CM Punk Reflects On His ‘Wasted’ Time In WWE

All Elite Wrestling star CM Punk has never hidden his disdain for his time in WWE, even recently posting a joke on Instagram that seemed to mock WWE's decision to move Money in the Bank from Allegiant Stadium to the smaller MGM Grand Garden Arena. While there are many reasons behind Punk's attitude toward his former employer, he made it clear how he feels about his WWE run — and how much different his experience has been in AEW — in an interview with ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

"I feel like it was kind of wasted," Punk said. "It could have been so much more. It should have been so much more. And now, this is everything I dreamed pro wrestling could and should be. And I'm here and I'm f*cking in the moment. I'm not thinking about tomorrow. I'm not worried about sh*t that happened yesterday. I'm living in the moment and I'm 100% in my f*cking prime, best I've ever been."

Punk wrestled for WWE from 2005 until 2014, when he walked out of the company following the 2014 Royal Rumble. While he had enjoyed a historic 434-day reign as WWE Champion, he was nonetheless rarely presented as face of the promotion, or as its biggest star. But while he's scheduled to headline AEW Double or Nothing this Sunday in a championship match against "Hangman" Adam Page — his first world championship opportunity since 2013 — his focus remains firmly on the good of AEW as a whole.

"I don't run things," Punk said. "I don't call shots. I don't book sh*t. I just make towns. And I have a wealth of experience that I can draw from. I have a wealth of positive and negative experiences that I can draw from. I'm not sitting back trying to hold people back, politic or anything. I'm just literally trying to make this place better."