Why WWE's Triple H Believes CM Punk Is A 'Wonderful Employee'
CM Punk has been a polarizing figure in the pro wrestling industry, and his previous runs in WWE and AEW ended in messy confrontations. However, it appears that Punk is a changed man, at least in the eyes of WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
Ahead of WrestleMania 40, Levesque spoke to WWE's Megan Morant, and admitted that the Punk he is seeing now is different from the one that left WWE in 2014.
"And I can say this about CM Punk, this is a completely different CM Punk than he was when he left, and it's been all for the positive. He has been nothing but a wonderful employee, and nothing but a wonderful addition to the team," said Triple H. "It has been so refreshing, in a way, working with him, that we've been keeping him a part of everything, even while he's out injured. So it's been great."
He also detailed his conversation with WWE President Nick Khan before signing Punk and aired his concerns to him. "The Game" stated that he wasn't sure Punk would sign even a few weeks before Survivor Series 2023 as they hadn't had any conversations.
"As we got closer to the event, there was a couple of conversations that happened between Punk and Nick Khan. Nick had said to me, 'Hey, would you be opposed to me having a conversation and just seeing where it goes?' And I was like, 'No, look, I have no issues there. Just my concern would just be, what's the fit?'"
'There was a lot of mixed emotions' - Triple H on Punk's WWE return
Triple H further explained in the interview that CM Punk officially became a WWE star while Survivor Series was taking place.
"But day of the event, I wanna say Survivor Series had started, that is when I sort of got word that we're gonna try to paper this and get it done quick, he's gonna head that way. While we were live on the air with Survivor Series," said Triple H.
He added that he spoke to the stars involved in the main event at Survivor Series, the WarGames match, about Punk's signing and his scheduled appearance after the match before they went out for the match. "The Game" expressed that some voiced their concerns about Punk and that he had to have conversations with a few stars in the following days.
"I left Gorilla for a minute to go say, hello. And then the other talent I pulled aside in the break before the match, before they went to the ring, I'm sure there was a lot of mixed emotions. Controversial guy, and I'm sure, well, let me just say, over the next day or two, I had a lot of very interesting private conversations with a lot of people to just air their differences, and we all got to an amicable place."
Punk has revealed in recent interviews that WWE wanted him for this year's Royal Rumble, but he informed them that he doesn't have a non-compete clause and could return immediately.