CM Punk hypocritical WWE return confirmed!
What do you think of Punk's past comments about WWE? Let us know in the comments.
WATCH: Every Time Wrestlers Warned Us About CM Punk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS5yx005sP4
After almost ten long years, CM Punk made his WWE return at the closing moments of Survivor Series 2023. And on the following episode of Raw, he announced: He feels like himself again. He’s back with his family. He’s home.
CM Punk return confirmed! But also... didn't he very vocally hate WWE and everything it stood for for the last decade? Yeah. He did. Here's Oli Davis going through a list of them.
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What do you think of Punk's past comments about WWE? Let us know in the comments.
WATCH: Every Time Wrestlers Warned Us About CM Punk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS5yx005sP4
After almost ten long years, CM Punk made his WWE return at the closing moments of Survivor Series 2023. And on the following episode of Raw, he announced: He feels like himself again. He’s back with his family. He’s home.
CM Punk return confirmed! But also... didn't he very vocally hate WWE and everything it stood for for the last decade? Yeah. He did. Here's Oli Davis going through a list of them.
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
Youtube Channel Comments Policy
We appreciate the comments and opinions our viewers provide. Do note that all comments are subject to YouTube auto-moderation and manual moderation review. We encourage opinions and discussion, but harassment, hate speech, bullying and other abusive posts will not be tolerated. Decisions on comment removal are made by the Community Manager. Please email us at support@wrestletalk.com with any questions or concerns.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 After almost 10 long years, CM Punk made his WWE return at the closing moments of Survivor
00:06 Series 2023.
00:08 And on the following episode of Raw, he announced he feels like himself again.
00:13 He's back with his family.
00:15 CM Punk is home.
00:18 CM PUNK RETURN CONFIRMED!
00:21 But also, didn't you hate WWE and everything it stood for for all those 10 years?
00:30 And you said it nearly killed you and no matter who's in charge it'll always be the same
00:34 toxic corporation?
00:35 Yeah, yeah, you did Punk, didn't you?
00:40 You did say all those things.
00:41 I'm Oli Davis hailing from partsFUNknown and this is every time CM Punk shot on WWE.
00:50 Before we count these down, give that subscribe button a go to sleep for loads more wrestling
00:54 lists and game shows.
00:56 And check us out on Patreon.com/wrestletalk where there's even more exclusive content.
01:00 Twitter - June 12th, 2011.
01:02 I know what you're thinking.
01:04 June 12th, 2011?
01:05 But CM Punk walked out on WWE in January 2014.
01:10 That's because he was publicly shooting on the company before he left.
01:13 Hell, even before the pipe bomb promo that made him the Mayor of Shootingville, Shootsville.
01:18 Stone Cold Steve Austin had appeared on Raw the week earlier to announce the winner of
01:22 Tough Enough, and turned up on the following episode in a backstage segment with CM Punk.
01:27 An often booked dream feud with Stone Cold, he likes a few pints, and Punk… he does
01:32 not, he likes Coca-Cola.
01:34 Punk tweeted the day before that segment "Why does something tell me that even though WWE
01:38 will have Steve Austin and CM Punk under the same roof tomorrow, they'll f*** it up?"
01:44 The Pipe Bomb Promo - June 27th, 2011.
01:49 CM Punk's pipe bomb is one of the most legendary wrestling moments of all time, not just catapulting
01:54 Punk into mainstream fame, but also forcing in a whole new era of WWE.
01:59 It's only getting an honourable mention here, though, as it falls into the 'worked
02:04 shoot' category, with Punk being given permission by WWE to speak his mind on air.
02:09 It led to him calling out everyone from Vince McMahon to Stephanie McMahon to Triple H to
02:14 John Laurinaitis - who most fans wouldn't have even been aware of at that point - and
02:18 built one of the best shows WWE has ever put on.
02:22 Money in the Bank - 2011.
02:24 The Art of Wrestling Podcast - November 27th, 2014.
02:28 If this was a ranked list, this would be number one.
02:32 CM Punk's tell-all appearance on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling Podcast, listing all the
02:36 reasons he left WWE, is probably the most impactful wrestling shoot interview ever recorded.
