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CM PUNK DISCUSSES WHY HE CHOSE AEW FOR HIS RETURN, BRYAN DANIELSON POSSIBLY COMING IN, AJ LEE, TONY KHAN AND MUCH MORE

CM Punk appeared today on WFAN’s Moose & Maggie this afternoon to discuss his return to the ring this Sunday at AEW’s All Out.

Punk opened the interview saying he hoped everyone in NYC was OK after the big storm last night.

Maggie brought up Punk’s return at The United Center.  Punk said to walk back out in that building, where he saw Bret Hart wrestle Owen Hart at the first ever event at that building and  attended Bulls and Blackhawks games, was overwhelming.  There was a lot going through his mind as he walked out.

Punk was asked why return now and why AEW.  Punk said there are a dozen good reasons to come back but when he left, there was no AEW.  People would have assumed he would have gone right there and he doesn’t know how true that is but watching them grow as a company and having TNT so strongly behind them is important.  You need executives at a TV level to be behind them.  It became a question of why wouldn't I want to go there.  

The fact that the locker room kept the secret of Brodie Lee’s illness for so long was commendable and honorable and when he saw that, he knew there was something to the locker room.  It’s a real family.

Punk was asked about mentoring younger talents in the company.  Punk joked that he doesn’t know everything.  He got to share a ring with Sting last night and he never thought that would happen.  Just talking to Sting, he’s learning.  There’s no right way.  He’s not going to tell the other talents what to do but if someone asks for advice, he will give it.  He’s not there to fix anyone but he’s there to help if they want it.

Punk was asked if he had anyone he could lean on in WWE when he was there.  He said there were a few but they were “few and far between.”  Punk said he knows the plane has changed, but when he first walked into the WWE locker room in 2006, “it was a shark tank.”  Guys were pitted against each other.  You want to take this guy’s spot and take what he has.  There were a lot of great territories in the past where you could have multiple top guys but WWE wanted one top guy and everyone else slipping on banana peels fighting to be that top guy.  There were some who helped him but the majority that helped him were prior to WWE, naming Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Tracy Smothers, Eddie Guerrero and Harley Race.  They were older and wanted to help the younger kids.  The WWE guys were there to protect their own spot.

Punk was asked how the relationship with Tony Khan played into his decision to return.  He’s gotten to know Tony over the last two years as they have spoken over that time.  To compare and contrast him to other bosses Punk has had in wrestling, he’s more approachable.  Punk said he thinks it’s come down to Tony being a fan, which he’s seen people use as a criticism, he’s too much of a fan.  Punk thinks that’s odd because do you want someone who hates wrestling or loves wrestling running your company?  He listens to the fans and it’s more of a collaboration.  All of that played into Punk going to AEW.

Moose brought up that the WWE relationship didn’t end well and that he didn’t feel taken care of there.  He was asked about how he feels in AEW.  Punk said he does.  The pandemic has put an end to any kind of touring and that’s a good thing.  He said in WWE, he had zero time off and was asking for it.  After his first night in AEW, he was having dinner with Khan and was asked if he and his wife were planning to go on vacation and if they were, just let Khan know.  He was already being asked if he wanted time off on his first night and “I just got here!”  It’s appreciated to know that it’s easy instead of having to ask and being told “We really need you.”  Do you need him healthy or do you need him dead in a hotel room?

Punk was asked about not being happy about being a pro wrestler in the past.  He said that anyone who thinks he was being dramatic about his issues, they don’t know about the pressure, the staph infection, the concussions.  He said that he wouldn’t have stopped.  He had to break the cycle because “no one in a position of power there would have stepped in.  They just want you to make the town.  They just want you to show up because your face is on the poster or whatever.”  He said everything is different now and he realized he can be happy and be a pro wrestler.  He can still do movies and TV and MMA commentary and be a great husband and that’s the number one thing he wants to do.

Punk was asked about his competitive spirit.  He was asked if he wants to beat WWE.  Punk said he’d be telling a big old lie that you didn’t want to beat them at whatever metric they deem successful.  WWE says AEW isn’t their competition, great, everyone sees through that.  He said that AEW is focused on the people in the building and making the fans happy.  TNT wants ratings.  Punk is focused on the fans and feels that’s how you grow the company.  WWE has a 30 year headstart but Punk is happy with where AEW is.  He’s not trying to bankrupt anyone but you are fooling yourself if you aren’t in a competition.  You’re just shooting yourself in the foot.

Punk was asked how he has changed over the last seven years.  He said it’s been a long time and he’s learned from a lot of mistakes he’s made.  You hear stories of how he wasn’t fun to work with but that’s the environment that he was in.  It was designed to be that way.  For so long it’s just wrestling but he prioritizes his wife and his dog.  Wrestling can be a priority without being the 24/7 priority.  Being healthy and happy is important.

Punk was asked if AJ Lee could possibly return and join the company.  Punk said he would love to see it and would love to see.  He doesn't think it will happen.  She is a “teeny tiny person” and has a bad neck.  The shelf life for female performers is much shorter than for men.  She might be receptive to the idea but she’s so focused on the movie scripts and the television adaptation of a book she’s working on.  She’s being pulled in a million directions.

Punk was asked if Daniel Bryan coming to AEW is a “foregone conclusion” and went silent.  Punk said for seven years he was gone and if you told him who was the one guy who could get you back to wrestling, it would be him.  He doesn’t know if that answers the question or not.  He was in a Wrestlemania main event this year and would be a huge acquisition.  For guys like them, pro wrestling is their art.  If he shows up, Punk is excited.  If not, he’s excited to see what he does elsewhere.

Moose said Punk’s return was one of the great return moments in pro wrestling and what it meant to get that love when he returned.  He said he hasn’t been able to process it all.  They sold out an NBA Arena on a rumor.  It says a lot.  It was humbling and grounding to him that it happened.  They love you and if you give them everything you have, they will be there for him.  That’s why they got ice cream bars and now he has to keep giving them all he has.

To listen to the entire 23 minute discussion, click here.

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