AEW and CM Punk’s working relationship wasn’t on the greatest of terms for a while, up to his eventual release. It seems that showing up to see some friends at WWE RAW wasn’t something they liked at all.
CM Punk recently told Areil Helwani anything he wanted to know about the past few years of his career. That included retelling the story about how he ended up backstage at WWE RAW in April 2023, and how AEW felt a certain way about things afterward.
AEW Felt Betrayed By CM Punk
CM Punk showed up backstage at WWE RAW while he was still under contract. RAW happened to be in Chicago, but his stay backstage didn’t last long before he was thrown out. AEW was not happy with the situation at all.
While speaking to Ariel Helwani, CM Punk said that it was Bayley who extended the invitation for him to attend RAW while they were in Chicago. Then, he said, it didn’t take long before Vince McMahon called in and had him ejected from the backstage area.
“I went to visit people, I’m the old-timer in the business and there’s a show in town. I wasn’t trying to get a job or anything, I literally just to say hi to Bayley and a few other people.”
Punk was then asked if anyone from AEW had issues with him visiting RAW while he was still under contract. He confirmed that was the case, and they felt “betrayed” on top of it.
“Oh yeah [people in AEW were mad] … I think the word ‘betrayed’ was used, I was like, ‘alright man.’ As a company you’re allowing people to go on other company’s television shows to do things — I went backstage to say hi to friends. Two completely different things. So, if you’re gonna be mad about it, okay.”
CM Punk’s Road Back To WWE
CM Punk did make his return to AEW, but it was short-lived. He was released after that Brawl In situation went down with Jack Perry, an experience he also spoke about in detail with Helwani.
WWE fans were shocked to see Punk return during the 2023 Survivor Series event in Chicago. Both WWE fans and fellow Superstars welcomed Punk home after that. Vince McMahon had nothing to do with that return, and Punk said that less than 10 people knew he was returning to the company. He signed his new contract and went straight out to the live crowd.
Punk is currently injured, and his arm was in its brace for the interview. He is working out without the assistance of that device, so hopefully his in-ring return will come sooner than later.
SEScoops will have more on this story, and so many more from the pro wrestling world. You never know what will break next, but we will be here with the headlines you need.
