CM Punk doesn't have any regrets.
In recent days, Punk has spoke at length about his departure from AEW and how his perception of the company changed as time went on.
In his debut promo for the company, which took place on the August 20, 2021 episode of AEW Rampage, Punk notably said that he was back in professional wrestling after leaving the sport in 2005. This line was in reference to Punk leaving Ring Of Honor in 2005 for WWE, which is branded as sports entertainment.
While chatting with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour for a new interview, Punk stated that he doesn't regret saying the line, despite the fact that he might have been catering towards a niche audience.
"I don’t regret saying it. I think I was catering and maybe leaning too much towards the niche audience. I was sold on AEW being an alternative to what WWE was. That’s the biggest shame to me. This is a last chance. I like competitors. I like guys being able to be like, ‘I can go over here and make X amount of money.’ That’s good for the business and good for the boys. When you’re there, guaranteed money almost ruined pro wrestling. If you had to get paid based off the house, the place would be drastically different. ‘Oh shit, this isn’t working. Do something else. Pivot.’ What is going to get people into the building? The short time I had where I was ‘in charge’ of Collision, that’s the way I did things. What did we draw here last time? Okay, my goal is to get one more ticket sold. I did that. I work incrementally."
Punk also went on to state that he doesn't regret coming back to wrestling, as he made plenty of friends in AEW.
"No. There are too many things I’ve done since coming back that have overshadowed whatever negative spin you want to put on anything. If I didn’t come back, I wouldn’t have met Brody King, I wouldn’t be friends with him to this day. Danhausen, Dax, Cash, Darby, Sting. I don’t want to name everyone because I don’t want people to punished any further for being my friend. So many people. I’m sure I helped somebody along the way. To me, that’s what it’s about. There is a lot of knowledge in here. I never projected that or forced it on anyone. There was that thing about, ‘he would run around and give unsolicited advice.’ Never. My time is valuable. I’m not going to run around and help people if they don’t want help. I was always a guy that would run around and ask things. Do I regret coming back? No because I get to ask questions to people who have been in it longer than me. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, what is your mindset? Obviously, my body is not going to last longer than my brain. I have way more to give to pro wrestling. Do I regret coming back? No."
Elsewhere in the interview, Punk talked about coming back to AEW in 2023 and how he knew it wasn't going to work. Learn more here.
Punk is set to appear at WrestleMania 40, as he will be on commentary for the World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Learn more here.
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