WWE star Finn Balor has shared their honest thoughts on CM Punk, having “heard horror stories” in the past.
The current Undisputed WWE Champion, CM Punk, has recently found himself on the sharp end of Sami Zayn’s tongue after the title changed hands on this week’s Raw.
Finn Balor also turned his attention towards Punk during a recent appearance on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, reflecting on what he expected from the star when he returned to WWE, saying:
“Punk is someone I’d never really interacted with much. I’d actually only met him once at Samoa Joe’s wedding, like this is back in 2002, 2003 maybe. Then he had left WWE when I signed with NXT. So we never really had any interactions.
“I’ll go on the record as saying, I’d heard horror stories about Punk being this asshole, being difficult to deal with, being (this) big-headed guy that no one wants to work with. And when he came back to WWE, it could not have been the opposite. I met this guy who was humble, polite, wanted to work with people.”
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The pair would face each other at Elimination Chamber back in February of this year, a match that saw Punk retain the World Heavyweight Champoinship, having also crossed paths on WWE Raw back in January.
Balor would credit Punk with likely being the one to have pitched working with him in Northern Ireland on Raw, stating:
“I’m pretty sure he went to the office, and he said he wanted this match, I don’t think it came from the office, I think it came from Punk.
“The way that it unfolded, like that match could have been anywhere. I could have been in any random city in the United States, but it was in Belfast, like my home country. It was my mom’s birthday the day before, so she was there, and then we done the match, the crowd reaction was unbelievable, we brought back the old music. It was so fun, I was enjoying it. I wasn’t thinking about the match, I was just living it.
“It was easy to work with Phil. It was like we’re just having fun; we were talking to each other out there, it was great. We done the match one, two, three. I leave him in the ring, I walk to the back. That was so cool man, that was so cool.
“And then I hear him, ‘Hey where’s Finn?’ I can hear him on the mic, and then the producers are running cuz I’m off taking my tape off and going ‘F**k, that was so cool, I’m going to get to see my family now, it’s cool.’ And then they’re saying, ‘Punk’s calling you out in the ring.’ I walk back out there, I’m like ‘F**k what am I gonna say?’ I don’t really like doing promos and stuff, you know? I don’t like speaking in general; I’d rather rely on my work, you know.’ And he gave me the microphone, left the ring. I got to sing my mom happy birthday in front of f**king everybody.’ It’s the f**king coolest thing man.
“And then getting a couple weeks later to it again in Chicago with him, it was like tit for tat. I think it meant as much to him in Chicago as it did to me in Belfast. I think we’ll share that bond for a long time.”
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The CM Punk Conundrum
When it comes to CM Punk, it’s clear he’s a star with a particular vision of how he is best utilized, wherever he happens to be, and that belief can rub others up the wrong way.
His AEW tenure came to an end with his firing following a backstage altercation with Jungle Boy (now Jack Perry, or Jungle Jack).
More recently, there were reports of issues between the star and WWE following his loss at WrestleMania 42, with Dave Meltzer noting the differences were “not as bad as some have made it out to be”.
While we may never discover how deep the differences truly went, it isn’t the first time that Punk has rubbed up against WWE, with his past tenure ending in a well-documented parting of the ways.
MJF perhaps put it best when he stated “he’s a piece of s**t, but he’s a great wrestler“, clearly more than aware that the cost of business is occasionally working with someone that might be a challenge to get along with. It is, after all, something that many workers, regardless of business, are very much aware of: you don’t necessarily have to like someone to get the job done.
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