At WWE Survivor Series, CM Punk shocked the pro wrestling world when he made his surprise return to the promotion he once spoke very poorly of. It was a move that many fans and insiders did not see coming, considering how tumultuous Punk’s run was in All Elite Wrestling. While at AEW, Punk was at odds with members of The Elite, Jack Perry, Ryan Nemeth, and others.
During an interview on Rumor & Innuendo, Chavo Guerrero commented on WWE’s decision to re-hire Punk.
“WWE is very, very good at putting differences aside and making those dollars,” he said. “And if you look at the response that Punk got coming back. I remember people saying, should he go back? Should he not go back? Everybody is gonna have an opinion on it. But when it comes down to the dollar signs, it was a pretty good decision. Whether it plays out? Whether it pans out? We’ll have to see in the future.
“When he first went to AEW, what a great acquisition it was for them. Did it last? No. Did it kind of flounder? Okay. Yeah, sure. But then him going to WWE is like, wow. And the reaction from Seth Rollins and all the guys in the ring. It was like, was that a work? Is that a shoot? What’s going on? They’re working all of us. It was awesome. So I was a big fan. Everyone was like, oh my god, I can’t believe he came back.
“So I definitely can see it, for sure. That’s been their MO forever. You got Hogan leaving the company and coming back. Macho never went back, but NWO leaving, and really, Vince was almost put out of business by WCW, almost, and then to see him triumph and come back and change his product and pivot and let you know that they’re even bigger than they’ve ever been. So, they’re very, very good at, as I said, putting the differences aside and just making money.”
Co-host Robert Karpeles, a former WWE creative team member behind the @WWECreative_ish account, agreed with Guerrero that the company is a business and all about money. With that said, he felt that the locker room was likely consulted before Punk’s return to ensure everyone could work together.
“It’s a business but also Vince, and I don’t know how involved he is anymore, but he was, when I was there, he was always the most involved person,” Guerrero responded. “I can’t see him not being involved and not still having his fingers in everything. But he really does like someone kind of being an a-hole back there. If you look at old Shawn Michaels stuff, it was almost like he was given the keys to the kingdom because of his attitude. His work, of course, don’t get me wrong, but his attitude as well went along with it.
“And, you know, I’ve talked to many different champions, I won’t name them, but they’re like, ‘Hey, Vince used to tell me, why are you being so nice? I’m giving you the okay to be a jerk and be a total a-hole to people.’ And those guys were like, ‘That’s not who I am. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to be an a-hole just to be an a-hole.’ So, Punk can be an a-hole to me.
“Now, I get along with him awesome—Phil’s great. I’ve never had an issue with him. I worked with him for three straight months doing the ECW stuff longer, probably half a year. And we never once had one issue in the ring. Never once. Not even like a riff. We always got along so well. So, he’s a pretty misunderstood guy. But you know, Punk can be Punk. It can be difficult. So, I think that only lasts so long in WWE when, you know, I think he’s probably on his best behavior right now.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling and credit Rumor & Innuendo