Booker T says CM Punk’s current WWE run is better than his first.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said on the latest episode of The Hall of Fame with Brad Gilmore that Punk betting on himself has paid off.
“I saw something in CM Punk, you know, from the beginning, and you know, when I talk about, you know, guys like CM Punk. You need guys like that. You know, there’s a lot of guys that aren’t willing to bank on themselves,” Booker said. “You know, you got to be willing to bank on yourself, just like Punk leaving WWE, going to AEW. And then leaving AEW and coming back, you know, and look at his career now.”
When Gilmore said he thinks this run is better than Punk’s first, Booker agreed.
“This run’s better than his first run. Yeah, it, in so many aspects, and I think he would probably say the same thing in so many aspects because the things he was worried about the first time around, he’s not worried about those things anymore,” Booker said. “I could be wrong, but I truly believe the things that he worried about the first time around, those things are well far beyond, well far in his rearview mirror, as far as you know what life’s truly all about now.”
Booker said Punk has always been seen as a leader.
“Punk was always outspoken, man. He was always a guy that was going to speak up. You know, he was always a guy that was looked at as a leader,” he said.
When Gilmore said Punk was never afraid of getting fired, Booker agreed: “No, he wasn’t afraid of getting fired, man.”
Booker T on CM Punk’s time in AEW
Gilmore said Punk seemed like “a different human being” in WWE compared with his time in AEW. Booker pointed to what Punk has said about working with younger talent there.
“What I think going to AEW, he said it, he said it himself. You know, he’s working with a bunch of young guys,” Booker said.
Booker compared it to his own move from WWE to TNA.
“I felt the same way when I went to TNA. No disrespect to, you know, a lot of the guys in TNA or anything like that. But I know when I went from WWE to TNA, most guys that have gone from WWE to TNA, they see, man, this structure way, you know, unlike the way I’m used to it being structured,” he said.
“I think when Punk went to AEW, it probably felt like he was starting all over again, even though it had a lot of money in it. Even though it was a company that was, you know, destined to be what it is today,” Booker said. “But for Punk to have gone to where he had gone, to now to have to try to build something, and I’m not looking to build somebody else’s. I’m looking to build my legacy and my destiny … I don’t think it was about, you know, AEW at that point. I think it was about Punk and the way he finished his journey.”
Punk left WWE in January 2014 and debuted in AEW in August 2021. A year later, he was involved in a backstage fight with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega after All Out 2022. AEW fired him in September 2023 following a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In. He returned to WWE at Survivor Series in November 2023.
Since his return, Punk won the World Heavyweight Championship from Gunther at SummerSlam 2025 before losing it the same night to Seth Rollins’ Money in the Bank cash-in. He beat Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the July 6 Raw in Rosemont, Illinois, and lost it back to Zayn on September 11.
Punk challenges Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship on NXT this Wednesday, November 4. The show airs at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
