Supposed Hot Mic Before WWE Raw Reveals Announcers' Purported Disdain for CM Punk Fans

CM Punk left WWE in late January, and he’s been radio silent ever since. During that time, there have been various rumors about the wrestler’s disgust with the organization, but none of them really seem credible enough to delve into again; even if they were, we wouldn’t know if they were planted by Vince McMahon and his minions as part of an elaborate work.

For the past two weeks, fans have been pretty vocal in their support of Punk, clamoring for his return every chance they get. In the leaked (deliberately, or otherwise) clip up-top, fans’ chanting before Raw was mocked by WWE’s announcers Michael Cole, JBL, and Jerry “The King” Lawler. “That’ll drown out soon,” and “How about Go A-way! Go A-way!?” they said in a tone that conveyed annoyance with their customers.

“The ‘CM Punk’ chants were definitely very prevalent at Raw, breaking out in the majority of the matches as well as before the show started,” confirms comedian (and @DadBoner scribe) Mike Burns, who was in attendance for last night’s show in Los Angeles.

Because WWE is so surreal and loves nothing more than to screw with their core audience even outside the confines of the televised program, it’s impossible to tell right right now if this video was planned or not (but I’d bet on the former). Why do they bother to do crap like that?

“Figuring out what’s a work and what’s a shoot is all part of the fun,” says Burns.

“I think they do it to tell the Internet wrestling community (“smarks”) that they’re in control,” adds comedian Mike Bridenstine, who went to Raw with Burns. “Every now and then an organic phenomenon will come from the crowd (e.g. the Yes! chant) and the WWE will try to own the story and act like it was their idea all along. But I think, overall, the WWE would like to think they’re the ones deciding who and what’s over.”

You can purchase “Power Moves: Livin’ The American Dream, USA Style” by Karl Welzein aka @DadBoner at www.karlwelzein.com

[Video via Uproxx]