In what can only be described as the most must-watch pro wrestling interview of 2024, CM Punk has sat down for a tell-all conversation with Ariel Helwani that's every bit as impactful as that post-WWE departure podcast way back in 2014.
Clocking in at nearly 2 hours, the Second City Saint covers all manner of topics, including the circumstances leading to his WWE return. WWE President Nick Khan was the one who made the deal happen, with Punk's contract signed right before he appeared at Survivor Series: WarGames.
Talking in the video below, Punk revealed that he only saw Vince McMahon on a single occasion after making his WWE comeback (in contrast, before agreeing to return, the Best in the World had a lengthy conversation with Triple H over Zoom to settle past differences).
"I was in [WWE headquarters' gym] and I was on the phone on the treadmill warming up. Vince's trainers [say] 'Hey, you've got to get off the phone. Vince doesn't like it when people are on the phone in the gym,'" Punk recalled. "Then I saw him walking down into the gym. He came in for his daily workout."
"He gave me a big hug. He said 'Welcome home. Good to see you. Let's connect after I work out,'" he continued. "I said. Alright.' Haven't seen him since."
McMahon's role in WWE from a creative standpoint was extremely limited at the time, and he was later forced to step down from his role as Executive Chairman amid a horrifying sexual assault/trafficking lawsuit.
Sharing his thoughts on that Punk said, "I didn't read all the allegations, I read text messages and went, 'Oh, f*** this.' It's indefensible. There's victims here. What CM Punk thinks about Vince and the CM Punk and Vince relationship doesn't mean f***ing anything here. All that stuff takes a backseat. I'm more concerned about, going forward, how those people survive going through that trauma."
"He ruined his life. He ruined his life ruining other people's lives," Punk concluded. "So there's very much a part of me that's like, 'Good, we got him.'"
Elsewhere in the conversation, Punk strongly hinted that his recovery from a tricep injury is going well and confirmed that, before it happened at the Royal Rumble, the idea was indeed for him to challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania.
"The plan I think was going to be Seth and I," he said. "I believe so. Again, I came in and said I'm not asking questions." Asked if was content with that, Punk added, "Yeah, there's history there, there's story there."
Watch the full interview below.