Grayson Waller wants to bring out a different side to CM Punk.
When CM Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2023, many wondered what the dynamic would be between ‘The Second City Saint’ and the rest of the locker room, particularly after the backstage altercations which spelled the end of his tenure in All Elite Wrestling. Almost two years on, there haven’t been any incidents to speak of, although one member of the RAW roster still thinks the more confrontational side to Punk still exists.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Grayson Waller named CM Punk as his dream match. Here, he recalled wondering what the Chicagoan would be like backstage when he returned, saying they’ve got a softer version of him now.
“I’ve said it a few times now. I’m gonna keep saying it. Right now, I want Punk. I want Punk so bad, dude. Because, as I said, as a ROH guy, I’ve watched Punk for a long time. I love the stuff he did in Ring of Honor. I loved when he signed his WWE contract on the Ring of Honor Championship, that’s so good. And when he came back, because I said some really mean things about Punk when he wasn’t here. I remember I took a super kick from Jey Uso, and it was the day that Punk left his last job. I took a super kick, and I put a photo online of me icing my jaw with a Pepsi can, which was just like, sometimes I like to have fun online and cause some chaos. So when he was coming over here, I was like, This is gonna be fun. What Punk are we gonna get? And then we’ve got this real soft Punk. So I want to find out who the real Punk is. He’s really helpful backstage, and he’s super nice and all this. I’m either gonna be really disappointed that he’s softened, and this is the new Punk, and he’s just a really nice guy now, or the real Punk is hiding in there, and I want to be the one to bring it out. That’s what I want to do. Because it’s like, I guess I was ready to fight him backstage. I thought that’s what we were gonna do. I was like this is gonna be sick, like he’s gonna start causing chaos, like he’s gonna beat gonna beat up little flops backstage again, I’m in dude. But now he’s just a really nice guy and very helpful to everyone, helps everyone at NXT and does all this. That’s not the Punk that I love. I want to bring it back out, so I’m gonna get that opportunity. I’ve told him to his face, I’m like, there’s gonna be a day where I’m gonna stand across from you with a microphone, and I’m gonna tell you exactly what I think about you, and I want you to tell me exactly what you think about me.”
-Grayson Waller
Punk has had around 24 broadcasted matches since his 2023 WWE return, with Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre being his two biggest rivals so far. Most recently, he won the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event, marking his first world title in the company since January 2013. With Waller clearly keen to stand face to face with Punk, it remains to be seen as to whether he gets his match in the near future.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on CM Punk and Grayson Waller as soon as we hear more.