02:44 Ten months after Punk walked out of WWE, CM Punk shot on everyone.
02:49 He accused The Shield of not asking enough questions, while also claiming to have invented
02:53 them.
02:54 Alleged Ryback tried to shorten his life, claimed WWE doctor Chris Amann failed to treat
02:59 Punk's staph infection - claims which led to a lawsuit that would destroy Punk's friendship
03:03 with Cabana, and that Triple H and Vince McMahon conspired to fire him on his wedding day.
03:09 He alleged working at WWE was seriously damaging his health, and that he was resentful he wasn't
03:14 given the same movie, sponsorship and WrestleMania main event opportunities as part-time stars
03:20 like The Rock and Brock Lesnar.
03:22 Sports Illustrated - Extra Mustard - April 10th, 2015.
03:26 The month after his Cabana podcast, Punk announced he'd be fighting in the UFC.
03:31 Didn't go too well.
03:33 And that meant he had to do promotional media interviews where there was only one thing
03:36 anyone ever wanted to talk about.
03:38 In April 2015, he spoke with Sports Illustrated where he called WWE's backstage atmosphere
03:44 "shark-infested, political and cutthroat", specifically referencing how he'd been told
03:50 to wrestle three weeks after knee surgery.
03:52 Rolling Stone - August 10th, 2015.
03:55 One of Punk's more self-aggrandising catchphrases was "best in the world", but apparently that's
04:01 not enough to make it in WWE, as he told Rolling Stone in 2015, "It doesn't matter if you were
04:06 the best.
04:07 There's slimy backstage politics.
04:09 There's always somebody trying to undercut you."
04:12 Russolo & Cannell Show - June 28th, 2016.
04:16 As modern day philosopher Justin Bieber once sang, "Never.
04:20 Say never."
04:21 Punk tried to adhere to the Biebs' advice in an appearance on the Russolo & Cannell
04:24 show in 2016, but you can feel his WWE hate got the better of him by the time he finished
04:30 the sentence.
04:31 When asked about a potential return to pro wrestling, he said, "No, I don't think so.
04:36 But it is one of those never say never things.
04:39 I just like to cover all my bases.
04:40 Just so some internet dweeb isn't going to be like, 'You said you'd never wrestle again!
04:45 Was it WWE?'
04:46 No, absolutely not."
04:47 Post & Courier - July 2nd, 2016.
04:53 Still shooting on WWE two years after he'd left, he told Mike Mooneyham from Post & Courier
04:58 in 2016, "Back in 2011.
05:00 My contract was up, and they were trying to re-sign me for lowball figures.
05:05 That's what they do to the guys.
05:06 They're indentured servants.
05:08 They try to pay them the smallest amount of money you can possibly pay them.
05:12 There's no health insurance.
05:14 You're responsible for your own travel, hotel and food on the road, and home once a day.
05:19 Maybe."
05:20 MMA Fighting - November 27th, 2018.
05:23 By 2018, with a rising pre-AEW indie scene, Punk admitted he was happy for pro wrestling.
05:29 He still hated WWE, though.
05:31 Speaking to Mark Raimondi of MMA Fighting in 2018, Punk said, "I think we live in a
05:36 time now where WWE is not the end-all, be-all.
05:39 I don't think it has been for quite some time."
05:42 He went on to talk about how few stars WWE have created since he left.
05:47 "It's amazing.
05:48 The more time the show gets, the less time it really seems they develop new characters."
05:53 Source & SRAM - April 10th, 2019.
05:57 One of Punk's closest friends in WWE was Kofi Kingston.
06:00 They won the tag titles together, and, more importantly, played Xbox on the road on CM
06:05 Punk's bus.
06:06 In an interview with Source & SRAM the night after WrestleMania 35, he celebrated Kofi
06:11 Mania, but said it should have happened 10 years earlier when Kofi was getting pushed
06:16 the first time.
06:17 He also said that Shane McMahon's 'Best in the World' moniker was a shot at him from
06:21 WWE.
