Ryan Satin On When He Found Out CM Punk Was Debuting on WWE Backstage, Punk’s Role on the Show and Possible In-Ring Return

– Wrestling journalist and WWE Backstage correspondent Ryan Satin spoke with Wrestling Inc for a new interview discussing CM Punk’s debut on last week’s episode of Backstage. Satin said that he didn’t know Punk was debuting until his music hit and weighed in on what Punk’s role will be on the show. Highlights are below:

On when he found out Punk was debuting: “We had a production meeting and there was no Punk talk and nothing in the rundown. There was no word from anyone and no inkling whatsoever. Then I did my segment and when I was done, somebody came up to me and rushed me out into the control room … Mick Foley was in there [in the green room] and eating a sandwich. I was trying to post stories from my phone and right when I get the second one up, I hear [Punk’s music] and my jaw dropped. I see him walk out and I’m like, ‘Oh my God. Are you kidding me?’ I turn around and ask Mick if he had any idea Punk was there. He goes, ‘No, that’s crazy’ and goes back to eating his sandwich. Then I asked production and they had no idea. I was like, ‘What the hell? That’s crazy.’ I had no idea and was just as surprised as anyone.”

On what Punk’s role will be on WWE Backstage: “From how it sounds to me, he’s gonna be an analyst like Booker T, Paige and Christian have been in the past. He’s gonna be giving his takes on the various things in the world of the WWE.”

On if it will lead to an in-ring return for Punk: “I don’t know the answer but if you asked anyone who might know the answer, I’m sure they’d say he’s just doing the analyst thing. He doesn’t wanna come back to wrestling and sees this as a bridge to something he can bring to FOX.”

On Punk’s appeal to FOX: “With Punk, he was a phenomenon with wrestling fans because he stood for a certain thing…FOX has a long, five-year deal with WWE so if he can be their top wrestling analyst, then I think he wants to do that. If you asked someone a year ago if they thought Punk would do this, the answer would have been no. The answer in a year from now could be different. It’s so hard to say. Would I like to see him wrestle again? Yeah, duh. CM Punk reinvigorated my love for wrestling. When he did the ECW thing, I thought it was so awesome and the same for Samoa Joe with Impact. Both of those guys were huge for me in reinvigorating my love for pro wrestling. It was crazy for me to see them both doing the show.”