I planned on writing a more complete piece on the Rollins vs. the Punk-Lees family war, but honestly, I just can’t bring myself to do it.
Why?
Because I don’t care enough about this feud. Not anymore.
Credit to WWE for building to what seems to be a highly anticipated match in just two weeks. They teased the return of CM Punk’s wife, AJ Lee, beginning with Seth Rollins’ vile words at Clash in Paris. The next night on Raw, Becky Lynch got physical with Punk, slapping him several times. Four nights later,
Lee showed up in Chicago, smiling and skipping before taking Lynch down and dropping bombs on her.
Then came last Monday’s Raw, where Lee reintroduced herself to longtime fans and a newer audience. Once again, after her usual smiling and skipping, followed by backhanded compliments and sardonic wit, Lee and Punk talked their way into a match with the Rollins clan at Wrestlepalooza.
Last night, both families met for the final time before the big showdown this weekend in Indianapolis — available to watch for $29.99 as part of a subscription to ESPN’s new streaming service. While the segment ended with fireworks, it was all popcorn farts for the previous 20 minutes.
Fans at Raw bellowed everything from “AJ’s Husband” to “No One Likes You,” desperately trying to get their chants in — which only dragged the segment out longer. Punk and Lee taunted Lynch and her husband with more sarcasm and zingers. At one point, Lee made sure to mention Lynch’s autobiography, just to jab her with the fact that she didn’t read it.
Here’s my point: Seth Rollins and CM Punk have had the most heated rivalry in WWE for the past nine months. It’s the kind of feud that would end in blood. Then Becky Lynch got involved, taking up for her husband, costing Punk the World Title, and slapping the hell out of him while emasculating him with her words.
There was no way this story could move forward without AJ Lee returning to get her some Lynch. But the smiling, skipping, and endless banter have taken the piss out of this angle — at least for me. While Lee was never an imposing figure or traditional badass, I expected her to return with fire and rage after Lynch assaulted her spouse.
Instead, we get cutesy one-liners like:
“I’m a Puerto Rican from New Jersey. Sometimes I shank a chick.”
To quote the late, great Elvis Presley, “A little less conversation, a little more action please. All this aggravation ain’t satisfactioning me.”
Of course, like many of you, I’ll have to pony up 30 bucks for that satisfactioning. But with so many words and so little punch behind them, WWE has talked me out of caring.
