CM Punk confirms report.
On Sept. 27 it was reported by PWInsider that CM Punk did on-camera testing for WWE Backstage, WWE's upcoming studio show on Fox Sports 1. Though Punk has played coy in recent interviews when asked about the report, he finally broke the news that he did, in fact, meet with Fox for the show.
"Yeah, I did it," Punk told Collider Live. "This goes back to me being in a position in my life where I'm like, 'What do you got?' I'm very much in a position where I'm like, 'Well, talk to me.' I'm open to anything. If they come at me and they're like, 'Hey, we want you to wrestle.' I'm gonna be like, 'I'm not interested.' I've grown so much as a person and I look back at all that stuff and I don't need the confrontation and the drama. I'm a businessman. But I put my morals and integrity above business deals."
Punk then went into detail about how the meeting came about and what the show entails.
"My agent called me and said Fox is throwing everything at this because they spent a lot of money on this and they're all in and they have to make it work it. Originally, I thought it was a WWE thing and I was like, 'Uhm, no.' But this is Fox. I'm not dealing with anybody in WWE," said Punk. "They explained to me what it was. I love Renee Young. She's a great person. It's along the lines of what I do with Cage Fury FC. I prefaced it by saying, 'I'm not gonna come in to dump all over on stuff just to dump on it. That's old Phil. But if it's bad, I'm not gonna pretend that it's anything but bad.' They want to present it like it's a real sport and just have a show that recaps stuff."
Punk currently works as a color commentator for MMA promotion Cage Fury FC.
Despite Punk and Fox working together and the new crossover between Fox and WWE, Punk once again pumped the brakes on a possible in-ring appearance.
"Like if I came back to pro wrestling. There are people who are expecting 2011 Phil. It's 2019. They would get 2019 Phil and they would be like, 'Oh. God.'"
When asked if expectations are what deter him from coming back to the ring, Punk clarified, "No, I just don't want to do it. That's the only thing that deters me from it."
Triple H recently said "never say never," in regards to Punk possibly returning to WWE. You can view his full comments by clicking here.
As of now, Punk has not been confirmed for WWE Backstage, which premieres on FS1 on Nov. 5.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Collider Live with a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.