Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

CM Punk and the Ice Cream Bars: AEW Needs to Capitalize on Huge Marketing Opportunity

CM Punk and AEW can create Punk themed ice cream bars

On the second episode of Rampage, AEW delivered on the promise they had been hyping up for weeks. For there in the sold-out United Center, was CM Punk, live and in the flesh, in front of thousands of fans chanting his name. It was one of the biggest moments in wrestling history as Cult of Personality rang out through the stands and the Voice of the Voiceless made his way to center stage, soaking in every moment before talking about how happy he was to be back in professional wrestling. Despite Punk’s arrival being wrestling’s worst kept secret, it didn’t stop the raucous crowd from reacting with a ridiculously huge pop. Because after seven years away, their hero had returned.

While many wrote off a Punk long ago, the desire of people wanting to see him back in a ring never wavered. Punk’s name was chanted in wrestling arenas worldwide as his legend continued to grow stronger after he left WWE. And as they say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” In Punk’s case, it certainly did, as the longer he stayed away, the more people longed to see him return. Punk’s star power remained untarnished and if anything, it increased. By the time he made his grand return to wrestling with AEW, the excitement was at a fever pitch with thousands upon thousands of lapsed fans tuning in simply to see him. The anticipation was worth the wait.

If the reaction to Punk’s return wasn’t enough to show he was still one of wrestling fans’ favorite stars, the movement of his t-shirt cemented it. As AEW always does, Punk’s merch rolled out the night he debuted, and within no time, it became one of the fastest-selling items in AEW history. Orders were coming in faster than the company could process them as the ShopAEW.com actually crashed due to the volume of orders. Not to mention the shirt being sold in the arena, which saw lines scaling the escalators just so people could get their special “I Was There” merch. Needless to say, Friday night guaranteed a legion of fans would be arriving at future AEW shows with CM Punk’s name and likeness on their chest.

AEW’s merch machine has done a great job at capitalizing on debuts and major moments, but with Punk, a top-selling t-shirt (flag and sticker were the only other items made available thus far) isn’t enough. Fortunately, it seems based on recent comments about WarnerMedia’s plans to put the full extent of their promotional machine behind him, that AEW won’t just be stopping with a t-shirt and a few accessories. Nor should they. The merch machine officially needs to go into overdrive in a way AEW hasn’t done for any of its wrestlers to this point.

If someone out there makes it, Punk’s logo should be on it because people will buy it. It is literally an invitation for AEW to just print money as there may not be a greater wrestling merchandising opportunity than what AEW has found itself in with the Best in the World’s return. Punk should have his likeness on everything. That means baseball caps, stickers/decals, face masks, action figures, posters, pins, sneakers, scarfs, mugs, drawstring bags, and ice cream bars. Yes, ice cream bars.

And it was perhaps in the aftermath of Friday night’s Rampage, that AEW gave us a taste of more to come on that front as they delivered on Punk’s promo promise, of free ice cream bars, with Punk’s branding on the wrappers, for all those in the United Center.

Punk, Cena, and the Manipulated Merch Sales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60sYQjzwTc0

By the time 2011 rolled around, CM Punk had long since established himself as a star in WWE. He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, an impressive accomplishment for sure. But none of those reigns had really felt all that significant. As much as Punk was in the main event scene at the time, his championship reigns felt more transitional than anything else with the longest of the three lasting just 69 days. Punk was booked like a star, but just one of a crowded field fighting for top billing at a time when WWE had no shortage of top names. But that would all begin to change in 2011.

Feeling underappreciated in the lead-up to his WWE Championship match with John Cena at Money in the Bank that year, Punk cut the now-infamous pipebomb promo in which he stated, “And yet no matter how many times I prove it, I’m not on your lovely little collector cups. I’m not on the cover of the program. I’m barely promoted. I don’t get to be in movies. I’m certainly not on any crappy show on the USA Network. I’m not on the poster of WrestleMania. I’m not on the signature that’s produced at the start of the show. I’m not on Conan O’Brian. I’m not on Jimmy Fallon. But the fact of the matter is, I should be.”

Now that said, Punk was indeed one of WWE’s top merch movers. However, there was a sense at the time, one that has been suggested by those who formerly worked for the company, that WWE never wanted Punk to outsell Cena. Even in the lead-up to their title program and Punk’s subsequent 434-day reign, WWE seemed to believe that Cena had to be the top merchandise seller, perhaps because of the appeal to kids. Cena was the ideal, prototypical face of the company, whereas Punk was not. So as the story goes, WWE manipulated the merchandise sales. As Konnan, Court Bauer and Saint Laurent discussed on MLW Radio in 2015, “As soon as John Cena started getting outsold by CM Punk, they [WWE] made 3 additional John Cena designs, they refused to make a second CM Punk design and they started under shipping the CM Punk design on purpose. For every CM Punk shirt they would ship to the arena, they would triple John Cena shirts and they would do 3 John Cena designs. So every 10 shirts in the arena, if 9 are Cena, only one is Punk.”

