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AEW President Tony Khan compared the crowd reaction to CM Punk at Full Gear to The Rock's at WrestleMania 18.
During the media scrum, the conversation turned to Punk's crowd reaction as the fans booed him. Khan compared this to The Rock at WrestleMania 18 in 2002 when he took on Hollywood Hogan.
Khan also revealed that he was in attendance on that faithful day and continued to cheer for The Rock, despite other fans cheering for Hogan:
“I remember being the only person out of 70,000 cheering for The Rock in Toronto,” Khan said. “My friend looked over me like, ‘what are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘somebody has to.’ And that’s how I felt about Punk getting booed tonight (vs. Kingston). There were way, way, way more Punk people tonight than there were Rock people in Toronto, though. I can attest as I was there for both shows.” (H/T Wrestlinginc.com)
For those unaware, WrestleMania 18 saw Rock take on Hulk Hogan in a dream match for the ages. But the crowd turned on The Rock and cheered Hogan, who came into the match as Hollywood Hogan.
Essentially, both men had to switch roles during the match, as Hogan reverted to his Red and Yellow colors soon after that. It's a fascinating take, but given Khan's first-hand knowledge and the similarities of the moment to the one CM Punk experienced, it's not a stretch to suggest it.
CM Punk beat Eddie Kingston at AEW Full Gear
CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston did what it promised it would do - an all-out brawl. It was more a fight than a wrestling match and one that left Punk bloodied, bruised, and battered at the end.
Even before the bell rang to start the match, Kingston landed a strike, setting the tone for the rest of the match. From there on, both men went the distance with a clinic in savageness. CM Punk got the win with a Go To Sleep.
When CM Punk put out his hand at the end of the match as a sign of respect, the Mad King ignored him and just walked away.
