CM Punk On How He Wants To Help The Younger Roster of AEW

In an interview with ESPN, CM Punk spoke about becoming a mentor for the younger wrestlers in AEW and how he wants to help them in their careers. Here are highlights:

On wanting to help the younger generation: “F— buyrates and million-dollar gates and everything. That’s what this s— is about. What’s the best part? The best part is making these new relationships and showing guys what a lot of guys never showed me but should have: to not be a d— to these kids who just want to be pro wrestlers.”

On making himself available to those that want his help: “There’s people that I shared locker rooms with that I wish I could have just talked to like a normal person and picked their brain. But everybody is like so guarded. I literally just want to show them I’m an open book. I’m here. I’m walking around all day [backstage]. Whatever you need, I’m literally here for you. It’s a full-time job, baby. Literally. But I love it.”

On FTR: “They’re f—ing artists. People who don’t understand pro wrestling will read that and groan. I understand that. But we’re operating on a different level and it’s OK not to understand it. We get it and I appreciate the s— out of both those guys.”

Powerhouse Hobbs on what Punk told him before their match: “First thing he said, don’t worry about anybody else. ‘Your mom is in the crowd. Let’s put the match on for her.’ That made me feel so much better, so much more comfortable with him in the ring. He just knew what that night meant for me.”

Tony Khan on what Punk has done for AEW: “CM Punk is somebody who continuously, I think, surprises me, amazes me. He helped grow our business when he arrived here. I think that, in particular, [he] helped put a spotlight on a lot of the young wrestlers. He’s also been a really good mentor backstage in addition to just helping people’s wallets potentially by getting everybody in a better position in this company, by helping us get more fans, sell more pay-per-views, sell more merchandise. He’s been that guy.”