CM Punk and MJF's first time going head-to-head on the microphone didn't disappoint.
On Wednesday, November 24, CM Punk and MJF opened AEW Dynamite with a 20-minute segment that saw the two men trade insults that referenced other performers such as The Miz, John Cena, and Triple H.
On the latest episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry, who works for AEW as an on-screen personality and coach, shared his thoughts on the promo battle, saying he doesn't think we'll ever see anything like it ever again.
"Guys, I teased you all before the break and said I was going to say something that I've never said on this show," Henry began by saying. "There will never be another promo like that one. That was a special moment that we'll never see again. Our kids may see one, but that was one of the most special wrestling moments in history. I say that because, as a kid, I've seen some great promo artists; Roddy Piper, Ted DiBiase, The Rock. You can go into hundreds of guys that we thought were pretty good on the stick, but never has there been two guys at the same damn time have a battle of wits that touched on things that were so real that we likely will not have those type of moments again. The number one zinger that was said wasn't even in that promo that you all [SiriusXM] cut. The number one zinger of all time was CM Punk telling MJF, 'The only way that you'll ever be number one is if Tony Khan has a daughter and you marry her.'"
Henry continued on, sharing that everyone in the back was reacting to every line. He says that he's never seen anything like it before. He said the following:
"Bro, I was so unbelievably amazed. I started off at the monitor. I'm sitting at the monitor, there's thirty wrestlers sitting around that area. Everybody's popping, 'Oh! Oh!' If you're popping wrestlers, you've done something in your life. You won. I had to get up and walk out to the crowd to feel it because that's why people go to wrestling. People go to wrestling because of how you feel, not just because you want to be entertained. There is true to life emotional investment. You want to feel it. That's one of the reasons why AEW is so popular right now is because the crowd feels like they have a role in what they're seeing and they do. They absolutely do. I got to go out there and it felt like electricity moving my clothes, one zinger to another. One zinger back and forth. The city of Chicago, everybody that was there, they'll get to tell people for the rest of their lives, 'I was at that show where CM Punk and MJF went toe-to-toe, a battle of wits for over twenty minutes.' Not one punch connected and it was arguably the best verbal jousting that I've ever seen. I've watched segments of Wild 'N Out, I've watched all of the rap battles, back and forth, 8 Mile didn't have nothing on that on Wednesday. You cannot tell me that you have ever seen two human beings go back and forth like we saw. It never happened."
Though there has been plenty of incredible in-ring action to enjoy across all promotions, The Worlds Strongest Man added that "I have not seen a match [this year] that entertained me as much as that."
As for the reaction backstage, including his own, Henry said he had to get up and leave the building after what he had just heard.
"You know what, man, I really do think that people recognized it. There were people jumping up out of their chairs and running in circles. Grown-ups. Grown-ass people jumping out of their chairs, standing in one place and -- These are wrestlers, might I add. It's hard to pop a wrestler. I'm just wondering, how do you follow that up? That's the question.You always want to leave somewhere to go. You don't ever put somebody in a hold in wrestling, one on one, that's impossible to get out of unless it's over. That almost seemed like an impossible hold to me. It was so fucking good. Something I've never seen before. How do you follow that? Please tell me. Are they going to make up a match? They have to make up a match. I got to see a match between MJF and CM Punk that I never saw. Invent it. But I'm serious, that's the standard.
Man, listen, that was Christmas to me. I don't want nothing. I don't want nothing. Don't buy me nothing. Don't send me a Christmas card. I don't want another gas card or a sandwich shop card. Don't give me shit. I got my Christmas present on Wednesday. I was captivated. I was more than captivated, I couldn't even go and talk to them. You know what I did? I threw my hands up and walked out the damn building. I watched the rest of the show on my phone. I couldn't even be in that environment no more. That's how incredible Wednesday was."
If you missed anything from AEW Dynamite, you can catch up by checking out Fightful's live coverage and post-show review.
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