CM Punk still has a few months of recovery left before he’s ready to return to the ring, but he will be hosting the kickoff shows for both nights of Wrestlemania this year. His decade-long absence from WWE sparked one of the biggest returns of the company at last year’s Survivor Series, even though we’re still unsure if it’s best for business.
His AEW departure lit a series of controversies and he said/they said swarms with Punk’s diehard fans blaming the company for dropping the ball on his brief run in the company. Punk wrestled longtime rival Samoa Joe at AEW All-In and explained to Ariel Helwani that he knew it was his last match.
Punk confirmed a backstage altercation did happen with Jack Perry, and then told Tony Khan that he quit. “I didn’t punch anybody, I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, and then I quit. I turned to Tony (Khan) and I said, ‘This place is a f–king joke, man. You’re a clown, I quit.'”
Punk went on to wrestle Joe and said he decided to go on with the match out of respect for Joe, Jerry Lynn, and referee Paul Turner. “I was like this is the last time I’m ever going to wrestle Samoa Joe. This is my last match in this company.”
He added that he understood that there were probably a lot of fans in London who went there to see him and wanted to give them a show.
Wrestlemania 40 is a two-night event starting Saturday, April 6 in Philadelphia.