JBL Says CM Punk’s Pipebomb Promo Was Result of Having Latitude As Big Star

On the latest episode of Something To Wrestle With, JBL talked about the ongoing discourse around Pat McAfee’s insertion into the WrestleMania 42 main event picture, CM Punk’s pipebomb promo, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On McAfee:

“I think we’re very lucky to have Pat McAfee. The guy is a massive star. It’s like having the Rock when he comes back. Whether you like what he does or not, the fact we got the biggest movie star in the world coming back, I think it’s just fantastic. Same with Pat McAfee. It’s great that WWE has a star like this that comes and goes. And when you have guys that big, you just let them do basically whatever they want to do. You’re glad they came.”

On Punk’s pipebomb promo:

“If that had been a real pipebomb. And I’m not taking anything away from the promo, by the way, I thought it’s terrific, and you have to deliver it. I thought CM Punk did a great job. Vince McMahon would just cut off the cameras or just go to a commercial. You know, obviously it was part of WWE, Vince, that during that era, Vince didn’t care what you said, you know, he’d say, what are you basically going to say for guys he trusts, you know? So CM Punk had a lot of latitude. Stars that big always do. So I don’t know if it was a matter of go out there and do a pipebomb and you kind of expect something crazy to happen, and you give them a lot of latitude. I expect that’s probably what it was, but that’s just a guess. That’s an educated guess, but that’s a guess. But I think that you know, when you create interest like this, I think they love it. You know, the main thing is, do you go out there? Do you create interest? Do you sell tickets, and do you make a buzz from what you’re doing? And I think CM Punk did all of that.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something To Wrestle With an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.