Booker T ‘Isn’t Surprised’ By CM Punk’s Backstage Issues In AEW

AEW

AEW World Champion CM Punk made his return to AEW television at the climax of the AEW Quake by the Lake special episode of Dynamite, confronting interim World Champion Jon Moxley.

Punk opened up this week’s episode of Dynamite, speaking for the first time since his return the week prior, where he came with verbal jabs for many of AEW’s top stars, including ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.

Punk mentioning Page in the promo reportedly caught ‘a lot of people off guard’, as it was not a planned part of the segment. Stories have since come out about real-life issues between the two, and many AEW talent being ‘almost at breaking point’ in the company.

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke about the issues on the recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, where he said that he ‘isn’t surprised’ by Punk’s backstage issues, as he had shared a locker room with Punk.

He said:

“I’m not surprised. I’ve been in the locker room with him (CM Punk). Everything that we’re hearing in the news right now on social media, I’m not surprised one bit. I know the fans really love CM Punk. They got some kind of love affair with this guy. I’ve said it before that CM Punk has that ability to make fans feel a certain way about him, and those fans have followed him forever. It was on that eight-year ride, that eight-year hiatus waiting on him and holding on to that hope that he will come back. Finally he comes back, and now we see that it’s not about the wrestling. Let’s just say that. It’s not about wrestling at all. It’s about being in the right situation.

“If Tony can let him have that, great. It’s fine and dandy for CM Punk. But I’ll tell you right now, there’s a reason why we haven’t seen MJF. He falls under the same umbrella as far as, man to hell with that. I’m one guy that doesn’t have to take it. You know what I mean?”

Booker carried on, referencing a tweet that Dustin Rhodes made recently, claiming that people who weren’t happy in AEW should just ‘f**k off’.

Booker said that the Punk situation won’t be the end of the issues in AEW, saying:

“And I’m gonna tell you right now, it’s gonna be a whole lot more like that. You know, my homie, my good friend, Goldie, put out a tweet, he said, ‘People that don’t want to be here, they should just leave.’ I get it. I’m sure it’s a lot of people talking like that now because it’s not going to always be roses in a situation like this in this wrestling business. That’s just the way it is, unfortunately.”

Booker then explained that Tony Khan needs to take the reins in the situation, as it is his job to make the wrestlers happy enought to want to stay in AEW.

He said:

“We’re going to see how this thing play out at the end of the day, but the one person who’s going to have to really take the reins in this situation is Tony Khan because this gives a certain perception as far certain guys coming in with certain treatment, and certain guys that’s been there with certain treatment. That’s where a riff is going to come in, just like it did with WCW. When all the WCW guys came in, guys got pissed off. Guys got hot because they wouldn’t make a lot of money. I was one of them, and trust me, if they wouldn’t have bumped my money up, I would have left WCW and I would have gone to WWE. I would have. I know I would have. They made me happy enough to stay, and that’s what AEW is gonna have to do with a lot of their guys right now. That’s the position that they’re in right now. You want it to be in that WCW position, you’re in it.”

transcription via WrestlingNews.co

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• Booker T
• Backstage
• cm punk
• AEW

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