Sports
MJF vs. CM Punk is the Feud That Can Elevate AEW to a New Level
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
AEW All Out’s main event on Sunday night featuring CM Punk and Jon Moxley got the promotion back on track with an unexpected twist:
The return of MJF and more importantly, the long-awaited standoff between MJF and CM Punk.
CM Punk predictably got the win in Chicago after a very unpredictable (and polarizing) path back to the AEW World Championship in the wake of his injury and amid the MJF-Tony Khan standoff.
AEW masterfully wrapped it all up in the closing moments of the event. A Hollywood-level promo explained everything before and after the big reveal and return.
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MJF MAKES HIS RETURN TO @AEW 🚨pic.twitter.com/EiJf4CiR5K
In short, the obviously-MJF figure who won the Casino Ladder match earlier that same night storywise was even in the match because of behind-the-scenes bartering with Tony Khan himself.
In the “leaked” voicemail, Khan promised to pay his disgruntled superstar a lump sum, put him in that high-stakes match and most important of all: He agreed not to force MJF to sign an extension.
That’s the most important storytelling aspect that might get passed over on first glance. Amid rumors of a serious real-life gap between MJF and the promotion, he hasn’t been seen since early June after cutting a reality-blending promo on Khan and leaving.
Astute fans, of course, easily picked up on the parallels between MJF’s situation and CM Punk’s past woes in places like WWE. Punk’s ill-timed injury that derailed this feud and the likely “Summer of Punk 2.0” put MJF in this weird purgatory where AEW didn’t want to just up and use him in anything else.
But if AEW was going to attempt to re-capture the stunning momentum of the obvious main-event scene between the two, it needed to do so with a bang.
Sunday night was that, in emphatic fashion. There was no hand-waving MJF’s presence in the ladder match as just pro wrestling things, which respects the fans. Even better, it’s clear what MJF has described as “the bidding war of 2024” will still very much take center stage in this feud now that Khan has agreed not to force a contract extension.
Meaning, where AEW’s main-event scene goes from here might be the most captivating thing in pro wrestling today. There’s no better pairing of mic workers and storytellers, for one. And two, we’ve got MJF working with Stokely Hathaway, which if nothing else, could perhaps give Wardlow something interesting to do after MJF’s real-world drama appeared to derail his push.
And if there’s one thing AEW has been very, very good at so far, it’s those long-term storylines. The plight and rise of the homegrown “Hangman” Adam Page remains the top example. This new saga about to unfold takes a veteran Punk who sees a younger version of himself in MJF and lets it simmer. And the challenger for the title, while a pillar of AEW itself, is only 26 years old and an actual generational free agent in the industry. Rest assured WWE would trip over itself to add him—any promotion would at any cost. And just remember, nothing’s impossible after Cody Rhodes went back.
None of this is to say the journey here was perfect. The strange injury angle a few weeks ago where Punk lost to Moxley in a matter of seconds remains an odd decision. Punk came back a week later and had a weird pick-me-up interaction.
Narrative-wise, it was impossible to imagine Punk would lose again, especially in Chicago. The match was fine, with Moxley impressively getting his own chants in Punk’s hometown, of all places and times. We’re also going to have to talk about the fact both Moxley and then MJF got chants there, which could always eventually be cause for Punk to be the one who works the heel role if fans side with MJF’s plight against the machine itself.
But more importantly, AEW ducked that mentioned narrative issue and avoided cliche things like MJF simply interfering in the main event itself.
The result is a very critical course correction for AEW at the most important of times with WWE suddenly on the rise with Triple H head of creative.
Just like at the start of the summer when this feud was clearly the play, AEW has a potentially all-timer of a feud on its hands given the performers and depth of the storyline potential.
In a way, the name of the event—All Out—is perfectly fitting. AEW course-corrected with the groundwork laid here for Punk-MJF and it doubles as a chance to elevate the company to previously unseen heights.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland said Friday that while the U.S. team appreciates efforts aimed at sustainability, the federation would be supplying AC units for what is typically the largest contingent of athletes at the Summer Games.
“As you can imagine, this is a period of time in which consistency and predictability is critical for Team USA’s performance,” Hirshland said. “In our conversations with athletes, this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and Britain were among the other countries with plans to bring air conditioners to France.
Olympic organizers have touted plans to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house more than 15,000 Olympians and sports officials over the course of the games, using a system of cooling pipes underneath the floors.
The average high in Paris on Aug. 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). The objective is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also be equipped with fans.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said about the plans for the Olympics.
According to the International Energy Agency, fewer than 1 in 10 households in Europe has air conditioning, and the numbers in Paris are lower than that. The study said that of the 1.6 billion AC units in use across the globe in 2016, more than half were in China (570 million) and the United States (375 million). The entire European Union had around 100 million.
The Olympics mark the most important stop on the athletic careers of the 10,500-plus athletes who will descend on Paris, which has led some high-profile countries to undercut environmental efforts for the sake of comfort.
“It’s a high-performance environment,” Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Strath Gordon explained to The Post.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.
The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series with Florida’s 3-2 victory in four overtimes early Friday, with the game ranking as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
Matthew Tkachuk’s goal came at the 19:47 mark of the fourth OT to end this one, which marked the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history and the longest game in franchise history for each team.
The longest game in NHL history came on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime on Mud Bruneteau’s goal at 116 minutes, 30 seconds of extra play.
Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.
The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.
But this game ended roughly six hours after Thursday night’s puck drop, and the teams have a Game 2 in less than 48 hours.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
