A former NXT star has spoken about his rare interaction with CM Punk backstage in AEW.
CM Punk’s future in AEW remains uncertain following his remarks at the AEW All Out press conference and the alleged backstage brawl involving himself, Ace Steel, and The Elite.
The former AEW World Champion has reportedly undergone surgery for a torn left tricep he sustained during his match with Jon Moxley at the pay-per-view.
Reports have suggested that many within the AEW locker room feel he is more of a hindrance than a help to the company. Even before his controversial comments at the media scrum, the AEW star was rumoured to have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way backstage.
However, one AEW talent who seemingly had a positive experience with Punk in the company is former NXT star, Anthony Henry.
In an interview with Wrestling Inc., Henry discussed his rare encounter with the former AEW World Champion and said he showed a lot of respect towards him.
“I have talked to Punk a couple of times,” he said, “He was very nice to me. Actually, when I came in, he introduced himself to me. Which – very nice. That’s a rare thing that usually doesn’t happen. But he just walked up to me like, ‘Hi, I’m Phil.'”
Henry continued to say that he hasn’t had any real in-depth conversations with Punk, though he did mention he always came off as “a cool guy” to him.
Punk said during his rant at the media scrum that he had an issue with younger talent refusing to take advice from experienced wrestlers like himself. The issues seemingly came from Adam ‘Hangman’ Page admitting at Galaxy Con in August that he doesn’t like taking advice.
As for Punk, he’s reportedly set to miss eight months of in-ring action and is still currently suspended from the company due to his involvement in the backstage brawl.
H/T – Wrestling Inc.