Triple H recently appeared on the Sports Illustrated Podcast and was asked about CM Punk possibly working on the WWE Backstage show for FS1, which premieres on Tuesday, November 5 with Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T as the hosts. He was asked if Punk working the show would be something he’d sign off on, and be happy to see.
“Look, I’ve read about that as well,” Triple H said of the Punk – FS1 reports. “You know, to be clear, FOX is doing this show, and it’s their show, and it’s something they’re doing to talk about the WWE Universe and everything going on in it. They’ve had a long list of people they’ve been interviewing and everything, but as far as for us, one of the things I think this company has shown over and over again, is never say never.
“If the opportunity is right for everybody and it’s right for our fans, then we are willing to put the past behind us and move forward. So, I would say, never say never, but that’s also probably a long way from coming to. I don’t know. That’s also a little bit outside of my purview at the moment, but like I said, never say never.”
Punk appeared on Collider Live earlier today and confirmed the reports on his recent tryout for the WWE Backstage show on FS1.
“Yeah I did it,” Punk said (H/T to Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc). “I’m very much in a position where, ‘Well come talk to me.’
“I’m open to anything,” Punk continued, adding that this does not necessarily include wrestling. “If they come to me with, ‘Hey we want you to wrestle,’ I’ll say, ‘um, I’m not interested’.”
Punk left WWE in late 2014 and said he’s changed a lot since then. He added that he’s a businessman, but he puts his morals and integrity above business deals.
“I’ve grown so much as a person and I look back at all the stuff and I don’t need it. I don’t need the confrontation and I don’t need the drama,” Punk said. “But I’m a businessman. I also put my morals and my integrity above business deals. If you want me to do anything, well OK, come talk to me but don’t waste my time.”
Punk also confirmed that he and his agents are dealing with FOX, not WWE.
“My agents just called me and FOX is throwing everything at this because they spent a lot of money on this and they’re all in to make it work. Originally I thought it was a WWE thing, so I was just like, ‘meh, no.’ But then they said, ‘this is FOX.’”
He continued, “I’m not dealing with anybody in WWE. They explained to me what it was and I love Renee Young. Renee Young is a great person… she’s Canadian, so obviously she’s super over-the-top nice and friendly. I prefaced it with, ‘Guys, I’m not going to come in and dump all over stuff just to dump on it. That’s old Phil. But if it’s bad, I’m not going to be able to pretend it’s anything but bad.’
“So they want to present it like it’s a real sport and just have a show that recaps stuff, just like they do with the NFL, just like the NHL Network would do with hockey games and stuff like that. That’s where we are with that.”
Punk also revealed that no one from WWE has contacted him since the FS1 tryout. He joked, “No, I’m the boogeyman!”
