CM Punk Confirms He Auditioned for WWE Backstage, But Doesn’t Want to Wrestle Again

For the first time in an incredibly long time, CM Punk outright confirmed one of the many rumors about himself. Back in late September a report dropped via PWInsider that Punk had traveled to Los Angeles for a screen test for WWE’s upcoming studio news show, WWE Backstage. Punk confirmed those reports during an interview on Collider Live on Wednesday, though he added that didn’t mean he was looking to come out of retirement

“Yeah, I did [the audition],” Punk said. “This goes back to me being in a position in my life where I’m like, ‘What do you got?’ I’m very much in a position where I’m like, ‘Well, talk to me.’ I’m open to anything. If they come at me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we want you to wrestle.’ I’m gonna be like, ‘I’m not interested.’ I’ve grown so much as a person and I look back at all that stuff and I don’t need the confrontation and the drama. I’m a businessman. But I put my morals and integrity above business deals.”

Punk added that if he were to do the show, it would be as an employee for FOX rather than one for WWE. The show is set to premiere on Nov. 5 on Fox Sports 1.

“Originally, I thought it was a WWE thing and I was like, ‘Umm, no.’ But this is Fox. I’m not dealing with anybody in WWE. They explained to me what it was,” Punk said. “I love Renee Young [confirmed as one of the hosts alongside Booker T]. She’s a great person. It’s along the lines of what I do with Cage Fury FC. I prefaced it by saying, ‘I’m not going to come in to dump all over on stuff just to dump on it. That’s old Phil. But if it’s bad, I’m not gonna pretend that it’s anything but bad.’ They want to present it like it’s a real sport and just have a show that recaps stuff.”

Punk famously walked out of the WWE in 2014 due to a long list of grievances. He has not wrestled a match since, though he did pop up at a Milwaukee independent wrestling show under a mask earlier this year and deliver a GTS.

WWE Backstage will be the second show in WWE’s ongoing deal with FOX, which starts this Friday with the premiere of Friday Night SmackDown on the main network. The show is headlined by a WWE Championship match between Kofi Kingston and Brock Lesnar.