On his latest episode of The Hall Of Fame, Booker T spoke with Brad Gilmore about CM Punk‘s debut on WWE Backstage. Booker started off by saying he understood where Punk was in his life that he needed to step away from the spotlight of the squared circle because it’s something that he has done before.
“To see CM Punk back, seem like he’s happy being back. Seems like it’s something that he missed but a lot of times you know, we just talked about the Jordan Myles thing, be careful what you ask for. You know what I mean? Just be careful because you can get it sometime and it’s something that you go, ‘Wow, this is not what I wanted.’ No matter how much money you’re getting paid the work can actually drive you insane to where you go, ‘Man, I didn’t buy in for this. This is not what I bargained for,’ so I understand wanting to step away from it, I did it myself. 2008. I said, ‘Man, I can’t do it anymore. I’m done. Walking away from it.’ And I never thought I’d be back in WWE locker room, I never thought I’d be a part of that crew, ever again.”
Booker says in his two years off from WWE, he had no contact with the company or it’s workers, but once he stepped out on the entryway during the 2011 Royal Rumble, he could feel that special energy.
“I just wanted to be away from it and then once I found myself away from it, I was like, ‘Man, I miss that.’ Then I find myself coming out in the Rumble in 2011 and getting that huge ‘Road Warrior 1987’ pop. I was like, ‘Oh yeahhh baby, I miss this, yeah.”
Booker knows that unique connection to fans in which they genuinely are happy to see you back and he thinks Punk is probably going through those same feelings.
“I’m sure CM Punk finds himself now with the internet buzzing, the ratings on WWE Backstage, I’m sure he feels like, ‘Man, these people still love me.’ And that right there, whether you believe it or not, it can be one of those things, ‘cliche’ call it whatever you want, it’s real when the fans give you that love and say, ‘Hey man, we miss you and we’re glad to see you.’ Make you feel a certain way.”
When Gilmore asks Booker about CM Punk pulling no punches on Backstage, Booker thinks that the ability to be forthcoming is what will make the show so intriguing to fans.
“Hey man, it’s a controversial show. I don’t think you can actually sit and hold back and talk about the norm on a show like this and people buy in to watch it. They want to actually see it and feel it. I always talk about seeing it but the fans they want to see it and they want to feel it from a realistic perspective. So for me to talk about certain things from a realistic perspective, to Punk, to Paige – she will go off the cuff in heartbeat, you know? Cut her mic,” Booker jokes.
“You gotta be able to go out and freelance a little bit,” he said.
(Transcription credit should go to @DominicDeAngelo of WrestleZone, sucka.)
The full clip from “The Hall Of Fame” is below:
RELATED: Tommy Dreamer Talks CM Punk’s Return, How He Must Have Felt At WrestleMania 29
