CM Punk was fired from AEW, and then he sent out interest for WWE. That hasn’t been reciprocated yet, as WWE doesn’t need CM Punk during a booming period of the company’s history. Although his time in AEW was a bit controversial, CM Punk still made himself available for younger talent.

Booker T recently had Mark Henry on his Hall of Fame podcast, and they discussed CM Punk for a bit. When Henry was asked whether he saw CM Punk try to teach younger talent, the World’s Strongest Man affirmed that he did see that happen.

“I saw him try to uplift the younger talent, and AEW is not a small group. AEW is, you know, any time you can go to an arena and sell 80,000 plus tickets, you know, you’re not little.”

Booker T went on to say that CM Punk was looked as the guy who would take AEW to the next level, but that didn’t happen. This brought Mark Henry to say that Punk is like a lot of people in sports that he knows. He said that “a lot of athletes hate the fact that college athletes are getting paid money now.” Mark Henry went on to speak about what kind of mentality that is, and how it is perceived within younger talent.

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“It’s that old-school mentality, you know, and that old-school mentality rubs the young people the wrong way. Young people call you ‘a boomer’ or they say you’re old. Outdated, or whatever, and some people are stuck in their ways. Punk is stuck in his ways. That’s not a knock. I like conviction. I like somebody who can stand by their guns, and they can debate with you on the fact that this is why being an old will save your life. I know better, I experienced it. I went through the fire. I feel like Punk’s delivery of some of that conviction fell on deaf ears.”

The straw that broke AEW’s back regarding CM Punk involved a backstage skirmish that he had with Jack Perry before Punk’s “Real” World Championship match at All In London against Samoa Joe. During the previous match, Jack Perry used real glass in a windshield spot with Hook, and he made a comment about how it was real glass, so “cry me a river.” This was a direct shot at CM Punk over him telling Perry not to use real glass in a stunt several weeks prior.

It appears that CM Punk’s time in AEW didn’t see him influence the younger generation in the way he might have preferred. If anything, it certainly gave him another chapter to his pro wrestling story that fans can discuss for years to come.

Only time will tell if CM Punk ever returns to the ring. A WWE comeback does not look promising at all after the company rejected his advances for return. Impact Wrestling may be interested, but that’s only if CM Punk would like to try his hand at being a veteran performer in another locker room.

What’s your take on this new CM Punk story? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

Transcription by Ringside News

Tags: CM Punk
Felix Upton

Felix Upton is a seasoned writer with over 30 years of experience. He began his career writing advertisements for local newspapers in New York before transitioning to publishing news for Ringside News. His expertise includes writing, editing, research, photo editing, and video editing. In his free time, he enjoys bungee jumping and learning extinct languages.

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