Biggest mindf*** of the last 12 months

[ChitownKnight]

So 1 year ago I don’t think anyone would of believed that these three things would of been possible but here we are. I think Austin coming back is the biggest one since it’s been 19 years

[CeilingFan]

Danhausen signing a contract with A&W...uhh, I meant AEW!

[Jindrak Mark]

Punk returning was a matter of when not if so it wasn't as shocking as the other two which I thought would never happen.

Austin had plenty of opportunities to have a final match over the years, including Wrestlemanias in Texas in 2009 and 2016, so I think most people had accepted the ship had sailed.

Cody is still the most shocking to me though. I expected the Jericho/Danielson's to eventually return to WWE one day but I thought the EVPs Cody/Omega/Bucks were AEW for life. The only thing more shocking to me would be Rock/Cena/Roman/HHH/Vince somehow appearing in AEW.

[Mid-Carder]

Punk for me, as it has long-term ramifications for my wrestling enjoyment. Austin and Cody are one-offs.

[David-Arquette was in WCW 2000]

Apr 13, 2022 10:45:24 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Punk returning was a matter of when not if so it wasn't as shocking as the other two which I thought would never happen.

Austin had plenty of opportunities to have a final match over the years, including Wrestlemanias in Texas in 2009 and 2016, so I think most people had accepted the ship had sailed.

Cody is still the most shocking to me though. I expected the Jericho/Danielson's to eventually return to WWE one day but I thought the EVPs Cody/Omega/Bucks were AEW for life. The only thing more shocking to me would be Rock/Cena/Roman/HHH/Vince somehow appearing in AEW.

Triple H appearing in AEW would completely blow my mind.

Cody returning to WWE is just confusing, due to reasons he left essentially being exacerbated over the last few years.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Cody. I had Jericho pegged as the first name who'd jump, didn't imagine Cody would be the one to book the events leading to his own departure.

'I don't want the world title so nobody can compare me to Hunter or Jeff Jarrett'
'Fans aren't responding to my booking the way I like, why can't more of the show be done my way?'
'I know I sidelined myself and am openly unhappy, but if you pay me the same as the biggest draw we have despite my lowering my own value, then I'll stay!'

[ChitownKnight]

Apr 13, 2022 12:04:16 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Cody. I had Jericho pegged as the first name who'd jump, didn't imagine Cody would be the one to book the events leading to his own departure.

'I don't want the world title so nobody can compare me to Hunter or Jeff Jarrett'
'Fans aren't responding to my booking the way I like, why can't more of the show be done my way?'
'I know I sidelined myself and am openly unhappy, but if you pay me the same as the biggest draw we have despite my lowering my own value, then I'll stay!'

I mean we really don’t know what’s going on in his head. Yeah he probably has a big ego but if he was unhappy there and better off in wwe (which seems to be true so far) then so be it

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Biggest mindf***? Definitely Austin. I always figured Punk would be back somewhere at some point. Cody was surprising, but he always seemed like the odd man out of that group, so it wasn’t shocking.

Every indication was that Austin was done. There had been plenty of opportunities for comebacks along the way, various dream match scenarios that could have played out without so much as a rumor of a maybe.

[flowercity]

I never had any doubt Punk would return to wrestling. For me that was always a matter of when not if.

I also have expected AEW guys to jump to WWE since the beginning. It seems natural. It’s good for not only AEW but the entire wrestling business.

But Stone Cold? It was NINETEEN years ago. Figured he was too old and too proud to come back. I still can’t believe it. He was incredible and that was a perfect last match.

[genericusername]

Punks return shocked me the most, seemed like he genuinely didn't want to come back to wrestling.

[Cyno]

I think Austin's was the biggest shock, especially with how good he looked in the ring.

Cody and Punk's moments were big, but the shock wore off when their going to WWE/AEW was buzzed about for awhile so a lot of the surprise factor was gone. But I don't think anyone expected Austin's return to the ring to go 14 minutes in a no holds barred match.

[eJm]

I’ll be the controversial one and say that the Austin match had been rumored so many times and he teased it that there was more chance of that happening then Punk coming back. So Punk for me.

[tafkaga]

Cody returning to WWE is utterly bizarre to me.

[Jindrak Mark]

Apr 13, 2022 16:49:59 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

Cody returning to WWE is utterly bizarre to me.

That’s why it’s the most shocking to me. If a year ago you made a poll asking about what unlikely event is most likely to happen soon, Punk returning to wrestling and Austin having one more match would have been options. There was always rumblings and rumors about those and both men had openly said it could happen. Cody (or any of the EVPs) being in WWE within a year though was almost so unthinkable no one would even think to include it as an option in the poll.

Also, look at the difference in reactions when the first serious reports came out. There was about a month and a half between the Austin match first being reported and it being confirmed on TV (well a “KO Show” being confirmed), about a month a half between the Punk story breaking and his actual return and about a month between the Cody is working without a contract reports and then the announcement of his departure. Most people believed the Austin/Punk stories immediately due to the people reporting it. The Cody one though? Go back to the threads about Cody’s contract expiring and him working on a handshake agreement. Anyone who even joked about him actually leaving, much less going to WWE, was laughed at. Everyone assumed it was just a formality and TK and Cody were busy guys who trusted each other and would sign the papers eventually. You would have been called crazy if you said he was going to have a major match at Wrestlemania mere weeks later. Hell, even after WWE started teasing him on TV there were a LOT of people still questioning it.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Punk was shocking but it’d been in the backs of many of minds. The idea was there.

Austin was surprising but we’ve seen everyone else come back, so there was precedent.

Cody, I thought, could happen one day in the distant future but not so soon into AEW’s tenure. So, that.

[Celgress]

CM Punk’s return to pro wrestling, followed closely by the defection of Cody Rhodes to WWE, IMHO.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Of the three listed I'd say CM Punk returning to wrestling, but if there was an "Other" option... the WWE releases. There's been so many, and names that you wouldn't have thought they'd want to lose.