AEW star CM Punk rarely ever misses an opportunity to take a jab at his former employer, WWE.
In the aftermath of WWE downgrading the venue of this year’s “Money in the Bank” from the 65,000-seater Allegiant Stadium to the 17,000-seater MGM Grand Garden, Punk took to his Instagram Stories to post promotional material for “WrestleMania VII,” another former WWE event that moved from a stadium to a smaller venue.
At the time, in 1991, WWE cited “bomb threats” and security concerns as the reason for changing the venue of the seventh installment of the Showcase of Immortals. On paper, WWE’s statement seemed reasonable – considering the pay-per-view was built around Sgt. Slaughter, an Iraqi sympathizer at the peak of the Gulf War. However, mainstream media outlets such as SLAM! Sports of Canada dismissed WWE’s justification, chalking up the venue change to poor ticket sales, and WWE’s inability to fill out the 100,000-seater LA Memorial Coliseum.
A few years ago, WWE EVP Bruce Prichard validated reports that WWE struggled to sell out the LA Memorial Coliseum in 1991, but would also confirm that WWE did receive bomb threats. In his “Something to Wrestle With” podcast, Prichard stated that even if WWE had sold out the stadium, the scope of the event was too large for police to ensure the safety of the fans and performers alike. In another interview with “Kayfabe Commentaries,” Prichard informed that WWE would have had to foot the entire bill for security, which didn’t seem feasible at the time.
