CM Punk Says He's Absolutely Open to Returning to the Wrestling Industry, Gives Update on WWE Backstage
Between his appearance at Starrcast III and his numerous interviews leading up to the release of [...]
Between his appearance at Starrcast III and his numerous interviews leading up to the release of The Girl on the Third Floor, CM Punk has been back in the headlines for months. And with that return comes renewed speculation that he return to the world of professional wrestling, whether it be back in the WWE or with the new All Elite Wrestling promotion. On the latest episode of Barstool Sports' My Mom's Basement, Punk made it clear that he'd "absolutely" be open to returning to wrestling in some capacity.
"For five years I've always been asked that question," Punk said. "No matter what I say, it gets reduced to clickbait and it gets warped. I've gone through some many iterations of people saying, 'Oh, Punk hates wrestling.' None of that was ever the case. I think I've always been open to it. My attitude has always been that I don't see it happening. I think I've talked about it more recently, but my attitude hasn't changed. People always ask what would it take to go back, and I say it would take a big bag. So people use their imaginations.
"I guess I'm the white whale in pro wrestling," he later added. "I'm open to the idea. I just haven't been approached properly. I'm not courting anybody to show up with a dozen roses to my front door. Even just talking about it is kinda gross and I know it's annoying. Master P reached out on Instagram and wants to talk to me. I don't know what that's about."
Punk also gave an update on WWE Backstage, WWE's new weekly news show on Fox Sports 1. The former WWE Champion recently admitted that he auditioned for the show, but hasn't heard back from Fox since.
"[I] Haven't heard a thing," Punk said. "... I was told WWE was not involved. But who knows. It could be why I haven't heard anything yet. I made it clear to them that, if I landed this, I wouldn't be here just to shit on everything because nobody wants to watch that. The way they approached me with it was, 'We have [Alex Rodriguez] for baseball, Troy Aikman for [football]. And then you for wrestling. That would be your authority. We would like you to be the analyst.'"
WWE Backstage will officially premiere on Nov. 5 on FS1 and feature Renee Young and Booker T as its weekly hosts.
H/T Fightful for Transcription