Despite having a past fraught with difficulties in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), CM Punk bears no ill will and is not rooting for the promotion’s downfall. Punk parted ways with AEW last year following a second suspension due to a run-in with Jack Perry backstage at AEW All In: London in 2023.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated recently, Punk was probed about whether he harbored any resentment towards AEW now that he’s returned to WWE. He responded,
“I don’t root against them. I think it’s easy to be able to say like, ‘Oh, can’t wait till something bad happens to them’ but the reality is there’s a lot of people backstage that earn a paycheck. I still have friends that work there, so it’s not like I’m hoping somebody loses their job or everybody loses their job or something like that.”
“I look at it like it’s just not the same business that I’m in and if you’re trying to get paid and you can go there, go get paid, congratulations.”
In less than just three months after leaving AEW, Punk made a comeback to WWE and is set to face off against Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam 2024 this weekend.
Punk also clarified his stance on AEW deciding to broadcast the archived footage of his notorious 2023 AEW All In fight earlier this year during the same podcast. Visit the link to get his thoughts on the matter.
Below is the included podcast where CM Punk provides deeper insights on his WWE return and more.