CM Punk Confirms He Received AEW Offer At One Point, Says He’s Still Under Contract To UFC

In an interview with ESPN, CM Punk confirmed that he received an offer from AEW at one point via text message and said that the only event in Chicago he will appear at during Labor Day weekend is Starrcast III. That means if you’re expecting him for AEW All Out, you’re going to be disappointed. Here are highlights:

On AEW claiming they’ve had talks with him: “No. I know they like to talk about me a lot. If I text Matt Jackson, “Hey, have a great show tonight,” which I did when they had their big show in Vegas, that somehow turns into Tony Khan telling people he has a great relationship with me. I’ve said in the past I’ve talked to them, but nothing ever came of anything.”

On those expecting him to appear at AEW All Out: “I’m competing against myself. For better or for worse, it’s in the public eye. So obviously people are going to broadcast my failures. Success quietly hugs you in private and failure slaps you in front of the world. That’s just life. People just don’t keep that to account when they’re talking s— about you on Twitter or when you stumble and fall, they laugh at you. I think if there’s an expectation, it’s purely been built by them. My silence to some fans means something. They’re trying to read the tea leaves, but there’s nothing to read. I even feel like talking about it may feel like I’m putting some sort of negative slant on it, but I’m really not. The fact is I know they’ve teased me ad nauseam, and if anybody is gonna get mad it’s at me because I don’t show up. Well then, I don’t know what to tell you. That’s one of those things that’s none of my business.”

On getting an offer via text message: “The last thing I got — I got a text from Cody [Rhodes]. And again, I almost don’t even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, “Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk.” I’m kind of damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn’t really a way to do good business, at least. It was texted through three people and an offer came in through text. This is like a month ago, maybe. I think it was just a general offer. I never could have done the last one in Vegas [Double or Nothing], because I was in California for CFFC.”

On appearing at Starrcast: “They asked if I wanted to do Starrcast. That’s basically it. There’s no mad scientist formula to it. I hate traveling. I’ve turned down offers to do signings in other places. It turns into a mission to leave town just to do a signing and stuff. I like to take time with everybody and make sure everybody has a good experience. I try not to just shuffle people through a line. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s not just somebody shoves something in front of me, I sign it and it’s on to the next. I really try to make sure everybody has a story to tell or an experience. Sometimes it can be exhausting. The biggest thing was it’s in my hometown. I get to go for one day, I get to have fun, I get to give back to the fans, so to speak. And I get to go home and rest afterward.”

On fighting again for UFC: “That I have no idea about, but I will say that I’m a different animal compared to most people. I think I’m just kind of floating right now. But have I been offered anything? No, I haven’t. Every time somebody calls me, though, I’m like, “Oh, this is it, I’m cut.” I think I’ve come to terms with it. I’d be like, ‘All right.’ There’s people out there that will read this interview and for some reason complete strangers will get furious about what’s going on in other people’s lives. I don’t pretend to say what’s fair and what’s right. I just roll with the situation I’m in. If I was gonna fight again, should it be in the UFC? Probably not. But again, I’m not gonna … be like, “Hey, you should cut me.” It’ll happen or it won’t happen. I’m not worried about it.”

On those who think he’d join AEW because it’s against WWE: “”I get it,” Punk said. “But also there’s a weird thing, and I don’t know, it’s just across entertainment as a whole, but I’m not that dude that sat down on a stage in Vegas eight years ago. I’m not the dude that left WWE. I’m not that guy. That was five-years-ago Phil. I’m a different dude now. People still have that connotation, like, “Oh, he hates WWE.” And it’s just like, no, I’ve let all that go, and I’ve let all that go so long ago. But there are people that hold on to that. They still think or want me to be who I was. I’m not who I was yesterday. This is my journey, this is my odyssey.”