Sean Waltman is excited by the potential of two big names joining AEW.
On July 21, Fightful reported CM Punk was in talks with AEW for an in-ring return. Later in the evening, Bodyslam.net reported Daniel Bryan had signed with AEW.
Speaking on his Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast, Waltman said he believes that Punk and Bryan going to AEW is going to be great for the industry and has the potential to be game-changing. That said, he doesn't see it affecting WWE terribly much. Furthermore, he commented on the criticism that too many former WWE Superstars are taking the spots of original AEW signees, by saying the following:
"No, man, no. Because if somebody's better than you then maybe they deserve your spot. That's how I always felt. I never cut anybody's grass or f**king like -- I helped people that were there to f**king take my spot or take a bigger spot. Jericho, for instance, read his book, he'll tell you. So I just -- I don't know man, I'm all about the people that f**king deserve the spot through merit, you know. Now, I mean there's something to be said for tenure, I think, but it can't be the only -- It's what the f**k do you bring to the table right now."
As for whether or not Punk and Bryan could have a similar impact to that of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash joining WCW, Waltman doesn't believe they are comparable.
"No, I don't see it," he began by saying. "It's huge and it's good, and it's going to generate a lot of buzz and all that, it's just I don't see it. There are some comparisons I guess because they're two big names, but you know, Punk's been gone for a while. Which may make -- Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or whatever. I'm curious to see. Here's another thing about this; part of me was like, 'Oh man, f**king, you know, the cat is out of the bag. It would have been nice for it to have been a surprise and all that.' But you know, man, the more I think about it, people knowing, they don't know when it's coming. They might know it's coming but they f**king don't know when. It's just the anticipation of it and f**king fever pitch and then boom when it happens. They know it's coming but they don't know when."
Outside of some Independent appearances under a mask, Punk has been out of wrestling since leaving WWE in 2014. Bryan's WWE contract expired in April following a match on SmackDown against Roman Reigns.
Fightful will continue to update fans on the situation as more is known.
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