CM Punk reportedly tried to "uplift" talent during his time in AEW
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently talked about a more positive side of CM Punk. According to him, Punk uplifted the younger generation of stars.
The Straight Edge Superstar did not leave All Elite Wrestling on the best terms, as he was released following a backstage incident that involved AEW star Jack Perry. He got to spend two years with the promotion, even going as far as capturing the AEW World Championship. Another unfortunate controversy led to this becoming a short reign.
While on the Hall of Fame podcast with Booker T., Mark Henry claimed that he saw CM Punk try to uplift the younger talent. Seeing as well how big of a promotion AEW has become since its perception, this was a good move on the side of the Chicago native.
“I saw him try to uplift the younger talent, and AEW is not a small group. AEW is, you know, any time you can go to an arena and sell 80,000 plus tickets, you know, you’re not little,” said Henry. [H/T RSN]
Mark Henry talks about key differences CM Punk had with AEW
On the same podcast, Mark Henry spoke about the more negative side of CM Punk. He mentioned that Punk had an "old-school mentality," which may have led to disagreements with the much younger talent.
The World Strongest Man attributed this to a generation gap that the former AEW World Champion had with others. He might have even seemed like a "boomer" to them. Knowing Punk's personality, he would not have stood aside and given in to these people, which may have led to conflicts.
Henry complimented CM Punk, saying that his conviction to stick to his old thinking and ways was commendable, but how he wanted to show or verbalize his convictions may have rubbed others the wrong way.
"It's an old school mentality and the old school mentality rubs young people the wrong way. Young people call you a boomer or outdated and some people are stuck in their ways and Punk is stuck in his way and that's not a knock.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 the old will save your life because I know better, I experienced it, I went through the fire,' and I feel like that Punk's delivery of some of that conviction fell on deaf ears." [21:03-22:16]
A month after his release from AEW, it seems that the promotion has been going on smoothly, the business has been going great as usual, and new stars are now stepping up. A new All Elite era is seemingly in place.
What are your thoughts on Mark Henry's statements on CM Punk? Let us know in the comments section below.