Matt Hardy has shared his thoughts on the polarizing topic of CM Punk performing at WWE’s recent Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia. Hardy acknowledged that while Punk is a “good employee doing his job,” he had to expect criticism for going back on his past statements against working in the country.
The conversation has been a major point of discourse among wrestling fans, stemming from a 2020 tweet where Punk told The Miz to “Go suck a Blood Money covered d–k in Saudi Arabia.” At the recent event, Punk publicly apologized for the tweet, stating it had “nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.”
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Hardy explained the difficult position Punk was in. “He’s an employee, he has a job. He’s one of the top guys, one of the top acts in WWE, and they wanted him to do that, and that was, like, his job requirement,” Hardy said. “It’s one of those things, especially if you’re trying to be a good employee… even if something you don’t want to do, you have to know you’re going to take a hit in it.”
Hardy elaborated that by performing on the show, Punk could no longer stand on the “moral high ground” he had previously claimed. “If you proclaim something strongly and like, ‘No, I stand on these words,’ then you kind of, you kind of have to, or your character is going to take a hit, or people are going to say, ‘Well, he’s a hypocrite,'” he stated.
Hardy believes Punk is well aware of his obligations now that he is back in WWE. “He has to play by the rules and be a good employee, you know, and kind of toe the company line,” Hardy explained. “I think he was okay with that, and he was accepting of that… but at the end of the day, it just is what it is. And he was doing what he’s f—ing told because it’s his job.”
Following his loss to John Cena at Night of Champions, CM Punk has become embroiled in a feud with Seth Rollins and LA Knight. The three men are expected to be major players on the Raw brand heading into SummerSlam.
Matt Hardy’s podcast drops every Friday at ExtremeHardy.com. If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit ExtremeHardy.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
