CM Punk Wouldn’t Return To WWE Under Vince McMahon

If Vince McMahon had still been in charge of WWE, CM Punk would not have made his shock return to the company.

CM Punk walked out of WWE in 2014 and seemed to burn that bridge forever with a tell-all podcast with Colt Cabana that led to a lengthy defamation lawsuit with the company’s now-former doctor, Chris Amann.

Despite this history, though, at Survivor Series 2023, CM Punk made his surprise return to WWE. In a recent interview with Jimmy Traina of SI Media, Punk discussed whether he thought he would ever go back to the company during his decade away.

“Obviously, my attitude ten years ago was, ‘I’m done with wrestling.’ There are certain people that want to crucify me for that, but the truth is, I was so burnt out. You dedicate your life to something. It took me X amount of years to get to WWE, and I was there for ten years.

“People don’t realize, who is the one guy that wrestled the most matches every year in WWE, for consecutive years? It was me. I was burnt out. It takes a while to come back from burning out. Across the board, everybody, I feel, has done it in some way. Paul Heyman left. Paul Heyman came back.”

The Straight Edge Superstar said the move was “expedited” when Vince McMahon departed WWE.

“The door being open with Vince (McMahon) leaving, really kind of expedited things. Being told that it’s a completely different place, and kind of having blind faith to go back into that is a risk. Now, I can tell you, it’s a completely different place.”

When asked if he would have gone back if McMahon was still there, Punk claimed it wouldn’t have happened.

“I don’t think so. No. Some day I’ll write a book and I’ll tell everybody.”

CM Punk Addresses AEW Airing All In Footage

Before returning to WWE, Punk had made his wrestling comeback in AEW. His time there became mired in controversy, and he was eventually fired with cause after an altercation with Jack Perry backstage at All In London. The company recently aired footage of the incident on Dynamite as part of a storyline involving Perry and The Young Bucks.

CM Punk has now responded to AEW airing the All In footage, saying he thought it was “ugly” although he noted it was “pretty wild” to be a top draw in two companies.

H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.