Sami Zayn Opens Up About Fellow WWE Star CM Punk

Nearly ten years after he departed from WWE, CM Punk made an electric return to the company in the closing moments of their 2023 Survivor Series: WarGames premium live event. Since then, Punk has remained firm in his desire to make money, rather than friends, in this WWE run. During a recent interview with "Gorilla Position," WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn shared his thoughts on Punk's resurgence in WWE, particularly in relation to their longstanding, rollercoaster of a relationship.

"I've known him a very, very long time," Zayn said. "There have been some ups; there have been some downs. He showed up and I was like, 'Look, I just don't want this to be weird. So say whatever you need to say. Say your piece.' I said my piece. Clean slate. That's it. You just can't walk around harboring resentment. I just don't want him to walk by and be like a black cloud ... Or vice versa, I don't want him to see me and [groan]. Hey, whatever happened, cards on the table, let's just, 'Clean slate? Good? Good? Okay.' That's it. That's how I approach, I guess, not just him, but life."

While Zayn has extended Punk a peace offering, his former tag team partner, Kevin Owens, remains relatively distanced from Punk. Concerning their respective relationship, Owens previously described it as nonexistent, as he and Punk are "not each other's type of people." 

After the 2024 WWE Draft, it became clear that the distance between Owens and Punk would remain intact as they were assigned to separate brands, with Owens staying on "WWE SmackDown," while Punk would continue to reside on "WWE Raw" — much like Sami Zayn.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Gorilla Position" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.