"He was living off of the mystique" - Wrestling veteran blasts CM Punk for trying to get 'cheap heat' at 6-time WWE Champion's expense
CM Punk is arguably one of the most dissenting stars on the AEW roster after his involvement in the Brawl Out fiasco. On the topic of the star, Eric Bischoff recently slammed Punk again for his shot at the legendary Hulk Hogan during his first-ever AEW promo.
Much like Punk, Hulk Hogan is also quite divisive when it comes to WWE fans. The legend's various controversies outside of wrestling have soured many fans' opinions of him. CM Punk has never hidden the fact that he, too, is one of those former fans who now dislikes the Hulkster.
During his recent interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Eric Bischoff claimed he was never a fan of CM Punk from the start.
“I wasn’t a big fan of Punk to begin with. I think he was over-hyped. When he dropped that pipe bomb, that was like rebelling against the man. He still had the mystique with the wrestling fans. But if you go back and you listen to his opening promo, what did he do? He ripped Hulk Hogan."
Where were you when @CMPunk made his #AEW debut 1 year ago today at #AEWRampage: The First Dance 8/20/21 @UnitedCenter? https://t.co/ZdUn0jtF90
Bischoff then continued, claiming that the former Second City Saint is not as over as fans are led to believe.
"If you have to get yourself over with that kind of cheap heat, you’re not over. You don’t know how to get over. He was living off the momentum that was created for him in the WWE. I think that the way he was produced, his creative, I didn’t find it compelling at all. He is out there wrestling nobodies.” (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
Despite all his detractors, Punk's most audible AEW ally Dax Harwood recently came to his aid and declared that the veteran's critics are often far louder than his supporters.
Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite or Rampage? Catch up with the results right here.
Eric Bischoff also addressed the effect CM Punk's presence had on AEW's ratings
AEW's declining ratings have been quite the topic of discussion, especially by Eric Bischoff. Many fans online claim that the promotion has suffered since CM Punk's departure, but even here, Bischoff disagrees.
CM Punk was ousted by WWE, left wrestling for seven years, came back and created record PPV buys, merch sales and ratings for a second, two month old AEW show.
That show that Punk headlined again just beat the stalwart SmackDown, that was stacked with everything.
Full circle. https://t.co/nDVqi2CRS0
In the same interview, Bischoff urged fans to take note of how total viewership allegedly dropped off after Punk's AEW debut.
“Go back and look at the impact that CM Punk had on television ratings. It is the only thing that is black and white. He came out strong, and slowly week after week after week they continued to lose the audience. The audience came, they saw, they left, and they didn’t come back. What does that tell you?” (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
Despite Bischoff's assessments, will CM Punk still make his way back to AEW to continue his run, or does Tony Khan share the veteran's sentiment?