Rush in, double leg takedown, rear naked choke. Was this a subtle nod to the Punk fight last night? #WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/jGy9i65hto — Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) September 12, 2016





By now, every MMA and pro wrestling fan (and hell, pretty much everyone who has at least a partial awareness of sports) knows that CM Punk’s long-awaited UFC debut on Saturday night didn’t go well. In fact, it went horribly. Punk ran in, whiffed on a punch, got taken town and finally submitted by rear naked choke at the 2:14 mark of Round 1. The internet went to town goofing on Punk, although he won a lot of people back over with an inspirational post-fight speech.

If you somehow missed the fight and the ignominious way it began, here it is, more or less, in one brutal GIF:

That is horrific from CM Punk doesnt get any worse #UFC203 pic.twitter.com/3Jdz0Vycyg — Karl (@karlt187) September 11, 2016





Suh-WINNNNNNGGGGG and a miss.

On Sunday, WWE held Backlash, their first Smackdown-branded PPV since the recent brand split. The card featured The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship, and the opening moments of that match looked just a wee bit familiar, as you can see in the GIF at the top of this post. WWE never really does anything by accident, so it’s pretty clear that this was an homage — or at least a loving jab — at former WWE Champion Punk.

Luckily for Miz, rope breaks are in effect in WWE. Punk should see about contacting the athletic commissioner about enforcing that rule in the UFC, as well.