06:22 CM Punk's Starrcast 2019 interview with PWInsider's Mike Johnson was touted as
06:29 his first wrestling appearance since leaving WWE five years earlier.
06:34 He spoke about how things could have been different had WWE simply picked up the phone
06:39 and called him after he walked out back in January 2014.
06:43 This was the first time Punk started to display a more reconciling tone about WWE, admitting
06:49 he was over his issues with the company, but had nothing left to accomplish there.
06:54 I'm sure that sentiment had nothing to do with reports he was in talks to host Fox's
06:59 new WWE backstage show shortly after.
07:02 Reddit - October 17th, 2019.
07:05 His thawing attitude continued when he revealed in a Reddit Ask Me Anything that it'd have
07:10 to be a very big bag of "money" for him to return to WWE.
07:16 WWE Backstage - December 10th, 2019.
07:19 If you thought Punk kind of returning to WWE by hosting Fox's backstage talk show would
07:24 have blunted his critiques, then, well, you haven't been watching this list.
07:28 If you thought that seri-go restart this list.
07:32 Watch it again.
07:33 Please.
07:34 It helps the views.
07:36 While Punk's WWE backstage run was ultimately disappointing, the December 10th, 2019 episode
07:42 got to review the infamously terrible Baron Corbin Big Dog segment from SmackDown - which
07:47 Punk repeatedly referred to as "garbage" - while saying WWE creative was "bad"
07:53 as the WWE contracted hosts scrambled for a way to move on as fast as possible.
07:59 That Saudi Arabia Blood Money Miz tweet.
08:02 January 8th, 2020.
08:03 There had been long-running tension between The Miz and CM Punk, with Punk publicly expressing
08:09 how much he thought The Miz sucked.
08:11 This boiled over when The Miz asked on Twitter if he had changed the culture in reference
08:16 to CM Punk's first WWE Backstage appearance, to which Punk replied by going straight for
08:21 the nuclear option, tweeting "Go suck a blood money covered dick in Saudi Arabia you
08:27 f***ing dork" - referencing WWE's highly controversial at the time, but less so since
08:32 because I guess sports washing works, deal with the Saudi Arabian government.
08:37 Twitter!
08:38 April 23rd, 2021.
08:40 Remember when WWE fired a bunch of people right at the start of the pandemic and then,
08:45 one year to the day later, in a somehow worse annual tradition than WWE bragging rights?
08:50 They did it again, adding the extra stipulation of sending the well-respected veteran Mickie
08:55 James' belongings to her "in a garbage bag".
08:58 Well, yeah, all of those things happened.
09:01 They actually happened it wasn't too long ago.
09:04 Triple H tried to repair the PR disaster, and announced the person responsible for the
09:08 bin bag incident would no longer be with WWE moving forward, to which Punk responded with
09:14 this gif that encapsulates the sartastic vibe of "sure, if you say so".
09:21 Also, just in case everyone gets annoyed with the way I pronounce gif just then, GIF.
09:26 It can also be pronounced GIF.
09:29 Although the inventor of the gif calls it the gif, so, y'know, he would know, wouldn't
09:33 he?
09:34 CM Punk's AEW debut in Chicago was one of the most magical nights in that company's
09:45 - nay, in pro wrestling's - history, and Punk took that opportunity to get a couple
09:50 of shots in at WWE in his first promo, saying "I was never gonna get healthy physically,
09:54 mentally, spiritually or emotionally staying in the same place that got me sick in the
10:00 first place."
10:01 He continued, saying he left pro wrestling when he went to WWE, and that WWE stamped
10:07 the passion out of him.
10:09 AEW First Dance press conference, August 20th 2021.
10:13 Punk got a few more shots in at that same show's press conference, where he compared
10:17 his debut that night to some of the other biggest nights in his WWE career, saying "This
10:24 felt more organic.
10:26 This one did not feel like a job."
10:28 Angie Taylor Show, August 31st 2021.
10:32 On the Angie Taylor Show shortly after his AEW debut, Punk revealed that a WWE return
10:37 was "never on the table", implying he didn't want to go back there.
10:42 Which does kind of contradict his own very big bag of money WWE return comment on Reddit.
