The D'Amore Drop: CM Punk's WWE final act has been amazing. Enjoy it while you can

Yahoo

22-05-2025

The D'Amore Drop is a recurring guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
It's another huge wrestling weekend! In addition to the usual Friday night television, we have WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event, and then, on Sunday, AEW takes one of its big pay-per-views — Double or Nothing — to Arizona for the first time.
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While All In is presented as AEW's version of WrestleMania, to me Double or Nothing is the cornerstone of the company's mythology — the event in 2019 where Tony Khan and the biggest names outside WWE came together and put on one of the most spectacular shows in years.
For me, Double or Nothing — the act of gambling, risking it all to gain it all — is a Las Vegas show, but I understand that AEW is looking to grow elsewhere and that the Vegas market has had barely a month to recover from WrestleMania.
The match I cannot wait for is Will Ospreay vs. Hangman Page in the Owen Hart Cup Final. The winner gets a world title shot at All In this July in Arlington, Texas.
That winner — of both the Owen Hart Cup and the All In title match — must be Will Ospreay.
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I've called him a generational talent before, and I'll say it again: Will is the future of AEW and, perhaps, this industry.
There's a lot of online chatter about the merits of what Will says when he's put on the spot with questions about WWE. But let me tell you: Will is a man of integrity.
He is the man who honored a handshake commitment to appear at TNA in January 2024, when most people would have begged off the minute they got a big AEW (or WWE) deal. When I called him, he was confused why I was checking if he still wanted to do the match. He already said he would, he explained to me, so of course he'd still do the match.
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Since arriving in AEW a year ago, he's made others look good, he's paid dues, he's even taken losses.
That all needs to end now.
No disrespect to Hangman Page — he's a hell of a talent — but Ospreay's time is now. The crowd knows it. AEW knows it. The business knows it.
AEW is on the rise once more — ratings are up, HBO Max is buzzing, buildings are filling again. If you're going to crown someone new, someone who can lead you into this next chapter. It has to be Will.
Is this Will Ospreay's year to become AEW World Champion? (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The two women's matches: Mercades Mone vs. Jamie Hayter (the Women's Owen Cup finale) and Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa showcase how AEW is growing the division.
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Mone challenging Storm is going to be a great program this summer.
Nothing has been said publicly, but Ace Austin's contract with TNA is up. It is amicable — Ace has been there since he was barely out of his teens. I signed him, and everything he's shown since confirmed that Ace Austin becoming a massive star is, indeed, 'inevitable.'
He's ready for that next chapter. I think it is time Ace Austin goes all in on proving he's one of the best.
Also this weekend is the latest WWE Saturday Night's Main Event.
John Cena vs. R-Truth, aka Ron Killings, is a fun match where John, in his final year, gets to work with someone he's had amazing chemistry with for decades.
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WWE is smart to have this be a non-title match, as no one would buy that Cena's final run as champ ends vs. Killings.
But really, the match at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event I am most interested in is CM Punk and Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins. To me, this is the hottest storyline in WWE, in part because we already know it's going to be an epic, year(s)-long storyline with the best minds in the biz giving it every bit of thought and attention.
As much as I enjoy the other three, the man who has captured my attention here is CM Punk.
Phil Brooks turns 47 years old this fall. Time has almost caught him, and this amazing run he's on in the WWE will be over all too soon. Every time he's out there, despite him never breaking character, you can see Phil behind CM Punk's eyes, just taking it all in.
CM Punk and Paul Heyman make their entrance during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
(WWE via Getty Images)
It wasn't a well-kept secret that I tried to sign Phil to TNA after things with AEW fell apart. I knew it was a long shot, I knew I was asking him to work in smaller arenas than he had in a long time.
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He listened; he was interested. He never 'big-timed' TNA once, and he conducted himself the way we'd all wish a professional would. Ultimately, he went back to WWE, which of course is where he belongs.
CM Punk's 10-year journey back to WWE has been healing not just for Phil, but also, like kids caught up in a messy divorce, for all those fans who love both WWE and Punk and hated seeing them take shots at the other.
This return could not have gone better (injury be damned). Every time he's out there, I feel myself willing him to do his absolute best.
Following on from that, it is uniquely pro-wrestling for fans to chant — in the middle of the show, and to the performer, not the character — 'You deserve it!'
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Wrestling fans are the best!
As someone who put years of blood, sweat and tears into TNA, it is surreal to note the TNA World Title will be defended on a WWE show — NXT Battleground — on Sunday.
(Battleground goes head to head with AEW's pay-per-view. Funny how that happens.)
Joe Hendry continues to make 2025 the year to believe. My friend Jeff Kavanaugh, known in the industry as Drumboy, told me years ago that his favorite wrestler — a Scottish kid who sang his own entrance theme — was heading to Canada. I went to see this Scottish kid — and when the time was right, was very happy to bring him to TNA.
It's weird to have the feeling that you knew Joe could be huge, but at the same time constantly be surprised by just how good he does with every opportunity he gets. Joe vs. Trick Williams will be great this weekend.