CM Punk took a 7-year hiatus from wrestling after quitting WWE before he made his triumphant return earlier this year. Though during his time away, he never took his hand off the pulse of the industry. He kept an eye on the up-and-coming talents. While many have criticized some of the storylines he has been a part of since his return, it appears that giving young talents the spotlight was always part of his plan.
The straight edge star recently appeared on ESPN SportsNation. He was asked why it was important for him to make his return in this capacity where he is working with a lot of younger talent. Answering it Punk explained that it’s about using his name to help the relatively unknown talents:
“Because very selfishly, it’s what I wanted to do. When you take seven years off of something that you’re pretty decent at and you’re priding yourself at having your finger on the pulse of everything. I think there’s an undercurrent and there’s a lot of young professional wrestlers out there that are probably better than a lot of people give them credit for. They just don’t have the spotlight. They don’t have anybody that’s saying, ‘Hey, look at this guy.’ Or they do but just not on a national level.
Punk continued, “I think I could use my name, whatever value that has, and kind of highlight some of the guys while knocking off some ring rust and moving myself up the ladder. So for storyline purposes, it makes sense to me. And I always remember guys helping me and they were few and far between. I think more people should help more people and I’m just trying to do my best to do that.”
Will We Get To See CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Adam Cole & Britt Baker?
AEW is not very big on mixed tag matches but there is one match that many people want to see. The match of CM Punk & AJ Lee vs Adam Cole & Britt Baker is something that even Cole and Baker have shown interest in. Though when asked if we will get to see the bout, the former world champion said that he can’t promise that:
“That one I can’t promise you. She is doing her own thing. To be completely honest, I know her and if I said, ‘Hey, you want to do this wrestling match?’, and if she was all gung-ho to do it, I know she would want to get into stupid shape to do it, and I like her thick. So I don’t want to take that away from myself.”
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