Paul Wight recently opened up on the backstage issues with CM Punk, referring to him by his real name, as Punk has been in the headlines, whether that be because of his post-Collision comments about Hangman Page, issues with The Elite, or reported behind-the-scenes influence over talent such as Ryan Nemeth, Matt Hardy and more not being allowed backstage at Collision shows.
While speaking with DAZN for a new interview, Wight shared his belief that Punk is best for business.
“Star power. A lot of people may not like Phil’s attitude. I’ve known Phil for a long time. We’ve been friends for a long time. Phil is super competitive and super driven. He expects a lot from himself, and he expects a lot from others around him. I think a lot in the beginning here is just a communication breakdown. People might not understand how passionate Phil is. Phil is a guy that’s going to let you know if he’s upset about something, and he’s not going to give a crap if he hurts your feelings. He’s not. He’s never been that way with me. If I’ve screwed up and done something, he’s letting me know right away, ‘What was I thinking?’ and it goes back and forth. I kind of have the same attitude. Not quite as intense as Phil, but mine is very business-oriented. What’s best for the program? What’s best for the overall show? A lot of times in a business, when you have this many incredible talents with this many egos, feathers are going to get rubbed the wrong way. There’s going to be conflict. I mean, it’s not Romper Room. This is a serious business with serious athletes, and everyone has to learn to communicate their passion in different ways. Still, the one thing that unequivocally nobody can deny is CM Punk brings star power.”
Wight also talked about what it means for the success of All In and a large UK crowd this Sunday.
“I know what it means. I think some other guys who have worked bigger shows like this know what it means. I think some of our younger talent haven’t comprehended yet because they haven’t worked in front of a crowd like this one. A lot of them haven’t worked in front of a hot UK crowd and I haven’t even worked in front of a UK crowd this big. So this is going to be a moment in time for, I think, all the crew on AEW and, I think the UK fans as well. That’s what’s so incredible about this is this is the moment in time when I first had my first meeting with Tony Khan. I was very adamant about needing to get to the UK. It’s good for our talent to work in front of those fans to experience that environment. It really helps you understand your character. And I know that sounds weird because you can work all the time in different places, but I’ve always found that I’ve made monumental leaps in my career, character, and understanding of the industry working here in the UK. With that being said, my ambition was like, Yeah, we get a great show, we get a great show at O2 Arena. That would be amazing. Well, if we can fill that place up, it would rock. It would be great. Well, now we’ve got Wembley, ‘like, wow.’”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit DAZN with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
