Mark Henry: CM Punk’s Advice To Young AEW Stars Fell On Deaf Ears

Mark Henry thinks CM Punk’s “old school mentality” rubbed some people in AEW the wrong way.

CM Punk’s run with AEW lasted a little over two years, ending when he was unceremoniously fired on September 2nd. His spell with the promotion saw him win World Championship gold twice, and involved in multiple explosive backstage incidents, one of which led to his exit.

Despite Punk being away from the wrestling spotlight, discussions about what went wrong continue to dominate podcasts across the industry.

On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed why Punk’s AEW dream didn’t work out with brand ambassador and broadcaster Mark Henry. When it was put to Henry that Punk didn’t go down to the level of younger AEW stars in an effort to lift them up, Henry quickly disagreed.

Henry said that Punk did try and help, but his old-school mentality worked against him.

“I disagree. I saw him try to uplift the younger talent. AEW’s not a small pool. AEW is, any time you can go to an arena and sell 80,000-plus tickets, you’re not little. I feel like Punk is a lot like some of the people in sports that I know.

The people in sports, they hate the fact that college football and college students are getting paid money now. It’s an old-school mentality. The old-school mentality rubs young people the wrong way. Young people call you a boomer, or they say you’re old, or outdated.

Some people are stuck in their ways. Punk is stuck in his way, and that’s not a knock. I like conviction. I like somebody that can stand to their guns, and they can debate with you on the fact that, you know what, this is why sometimes being an old will save your life. Because I knew better. I experienced it. I went through the fire. I feel like Punk’s delivery of some of that conviction fell on deaf ears,”

Potential Deal Between CM Punk And WWE “Dead” — For Now

As soon as Punk left AEW, he was linked with a return to WWE, despite leaving the company in highly acrimonious circumstances back in 2014. Although there were reports of talks between the two sides, these have since been dismissed.

As recently as October 13th it was reported that any talks between CM Punk and WWE were “dead.” The overarching belief is that Punk is interested in returning to the company, but WWE is less enthusiastic.

However, while a deal seems impossible now, the door will never be fully closed given the nature of the wrestling industry.

H/t to Fightful