CM Punk Explains What Led To His Starrcast Booking

CM Punk hasn’t wrestled an official match since January 26th, 2014. He continues to be a prominent figure in the world of pro-wrestling, however, despite him seemingly not wanting to be one. Punk participated in an interview with ESPN recently and explained what led to his decision to take part in the upcoming Starrcast convention at the end of the summer.

“They asked if I wanted to do Starrcast. That’s basically it. There’s no mad scientist formula to it,” Punk said. “I hate traveling. I’ve turned down offers to do signings in other places. It turns into a mission to leave town just to do a signing and stuff. I like to take time with everybody and make sure everybody has a good experience.”

Punk would continue to talk about how when he does do signings, he wants his fans to have a positive experience.

“I try not to just shuffle people through a line. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s not just somebody shoves something in front of me, I sign it and it’s on to the next. I really try to make sure everybody has a story to tell or an experience. Sometimes it can be exhausting.”

Punk also noted during the interview that Starrcast being in his hometown also played a role.

“The biggest thing was it’s in my hometown,” Punk continued. “I get to go for one day, I get to have fun, I get to give back to the fans, so to speak. And I get to go home and rest afterward.”

Punk was also asked about speculation that his Starrcast booking could lead to him working with AEW in the future.

“No. I know they like to talk about me a lot. If I text Matt Jackson, ‘Hey, have a great show tonight,’ which I did when they had their big show in Vegas, that somehow turns into Tony Khan telling people he has a great relationship with me. I’ve said in the past I’ve talked to them, but nothing ever came of anything.”

Punk would also suggest during the interview that AEW has teased his involvement with their promotion but there’s nothing between him and the company.

“They do videos where they talk about me. They’re constantly talking about me in the media. And again, maybe this sounds like I’m badgering them, but I’m not. It’s just something that happens.”

Punk also mentioned he’s not sure how to respond to text messages he gets from people in AEW sometimes.

“The last thing I got — I got a text from Cody [Rhodes]. And again, I almost don’t even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, ‘Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk.’ I’m kind of damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn’t really a way to do good business, at least.”

Punk then noted he received what he referred to as a “general offer” via text from 3 different people associated with AEW.

“It was texted through three people and an offer came in through text. This is like a month ago, maybe,” Punk said.

“I think it was just a general offer. I never could have done the last one in Vegas [Double or Nothing], because I was in California for CFFC.”