CM Punk’s Second WWE Run Is Better Than His First

Booker T believes CM Punk is enjoying the best run of his WWE career, and the two-time WWE Hall of Famer has explained why he feels Punk’s current stint with the company has surpassed his original run.

During a recent episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T discussed Punk’s career resurgence following his return to WWE in November 2023, pointing to a change in perspective as one of the biggest differences between the two runs.

“I saw something in CM Punk from the beginning. And when I talk about guys like CM Punk, you need guys like that. There’s a lot of guys that are willing to bank on themselves. You got to be willing to bank on yourself, just like Punk leaving WWE, going to AEW, and then leaving AEW and coming back. And look at his career now.

“I think this run’s better than his first. This run’s better than his first run in so many aspects. And I think he would probably say the same thing in so many aspects, because the things he was worried about the first time around, he’s not worried about those things anymore.”

Booker T went on to suggest that Punk’s priorities have changed considerably since his initial departure from WWE in 2014, with concerns that once weighed heavily on him no longer carrying the same importance.

“I truly believe that. I could be wrong, but I truly believe the things that he worried about the first time around, those things are well far in his rearview mirror as far as what life’s truly all about now.”

The conversation also turned to Punk’s time in All Elite Wrestling, where he competed from 2021 until his departure in 2023. Booker T suggested that joining AEW may have presented Punk with an entirely different challenge after everything he had already accomplished in WWE.

“I think when Punk went to AEW, it probably felt like he was starting all over again, even though it had a lot of money in it. Even though it was a company that was destined to be what it is today. But for Punk to have gone to where he had gone, to now have to try to build something.”

Booker T ultimately felt that Punk’s journey was more about establishing his personal legacy and finding the right conclusion to his career than anything involving AEW itself.

“I’m looking to build my legacy and my destiny … I don’t think it was about AEW at that point. I think it was about Punk and the way he finished his journey.”