Bobby Lashley weighs in on CM Punk‘s recent return to WWE.
CM Punk’s recent return to WWE has struck up a myriad of buzz, with fans still reeling at seeing “The Second City Saint” back in the place he infamously walked away from in 2014. During a recent interview with Steve Fall of WrestlingNewsCo, former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley was asked to share his thoughts on seeing Punk officially rejoin the WWE roster.
While Lashley isn’t too close with Punk, he did converse with some of his peers, which revealed a result of mixed reactions. “I was actually leaving [WWE] around the time when Punk was really starting to pick up a little steam. He was there, but he really didn’t do anything at that time. I know he had a big impact in WWE in his time there [down the line]. I spoke with some of the guys that know him, [and] I got mixed feelings. Some people were very against it, some people [felt] ‘whatever,'” Lashley said.
“It’s a land of opportunity. So if he comes back and he helps out the show, that’s the business side of it. I don’t really know Punk too personally, and when I was fighting, he went to UFC. I put my money on him, so he does owe me a little bit of money. Twice I was like ‘Oh he could do it, come on!'”
Can CM Punk Prove His Loyalty?
From a business standpoint, Lashley recognizes that Punk can draw massive numbers for WWE. However, Lashley also hopes that Punk will prove his loyalty to WWE, and earn his way back up to the top, rather than being instantly pushed there.
“I think, for integrity purposes, I understand he has a big name, he’s coming back. He’s gonna do some big numbers, but I hope they make him work for some of the stuff. I hope he’s not one of the people that he comes back [and says] ‘We’re going to win the Rumble. We’re going to do this. We’re going to do that.’ I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of prove his loyalty to the business and some of the people in there, just to let everybody know, some of the naysayers, some of the people that aren’t too happy, about him being there,” Lashley said.
“I hope he has this opportunity to work his way back up to the top and not just given everything because maybe he negotiated a good contract that allowed him to do that.”
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