. Punk can’t really quit the UFC because that would basically confirm what his doubters assumed from the beginning. Yet, if Punk is not progressing well and is being led to the slaughter house for his one and likely only UFC fight…well, then that would confirm what his doubters assumed from the beginning. Stuck between a rock and hard place. For Punk’s sake, I hope he does improve, win his UFC debut, and shut up the critics. It would be a fun story and give me another “I Was Wrong” column to write. Until then, we wait…

…and wait.

POP TV Drops The TNA Impact Wrestling Replay

Wait, you mean chucking their replay from Tuesday night to Saturday morning wasn’t a good idea? You mean viewers didn’t tune in?

No way.

Next thing you are going to tell me Destination America is unhappy with less than 300,000 viewers or something.

I mean POP TV.

Yeah, totally different. You know, they care about TNA, support them, and back them 100% for their network. Says 2014 and 2015 history.

TNA is what it is at the moment. The investor/sale junk appears to have died down a bit, but then the late pay rumors return! It just never ends. No wonder Bobby Roode, AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Eric Young, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, and many others fled. Poor James Storm. The viewership numbers are not going anywhere (down without a replay actually), their magical India tour is happening *sometime* in 2016 apparently, and their tapings are still for free in the Impact Zone with no touring live events on the schedule…but I am just a ‘ blind hater’ and know nothing. Cool.

TMZ Releases More Information On Chyna’s Death

I agree with fans that think TMZ should just move on from this story now. However, I disagree that the new posts are not newsworthy. People, not me, ripped WWE for years for not bringing her back – constantly blaming the decision on her adult film past. I, using my brain, said it was for a million other reasons – NOT what movies she made. Well, love it or hate it, TMZ is the one coming through with the clear evidence showing just why WWE was absolutely in the right here. Sorry folks, but just like the Daniel Bryan/concussion stuff, WWE knew what was going on…

WWE Releases Rumor

Kind of a rule of thumb I tend to follow is to NOT comment on certain situations. If you read my Jay’s Ways column, you will know there are often scoops in there long before they are reported. Same with my @JustinWatry Twitter account. Yet, in some instances, I hold back. Not really my place to name names and wish people get fired from their jobs. The latest WWE release rumors is one of the those cases where I just shut up.

Well, since Lilian Garcia herself has now commented on the rumor, it is out in the open. Here are my two cents:

First off, kudos to Court Bauer for owning his mistake. I don’t listen to his radio show or even know his credentials, but two thumbs up on that. Far too many people and websites just report junk and then don’t issue an apology or retraction days later. Seems like an obvious and fair thing but is a rarity unfortunately. Credit to Court for at least apologizing. Hopefully, others do the same in the future.

@JustinWatry @BigMoby97 @nodqdotcom I feel awful getting something so big so wrong during already trying times for @LilianGarcia. ?

— Court Bauer (@courtbauer) May 14, 2016

Secondly, Lilian Garcia’s name has popped up in recent weeks in terms of release rumors – long before this past weekend. Not one but TWO girls are doing more ring announcing these days. Plus, an expiring contract looms in early 2017 for the veteran. Eden and JoJo are patiently awaiting their turn. It is not exactly a bold assumption to leap to conclusions looking ahead, even without any inside sources giving out information. That is why when everybody else was freaking out Friday night, I withheld comment.

Not going to comment on the latest #WWE release rumor…until it is confirmed and all the details are reported. Correctly.

— Justin Watry (@JustinWatry) May 14, 2016

Thirdly, and most importantly – read the entire statement from Lilian Garcia. Read it word for word.

Wow, so many rumors going around about whether I have been released from the WWE. Here is the full REAL story! https://t.co/BgyRq8j7Dd

— Lilian Garcia (@LilianGarcia) May 14, 2016

Notice anything?

She never actually denied anything.

I mean, kinda…

Her father is battling cancer, so WWE gave her time off and have been extremely kind in checking up on the situation (even calling daily according to Pro Wrestling Sheet). That is fine, and we all wish her family the best, but there was zero mentions of a possible future release, an expiring deal in six months, or anything else for that matter. Just that she was off television currently for family issues.

Long story short, Court was definitely in the wrong here to say something. Blame it on his source or whoever you want; he was the one who said it. However, I don’t think this is an open and shut case as it appears now. Perhaps a few wires were crossed and somebody jumped the gun a tad early? Eden and JoJo are sitting there on the roster, and Lilian HAS left WWE before to pursue other endeavors. You never know.

*still a sad moment and one of the more emotional farewells in WWE history*

On a personal note, I am a fan of Lilian Garcia. Let me make that clear. Who cares if she screws up once in awhile? Who cares about that dud of a feud with Howard Finkel? Seriously, none of us are perfect. She is great at her job, and I still remember years ago sitting outside in the freezing Wisconsin cold after a WWE show waiting for the wrestlers to leave in their cars hoping for a picture, an autographs, ANYTHING! It was the usual freezing weather, so the WWE Superstars just ran from the backstage area to their cars and left. Heck, most had somebody come out first to warm up their vehicles for 5-10 minutes beforehand. I understood it. They had the next town to hit, and who wanted to be out in the cold? Trust me, I get it.

Well, one person stopped. Just one.

It was Lilian Garcia.

She was the only WWE talent to come over (wearing a dress under her jacket) and sign autographs for us. It was such a small gesture, but we had waited for awhile and saw wrestler after wrestler leave. Lilian stopped for us, and no, she wasn’t the big main eventer or champion on the card that evening. However, in that moment, she was our champion…

…and believe it or not, the story doesn’t end there.

A year later, the exact same thing happened when WWE returned to Wisconsin. Lilian Garcia did it again. She was the only one to stop and sign autographs on her way out that night as well. It was as shocking as it was heart warming. Forget all the jokes and cynicism about her ring announcing. That’s who she is as a person, and I will always appreciate that.

Self Promotion

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