Marc Raimondi of ESPN recently posted an article looking at the return of CM Punk to pro wrestling.
It turns out WWE had apparently reached out to Punk around December 2020 to potentially bring him in. However, he felt like WWE “played games” during the talks. Punk said,
“I remember one of the first things I ever said to them was, ‘Above all, don’t play games.’ And they played games. Some things never change. … When you enter a conversation with people you have a past with and you know who they are, how seriously can you take it? I know exactly who they are and they just continue to prove it. I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I possibly can.”
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that FOX and Punk had a great relationship from his time while working on WWE Backstage.
FOX pushed WWE to sign him, but WWE initially said the money was too high to bring in someone like Punk. This led to FOX offering to help out with that to get him signed. However, WWE officials then told FOX there were other reasons they didn’t want him, including attitude issues.