Ric Flair Thinks Steve Austin Should Beat CM Punk “In 30 Seconds”
Ric Flair has given his thoughts on a potential WrestleMania bout for the ages and why if Steve Austin and CM Punk square off, it should be done in seconds.
The future of CM Punk in the wrestling world remains uncertain following the alleged backstage fight that took place at All Out. The other party involved, The Elite, is set to return to AEW television imminently but Punk – who was also injured in the All Out main event – remains out in the cold.
Reports have circulated since concerning the former AEW World Champion’s future, with suggestions made that he could be in line for a shock return to WWE. Dave Meltzer recently noted that Punk could be the biggest money opponent for Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 39 should Austin return as well.
Speaking on his To Be The Man podcast, Ric Flair commented on that possibility and finds it implausible that anyone would put Punk on Austin’s level:
“I think with Steve, it’s gonna be like Edge maybe. Maybe time and technology or whatever, [if] his neck is healed, but Steve was hurt real bad. So to go out there and do what he did with Kevin Owens was fantastic and a lot more than they anticipated.”
“But, you know, for Steve to put on the tights and go out there and wrestle as Stone Cold, you know, he’ll take a lot of pride in himself, because he is, he’s a man’s man. And he is in great [shape], he always stays in good shape Steve does. But he’d want to go out there and he doesn’t look that much different than when he was [wrestling]. I mean, his body’s still great, he looks good.”
“But he’ll want to be – knowing his ego and knowing who he is – he’ll want to be Stone Cold. And if he wrestled CM Punk, he needs to beat him in 30 seconds, so that’s not the answer. 30 seconds. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. CM Punk. Come on. Give me a break. Anybody mentioned their names in the same breath. Please.”