Mick Foley weighs in on the return of CM Punk to WWE and his first promo on the November 27 WWE Raw.
CM Punk returned to WWE after 10 years away at WWE Survivor Series 2023. He cut his first promo on the subsequent episode of WWE Raw. In the promo, apartments he referred to WWE as his home and said he was glad to be back but he's not back for friends, he's back for money.
Mick Foley, on the most recent episode of Busted Open Radio, weighed in on Punk's first promo in WWE after a decade and Punk's final few big moments in AEW.
"Look, he's a master of the mic. It was a really strong promo. One thing we do have to realize, and I tell some of the younger talent, 'It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.' He's laying the groundwork for what should be an incredible run."
Speaking about the time near the end of CM Punk's first run in WWE, Foley recalled giving him advice ahead of his match at WrestleMania 29 with Undertaker when, according to Foley, Punk couldn't get motivated for.
"Phil and I were pretty close at one time and he couldn't get motivated for The Undertaker. He felt like they had taken that main event spot away from him. I'd say, 'Phil, the main event is what the fans decide the main event is. You go out there and you decide what your own WrestleMania moments are.' I don't like to brag about much but I felt like Edge and I had the match of the night in 2006 and no one will be able to tell me differently. That was my WrestleMania moment. I didn't need someone stamping the words main event on it to tell me how I felt when the match was done," he said.
Mick Foley also talked about how things ended for Punk at AEW ultimately and his hopes that CM Punk can pull it together for a strong final run in WWE.
"I just feel like if you can't appreciate working with Undertaker at WrestleMania and if you win the AEW Title end your focus becomes, not on the joy of that title, but on airing your grievances, then you've done a disservice to the title," said Foley. "I'm going to say also when he had the interaction with Jungle Boy, if the feeling after drawing the largest non-WWE crowd in the history of the United Kingdom is not on that crowd but on a backstage fight, again, you've done a disservice to the company.
"This is going to be Punk's last run and I hope he finds a way to enjoy it," he continued. "I believe he'll do whatever he needs to do to be as good as he possibly can be... I know this guy has torn the house down over the course of a few decades now and I know he has the pride to tear it down again. I just hope, as a human being, that Phil will enjoy it and rise to the occasion of the big moments so that we as fans are talking about what we should be talking about when those matches are over and not some extracurricular activity."
Fans can read Jon Moxley's thoughts, or rather his lack thereof, on CM Punk's return to WWE here.
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