There is no guaranteeing that story is the truth but it would make sense especially when you consider at one time, Cena had the same t-shirt available for sale, in about seven different colors. And for kids who idolized the leader of Cenation, their parents would buy them every single one.

Despite Punk’s soaring popularity, WWE didn’t take advantage of how much merchandise he could move. And when CM Punk embarked on his campaign to bring back the WWE ice cream bars, the company failed to capitalize on that too.

CM Punk and the Legend of the Ice Cream Bar

In 1987, WWE debuted the “WWF Superstars of Wrestling Ice Cream Bars,” to a hugely popular fanfare. Because after all, ice cream and wrestling together, what wasn’t to love? The bars remained a hit for decades as WWE’s top superstars took turns having their names and likenesses featured on the re-envisioned take of a classic ice cream sandwich. For whatever reason though, in 2009, the bars were discontinued by Good Humor, leaving a legion of disappointed fans who petitioned for their return. The fan support was overwhelming but it wasn’t just fans who lobbied for the bars. Within the company, at least one prominent wrestler wanted to see the ice cream bars return, and that was CM Punk. Mainly, Punk wanted his face on one of them, a point of contention that was part of Punk’s contract negotiations with Vince McMahon during the 2011 Summer of Punk angle. It was Punk’s #1 demand, but that wasn’t the last time he mentioned the return of the ice cream. Fans joined in Punk’s crusade, chanting “We want ice cream,” anytime he would reference the return of the popular treat. In fact, he became synonymous with the bars so much so that WWE actually put his face on one…kinda. They put his face on an ice cream bar on a t-shirt, and sure enough, the merch sold.

But to give WWE full credit for the ice cream shirt would be a mischaracterization of the process as according to CM Punk, he was the one behind the design. “My inspiration for the shirt?” Punk told WWE.com in an interview shortly after he debuted the shirt at Night of Champions, “I want the freakin’ ice cream bars back!… I’m still working on that. But in the meantime, I’m going to keep shoving it down people’s throats. Because everyone likes ice cream, which goes in your mouth and then goes down your throat.”

Seeming to suggest that it was Good Humor who didn’t want to facilitate the return of the popular dairy dessert, stating, “Good Humor, we’re giving you a gift. We’re giving you an option here, and if you don’t want to take it, we will sell our wares elsewhere,” Punk hoped his shirt would get the world talking. It did, but it wasn’t enough and as WWE posited, the shirt was the “closest we’ll ever get to seeing a cookie with the Voice of the Voiceless’ face on it.”

Well, the closest until perhaps 2021 or 2022, when AEW has the opportunity of the lifetime.

Whether it was WWE or Good Humor who ultimately made the call to revisit the ice cream, it wasn’t until last year, long after Punk’s WWE departure, that they returned to shelves nationwide. And non-coincidentally, it was top merch sellers Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and John Cena who graced the new look frozen snack. Macho Man Randy Savage made up the fourth design, in a pack that was sold with Cena front and center on the box.

CM Punk may not have been the man who brought the ice cream back but his campaign to do so garnered so much popularity that last year during one of his appearances on WWE Backstage, he was brought in to try the ice cream but was not impressed. Jokingly suggesting the “check was in the mail,” Punk reviewed the new sandwich with a shrug. “It’s an ice cream sandwich,” he said. “It’s not covered in chocolate, there’s not a hard cookie, I’m gonna give it a 4 out of 10.”

With Good Humor in league with WWE, AEW will have to turn its attention to another company in order to facilitate Punk’s decade-long mission, which in one aspect, has yet to be fulfilled. Good Humor introduced ice cream sandwiches but did not bring back the ice cream bars. And as the man himself said, “There are other ice cream companies out there.”

There are other wrestling companies out there too and Punk chose to join one not named WWE. Perhaps in AEW, not only will he be creatively fulfilled but he’ll also be satiated by the sweet taste of vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate with a cookie crunch.

Marilee Gallagher, Manager

Marilee Gallagher, Manager

Marilee Gallagher is a Philadelphia native and lifelong sports fan with interests beyond just the major five U.S. sporting leagues. At Last Word on Sports, she is the Department Manager for Last Word on Pro Wrestling, helping lead a team that covers WWE, AEW, and indies both in the U.S. and internationally. Past writing experience includes time as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and Rant Sports.

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