Ahead of WrestleMania 40, CM Punk appeared as a special guest on The MMA Hour, where the 45-year-old CM Punk did a lengthy interview with Ariel Helwani, in which he extensively covered Punk's All Elite Wrestling days. That included a backstage match with Jack Perry. That led to Punk's firing.
The interview went viral on social media Monday night, with reactions “all over the place” from within WWE, according to Fightful Select.
One talent says Punk's time in AEW is far from clear, despite a non-disclosure agreement preventing him from talking about aspects of his time with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Brawl Out, and other promotions. He said he thought he would talk about it before he knew it. Meanwhile, another WWE talent said he wanted Punk's MMA Hour interview to be this week in hopes that by the weekend people would forget about it and move on to pro wrestling.
Although there was no belief among WWE's higher-ups that Punk wanted to talk about AEW today, the former AEW World Champion knew it would likely come up during the interview. Punk is unlikely to have a heavy media schedule this week ahead of WrestleMania 40 as he continues to recover from his torn triceps.
Punk returned to WWE in November 2023, but the 45-year-old has received only positive reviews for the promotion so far.
