CM Punk Claims WWE Made Offers for his Return, “Played Games”

Sep 5, 2021 - by James Walsh

Speaking to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, new AEW roster member CM Punk revealed that after Punk removed himself from UFC’s USADA drug-testing pool last December, WWE did reach out to him about a potential return through intermediary parties. According to Punk, while he did listen to initial overtures, WWE “played games” with him during these talks after he advised them not to. Below are some highlights.

PUnk on his return: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime spot. I’m never going to get a chance to do something like that again. I don’t know if there’s ever gonna be another chance for anybody to do something like that again. Perfect storm.”

CM Punk on WWE playing games when they reached out to him: “I remember one of the first things I ever said to them was, ‘Above all, don’t play games.’ And they played games. Some things never change. … When you enter a conversation with people you have a past with and you know who they are, how seriously can you take it? I know exactly who they are and they just continue to prove it. I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I possibly can.”

Punk on there being no such thing as “the boys’ in the wrestling business: “To me, honestly, there’s no such thing as ‘the boys.’ If there was such a thing as ‘the boys,’ there would be a f***ing union. And too many times you see people just get so unfairly treated and there’s a whole locker room full of people who would be — if it was them — be like, ‘Hey guys, help me.’ And I was one of those people. The business is always going to be the business. It’s built the way it is. I will always tell individual wrestlers, you have to protect yourself. You can’t expect other people to come to your aid. I found out the hard way. There’s other people that it’s still happening [to]. You can be loyal to a company that wouldn’t piss on your ashes, if you burned alive, or you could just make sure at the end of the day that you’re happy and you’re healthy.”

CM Punk will make his AEW in-ring debut tomorrow at All Out in the main event against Darby Allin. This will be Punk’s first match in a wrestling ring since January 2014.

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