"I've never really hated CM Punk" - WWE veteran puts rumors of disliking former world champion to rest after recent release
CM Punk's AEW release has sparked widespread debate about his future, including the possibility of a WWE return. A veteran recently shared his take on The Second City Saint's personality.
The name in question is two-time Hall of Famer Booker T. Like many other industry veterans, he also shared his thoughts on AEW releasing Punk after the All In 2023 fiasco. While discussing the matter, he also addressed rumors of him disliking the Chicago native.
On his Hall of Fame podcast, the NXT commentator clarified that he never hated Punk.
"I know a lot of people say Booker T hated CM Punk. That's not the case at all. I've never really hated Punk or anything like that. But I gotta say, you can be good at what you do, and if people like you, you'll stick around forever. You can be great at what you do, and if people don't like you, they will bounce your a*s up out of there some way, somehow, and that's this situation right here."
Booker added that fans had seen similar situations involving Punk play out before:
"Right now (...) Punk left a whole lot of money on the table on the other side of the fence, and he just left a boatload of money on the table again. People can say what they want to say, but we've seen this story before. This is the exact same story almost in a nutshell." (H/T: WrestlingNews)
The WWE Hall of Famer previously said something similar about his equation with CM Punk
This is not the first time Booker T has squashed rumors of having beef with Punk.
Both The Second City Saint and Booker T were active in the pro wrestling scene together at one point, even going head-to-head once. Responding to a fan's question on the Hall of Fame podcast about his opinion of Punk, Booker stated:
"I don't know, maybe you can reaffirm this with CM Punk, but I don't ever remember having a beef with CM Punk ever. I'm just being honest, and Punk can confirm that for me, but I don't think Punk and I ever had any beef. That wouldn't be the word to use to describe CM Punk's and my relationship." [From 1:09:00 to 1:09:35]
It remains to be seen what is the next step for Punk following his AEW departure.