CM Punk’s WWE Return All About Money Says AEW Star
CM Punk is back in WWE and in a world where ‘never say never’ is the mantra, his return came as no surprise to AEW’s Jake Roberts.
Jake Roberts has been someone that very few would have thought would return to WWE on more than one occasion. He left the company under a cloud after threatening to no-show WrestleMania after he was overlooked for a spot on the creative team that he believed was promised to him by Vince McMahon.
Roberts did return, however, just four years after that event, and spent just over a year back between 1996 and 1997. Given Roberts’ addiction battles, it was believed he’d never be seen in WWE again but he cleaned up his act enough to have one-off appearances in 2005 and 2014. The latter of those led to his Hall of Fame induction that year.
Jake Roberts Not Shocked By CM Punk’s WWE Return
CM Punk shocked the wrestling world when he returned to WWE after almost ten years away at Survivor Series. That came less than three months after Punk was fired by AEW for his part in a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In.
Speaking on his Snake Pit podcast, Jake Roberts admitted he wasn’t shocked by Punk’s return to WWE and says in wrestling as soon as the answer is ‘no’ then that’s when things happen:
I’m not shocked. I’m not shocked at all. Never say never in wrestling. As soon as you say, ‘no,’ it’s going to happen. It’s all about money, man. If they think they can make a buck with you, they’re going to bring you in.
As far as his own experiences with Punk, Roberts admitted he hadn’t spent much time with him in AEW as Punk preferred to stay in his own locker room at shows:
I haven’t been around him enough to judge him any either way. I may have said 20 words to him, that’s it. You know, at AEW, he had his own dressing room, so I’d never see him. He just stayed in there.
CM Punk looks set for a spell on Monday Night Raw and a feud with World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. There is a belief from some that WWE could test CM Punk’s attitude by having him lose to Rollins when their inevitable match takes place.