CM Punk joined Ariel Helwani on his MMA Hour show to discuss his return to WWE.
Here are some highlights:
-Punk says he injured his tricep “not that far into” the Royal Rumble match
-Punk says he thinks the ball with his WWE return started really rolling the week of Thanksgiving.
He says he got a call from Nick Khan and the they initially asked about the Royal umble.
-CM Punk confirms he never had a non-compete when he was fired by AEW
-CM Punk says he and Triple H facetimed before his WWE return and they buried the hatchet and then talked business.
-CM Punk says Bayley invited him to go see the show when he visited RAW last May and he was just visiting friends.
He says people from AEW were mad he was there and the word “betrayed” was used.
Confirms Vince McMahon had him removed from the building.
-Punk says he signed his WWE Contract just before walking into Gorllia at Survivor Series
-Punk tells Helwani that as of the time there seemed to be references about him on WWE TV, he had not been contacted by WWE. He was wondering "should I be tanning?"
-Punk says he was in the same boat as everybody else in the weeks leading up to his WWE Return at Survivor Series, he didn’t know what was going on with all the subtle hints.
He says from his side of things, his wife, Nick Khan, Triple H & Lawyers knew beforehand, and he let his family know on the way to building.
-On the changes backstage now in WWE, CM Punk says somebody explained to him that “I’m super glad you’re back here so you can experience the culture backstage that you helped create because your were a catalyst for it, then you left and now you’re back”
-CM Punk confirms that he was supposed to wrestle Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40.
Punk believes it would have main evented night one.
-CM Punk said Tony Khan’s big idea was a separate show (Collision) and separate everybody
He says he said it would never work and to just release him, Tony refused.
-CM Punk says at an early Collision, Tony Schiavone came up to him and said Jack Perry was cussing him, Mike Mansury, Daryl from Production and cussing out the Doctor.
Punk said he asked why, but was skeptical because Perry wasn’t supposed to be there as Punk was told everyone was being seperated on Collision and Dynamite.
He says Schiavone begged him to come and say something, and saw that Jack Perry wanted to smash a rental car’s window with a lead pipe. He says he told Jack Perry politely “because he likes Jack” that “Mansury, Daryl, Schiavone and Doctors have told you no, and now I have to tell you no, and apparently you’ve cussed them all out, so I’m telling you no. We don’t do that here, if you wanna do this, go to Wednesday and do it.” Punk says Perry had no problem and said “I just thought it was a really cool idea”
He says he wasn’t trying to throw his weight around and thought it was a dumb idea.
-CM Punk calls it very irresponsible of the company (AEW) to leave talent stranded at the airport, referring to nobody picking him up in London for All In, leaving him to take the subway.
-CM Punk says when he arrived in London for AEW All In, there was nobody there to pick him up, but he got on the tube and thought it was an adventure and fun. But it was irresponsible of AEW to leave him stranded.
-CM Punk tells Ariel Helwani that at All In, he told Tony Khan, “This place is a f***** joke, man. You’re a clown. I quit.”
-Punk says he can’t speak about Brawl Out at all. But the company did not reach out to him for 6 months after the incident. Claims it was unprofessional.
-Punk says he came back to AEW because he felt Tony Khan wasnt going to let him go and he had friends there.
-Claims he wasn’t talking about the Young Bucks when he said “Counterfeit Bucks”
-CM Punk says AEW is not a real business. It's not about making money or selling tickets. He thinks it's about having good matches, maybe.
He says this is not a sustainable business for Television.
- CM Punk about AEW:
“It’s (AEW) just not a real business, its not about selling tickets its not about drawing money, its not about making money. its just not”
(So what’s it about?)
“I don’t know. I think having good matches maybe? And theres nothing wrong with that.”
-CM Punk says he got the call from Nick Khan the Monday before Survivor Series.
-CM Punk says AJ Lee will probably never return to TV but never say never.
-Colt Cabana walked up to CM Punk to bury the hatchet but Punk said he would never speak to him without a lawyer.
-CM Punk confirms he had two AEW Contracts.
1 contract for being a Wrestler.
1 contract for being a consultant for Tony Khan
