Last month, CM Punk set the world of professional wrestling on fire when he returned to the sport after seven and a half years away, debuting for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the Aug. 20 edition of Rampage. However, Punk has revealed that before he signed with AEW, WWE actually tried to get him to return to its fold — with a potential WrestleMania main event on the table — to no avail.
Punk (real name Phillip Brooks) famously parted ways with WWE and left wrestling entirely in early 2014, citing, among other things, creative frustration, injuries, a toxic work environment and a life-threatening, misdiagnosed staph infection. After leaving WWE, Punk embarked on a number of other ventures, including comic book writing, acting and brief mixed martial arts career in the UFC. In December 2020, he withdrew from UFC’s USADA drug-testing pool, effectively retiring from MMA.
In an interview with ESPN, Punk explained that around that same time, WWE — through intermediaries — had been reaching out to him about a return, though nothing ever materialized from these talks. “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,” he said. “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.”
It was back in December that Punk appeared on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, explaining that his conditions for returning to WWE would be “a story that would be fun to tell,” as well as “just the stupidest amount of money” — a comment he has now elaborated on. “What I mean is, it’s not all about the money for me,” Punk told ESPN. “Because if it was, I would have probably been the main event of WrestleMania this past year. Or I would have been at the Royal Rumble.” This is of note, as another one of Punk’s grievances that led to him leaving WWE in the first place was the fact that he never got a ‘Mania main event, despite being one of the company’s top stars at the time and holding the WWE Championship for over 400 days.
Regarding why he ultimately chose AEW, Punk said, “Everybody is different. Every situation is different. There’s some people that don’t like me, so all they’re going to hear is ‘Oh, he’s just doing it for the money.’ And I could give a s—. The proof is in the pudding. Does it matter why I’m doing it? Do you really care? If you don’t like me, don’t watch. It’s a perfect storm. It’s a lot of everything. It’s the money, it’s the freedom. It’s the creative, and it’s the possibility of working with young, talented people that excite me.”
CM Punk is set to wrestle in his comeback match against Darby Allin at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view this Sunday, Sept. 5.
Source: ESPN
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