10:47 Busted Open Radio, September 1st 2021.
10:50 Nevertheless, Punk doubled down on this on Busted Open Radio a few weeks later, reiterating
10:55 many of his gripes against WWE from his final year with the company, and how he felt the
11:00 culture would have killed him by working through injuries, while also managing to get a bonus
11:05 shot in at how WWE's Hall of Fame works.
11:08 "I would have kept going until I literally could not go anymore.
11:13 And then what?
11:14 Then I'm a, you know, and then I get posthumously inducted into a Fugazi Hall of Fame."
11:19 ESPN, September 3rd 2021.
11:22 Continuing to claim it was he who turned down WWE, not the other way round, Punk told ESPN
11:28 WWE reached out to him about a return in late 2020.
11:32 "I remember one of the first things I ever said to them was, 'Above all, don't play
11:37 games.'
11:38 And they played games.
11:40 Some things never change.
11:42 When you enter a conversation with people you have a past with and you know who they
11:46 are, how seriously can you take it?
11:48 I know exactly who they are and they just continue to prove it.
11:52 I'm trying to be as diplomatic as I possibly can."
11:55 The MJF Promo, November 25th 2021.
11:59 In AEW, CM Punk found his pipe bomb equal in MJF, and, in their first back and forth
12:05 promo, they decided to use their favourite topic - bringing up WWE for heat.
12:10 Punk called MJF a less famous Miz, and told him the only way he'd become No. 1 in AEW
12:17 is if he waited around long enough for Tony Khan to have a daughter that MJF can marry.
12:22 Now, who does that remind us of?
12:25 I just can't put my finger on it.
12:34 The Other MJF Promo, January 5th 2022.
12:38 In their other big promo together, Punk brought up MJF's repeated kayfabe threats to jump
12:44 ship to WWE.
12:45 Heavily insinuating, WrestleMania is watered down and WWE fire everyone anyway.
12:51 If you think the grass is so greener on the other side, be my guest.
12:55 Go ahead, leave.
12:56 Main event night 4 of a buy one get one free extravaganza, and then get released faster
13:01 than you last in the sack.
13:03 AEW Revolution Press Conference, March 6th 2022.
13:07 Punk's second match against MJF happened at Revolution 2022, which coincided with AEW
13:14 President Tony Khan purchasing the promotion that first made Punk's name Ring of Honor.
13:19 When Punk was asked about his thoughts on the acquisition after the show, he cried tears
13:24 of literal joy, saying he was happy the ROH was in the hands of "somebody who would
13:30 treat it well" and not "a tab on a shitty confusing app" - a shot at Peacock's version
13:35 of the WWE Network.
13:37 Punk finished saying Vince McMahon owned too much of his career as it was.
13:41 Well, he'll have a bit more now.
13:43 AEW Double or Nothing Press Conference, May 30th 2022.
13:47 The doomsday clock had started ticking by the time we got to Double or Nothing 2022,
13:51 even if we didn't know it yet.
13:53 Punk's promo battle with Hangman Page had set Punk on a path towards his AEW exit a
13:58 year later, which is why this quote from the Double or Nothing press conference is so surreal,
14:03 with Punk saying his 10 years in WWE were wasted, he never reached his full potential
14:08 in WWE, and he doesn't have to engage in silly backstage battles in AEW.
14:14 And finally, the Absolute Geek podcast, July 27th 2022.
14:19 On the Absolute Geek podcast, Punk criticised the WWE commentary team for calling out Sasha
14:25 Banks and Naomi following their walkout earlier that year, calling the commentators "f***ing
14:30 cowards and bootlickers".
14:31 He also spoke of Vince McMahon's WWE "retirement".
14:34 I'm doing air quotes, you can't see me.
14:37 Which had happened five days prior, saying…
14:51 Now go watch my list on WrestleTalk about all the times AEW wrestlers warned us about
14:56 CM Punk.
14:57 Yeah, that's pretty obvious, that was all going to happen.
15:01 You probably should've listened to all those alarm bells.
15:04 But in the moment when you're just so happy the person who left you high and dry seven
15:08 years ago returns to your arms and says "I ain't going back".