WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed CM Punk’s appearance on NXT Deadline. While speaking on the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker said that he saw Punk backstage.
“CM Punk wasn’t hiding. He wasn’t hidden away in some room making a surprise appearance. He was running around, mingling. I ran into CM Punk in catering. He was sitting there talking with a couple of friends (Jeremy Borash). I got me a little meal and sat down. Before I sat down, I walked up to CM Punk and I said, ‘CM Punk! What up man?’ He stands up and he goes, “What’s up man, you flip flopper.” I go, ‘You know how the business is, sometimes you’re a heel, sometimes you’re a babyface but welcome home.'”
Booker added that he and Punk had “Small talk” and that Punk “seemed to be at peace. He seems to be ready to rewrite the legacy of CM Punk and finish this thing off properly. How many times have I said it? … at the end of the day, we all want to get a chance to finish this thing right and then thank the fans for that rise. He seemed like he was a great space. I can’t say anything bad about him. I know people wish that I would say something bad about CM Punk. It ain’t kissing ass or anything like that either. He seemed like he was in a calm space.”
Brad Gilmore asked if there was a noticeable difference with Punk from his time in AEW three months ago.
Booker said, “I know exactly what you mean.” Booker also said that he feels that Punk was the “regular CM Punk that I always knew” He also said, “I’ve never had a beef with CM Punk. Not once, I’ve never had a beef with CM Punk. I never got to the point where I said something negative to the point to where I was like ‘I want to fight CM Punk’ or some stupid stuff like that.’ This is about business. When he said I’m not here to make friends, he’s here to make business. But in this kind of business, you gotta have friends in order to do business. Because you’re working with a lot of guys that you have to trust in the middle of that ring. You gotta care about the guys that you’re working with, it’s just that simple…I’m not saying that to CM Punk at all because he knows that. There’s a reason why things didn’t work out in AEW because a lot of those guys probably didnt care about each other.”
On being called a flip flopper, Booker said, “I am a flip flopper. That’s not a bad thing. I’m a flip flopper in the way of sometimes I see things one way, sometimes I see things the other way.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
