At the height of their rivalry last year, CM Punk taunted Drew McIntyre over the fact he was dubbed "The Chosen One" by now-disgraced former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
As with most things pro wrestling, we don't know whether it was a shoot or a work. McIntyre looked visibly shocked by Punk's decision to reference their former boss and, in an interview with ITR Wrestling, revealed what he'd have liked to say in return.
"What’s going through my mind is: 'The same person that fired you on your wedding day.' But I’m a professional. I think by that point, people started seeing what I was capable of on the microphone like it was a new thing," the former WWE Champion explained. "If you watched my stuff outside of WWE, you know when I’m comfortable and the reins are taken off me. I don’t care who it is, I can go toe to toe with anyone. Even Punk."
"If you watch the first interview we had, the look in his eyes throughout the promo and how much it changed, you realise this is not the same kid that was an arse so many years ago. He was ready that night, I was ready that night and we went back and forth and back and forth, just hitting each other with these lines."
"And again, this is not something that’s written on a piece of paper like you say this and I’ll say that," McIntyre continued. "This is just two guys going for it, two guys that have got some banter, and two guys that genuinely don’t like each other in a place as hot as Chicago where Punk’s from."
"Then that one line, once we’d finally go back and forth so much, it was a choice for me to make. Do I go back and then we see where we end up? Or do I bite my tongue and say OK, this round belongs to you," he added. "I’ll be a professional. I’ll do it for the company as well as the de facto babyface, even though I’m really the real babyface of the situation. So I let him have it. For the company, not for him."
Punk and McIntyre's feud lasted most of 2024, with the latter picking up a win at SummerSlam before the Second City Saint defeated him both in a Strap Match and inside Hell in a Cell.
They'll share the ring again as soon as this weekend because they're among those competing for a chance to face Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania inside the Elimination Chamber.
You can check out our Elimination Chamber PLE preview by clicking here.