In 2016, Punk and Cabana reportedly had a falling out due to Punk being upset with his friend for being backstage at a WWE Raw event. In Punk’s mind, Cabana associating himself in any manner with WWE would hurt his defense. Clearly it had no effect, as both were cleared from the lawsuit.
Cabana appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio, and Bubba Ray Dudley asked Colt for the status on where his friendship with Punk stands.
Cabana responded,
"We're... we're what we are, you know?" Bubba, dissatisfied with the answer, asked if he and Punk were at least cordial, to which Cabana responded,
"Yes. Of course we are."
Bubba then asked if they were friends again, since a situations like this can bring people closer together.
"Me and Punk [are] like you and Taz," said Cabana. Bubba responded,
"Ah, so it's really bad, huh?" Cabana said hesitantly,
"We're friends."
Punk made it clear during the UFC 225 press week that he is done with professional wrestling, and has tried to put it behind him for the past five years. Cabana was asked whether Punk would return to the ring.
"I think he has no desire to ever go to WWE, but, you never know," he said.
"In 10 years, something can be different. His mindset could be different, his pocket book could be different, these are factors that I don't know. Like, right now, I think he hates wrestling, and everything is kind of... it's weird, because it's done everything for him, and it's also done everything against him. So, I think he has a bad taste for wrestling in his mouth but, you know, in four, five, 10 years, who knows?"
Cabana added that Chris Jericho's involvement with New Japan Pro Wrestling this year shows that there are other options. Bubba added that it is hard to see how someone who is passionate about wrestling allow one company to strip it all away from him, despite that fact that fans still "clamor for him and genuinely love him." Cabana stated that he feels sad for Punk, as becoming so successful in the WWE led to him losing his passion for the business that he showed during his time with Ring of Honor.