RADICAN’S TAKE: Thoughts on C.M. Punk and A.J. Lee’s dog Larry passing away, TNA landing TV deal with AMC

-If you weren’t paying attention during WWE’s Survivor Series War Games PLE last weekend, you might have missed C.M. Punk’s demeanor when he made his entrance for the War Games match. He was wearing a jacket that had “Larry’s Dad” written on the front. Punk got down on one knee as he always done for his entrance before checking his watching and screaming “It’s clobbering time,” but this time he clutched the “Larry’s Dad” font on his jacket tightly and appeared emotional.

Yesterday, Punk announced that he and his wife A.J. Lee’s dog Larry had passed away on his Instagram. Punk wrote: “The grief we carry is the price we pay for unconditional love. Our little Larry crossed the rainbow bridge, wrapped tightly in our arms. He was safe and happy. Surrounded by love. We rescued Larry from @pawschicago in February of 2015 and he changed our lives.

“I could never in one million years find the words to properly express how much we loved him nor how much joy brought us. Nothing I write, no pictures I post would do him justice. He lived a long amazing life. He watched sunsets, he chased skate boards. He made everywhere we went with him home. What a privilege to be so heart broken and devastated for having experienced such a bond. I wouldn’t change anything.

“Our boy is at rest. The house is quiet but we still hear the jingle of his necklace and the tip taps of his little feet on the hardwood floors. He will always be near. We will always feel him. Our hearts are broken. Until we see you again, sweetest Bobo. We love you. Forever.”

As a fellow animal lover and owner of two cats, my heart goes out to Punk. I’ve enjoyed seeing pictures of him behind the scenes with Larry as well as the clothes he’s worn bearing Larry’s name on TV while wrestling in AEW and WWE. It must have been incredibly difficult for Punk to perform last weekend while thinking of his dog Larry. My condolences go out to Punk and Lee. There are few things more difficult in life than losing a pet.

-TNA getting a new TV deal that will see Impact air on AMC and AMC+ is great news for the health of the pro wrestling industry. It gives wrestlers a solid third option to get work and exposure on national TV. There’s no doubt that AMC is a big step up from TNA parent company Anthem owned AXS TV where Impact is currently airing.

TNA doesn’t have the biggest roster of stars, but they have a solid collection of young and veteran talent. TNA’s relationship with WWE, which has helped TNA’s profile grow in the past year, will continue according to TNA president Carlos Silva in an interview with The Takedown on SI.

Silva was asked if WWE was involved in the negotiations with AMC, which he decided. “No, we did all the negotiations ourselves with me leading the charge on the TNA side, and then Creative Artists Agency leading the charge as our representative and our partner on the deal,” said Silva.

There’s no doubt TNA’s relationship with WWE helped them secure their deal with AMC. The money from the deal should help them sign some bigger names to the roster to add some star power to attract viewers to the show once it lands on AMC in January.

I’m glad the show is staying on Thursday nights, as there were some rumors going around that TNA might go head-to-head with AEW on Wednesday nights in recent months. Thursday has been TNA’s night for a long time and right now it is better for the show to air without competition as they simply are not prepared both creatively and as a roster to go head-to-head with AEW at this time.

TNA needs to get its act together creatively if they are going to continue to grow. The company does a lot of things well, but the big picture things that matter when it comes to the booking of the company are an area of concern. Fans had waited a long time for Mike Santana to win the title at their biggest PPV of the year, Bound for Glory in October, only for him to lose it a little over a month later to journeyman wrestler Frankie Kazarian in under a minute after being attacked by NXT wrestlers during a match on Impact. With a few adjustments to creative and some star power added to the roster, TNA could shape up to be a very good third option for wrestlers to work and earn a paycheck for a long period of time.

Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X: @SR_Torch and on Blusky @SeanRadican