CM Punk quitting AEW was speculated as a possibility backstage according to FightfulSelect.com. One AEW source said ‘threats have been levied’ and rumors spread Punk may have stayed home for the August 17th AEW Dynamite.
Punk had issues with Hangman Page’s promos about him in May, and his call out was seen as a receipt, and was not planned or meant to set up a match or storyline. Punk reportedly said he refused to lose to Page back in May before Double or Nothing.
Sylvester Stallone has had ties with pro wrestling that dates back a long time. The Hollywood megastar is set to enter his fifth decade as an accomplished movie star. His newest blockbuster, Samaritan, will be released later this month, featuring a role that welcomes Stallone back into the world of action films.
Sylvester Stallone opens up on his ties with pro wrestling
Samaritan marks the latest piece of acting for Stallone. Samaritan is a story about the fighting spirit. The trailer aired during WWE’s SummerSlam event on Peacock, fitting considering that pro wrestling is also a world that depicts good versus evil. As a longtime fan dating back to the glory days of Bruno Sammartino, the pro wrestling realm helped shape Stallone’s storytelling in films, including Samaritan.
“I love wrestling,” Stallone said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “It’s all about getting swept up in the drama.”
“There’s a passion for that world, big time,” Stallone says. “People like Bruno Sammartino, those are people that helped forge my personality and my outlook on life. Bruno, Gorgeous George, [bodybuilder/actor] Steve Reeves, [boxer] Rocky Marciano—especially Rocky Marciano.
“I love wrestling’s mythic qualities. I made my daughters watch wrestling—I wanted them to watch for the story.”
Stallone had worked with WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan when the latter was cast as Thunderlips in the 1982 hit Rocky III, a breakout performance for the man who was on the verge of taking wrestling to new heights. Before that, Stallone wrote, directed and starred in the ’78 film Paradise Alley, a story set in the 1940s about three brothers in Hell’s Kitchen who became involved in pro wrestling. It featured wrestling great Terry Funk, as well as cameos from Ted DiBiase, Dick Murdoch, Dory Funk Jr., Dennis Stamp, Ray Stevens and Haku.
Stallone is well aware of the psychology of pro wrestling, and he also relates to the countless number of wrestling stars that have never received full credit for their lengthy accomplishments in the ring:
“I understand what goes into it,” Stallone says. “I hear people say it’s not real. Really? Gravity is real. Jumping off the top rope or having 300 pounds landing on you, that’s real.
“I feel the same way about action films. They’ve been submerged in sort of a dismissive sort of genre. Like, ‘Oh, it’s an action film.’ All I know is I’ve had maybe 31 operations due to action films, so I consider it very real. Wrestling, it has nothing to do with who’s scoring a touchdown,” Stallone says. “It’s entertainment. It’s not meant to be ‘The score is now 14–3.’ It’s a morality play, all about the drama. That’s what it’s all about.”
Samaritan is set to be released on 26 August.
