During the most recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross touched on his relationship with CM Punk, calling the WWE star “one of his friends.”
The legendary commentator also said he wished Punk was still in AEW rather than in the rival company.
Punk, of course, had a successful run in AEW that began in 2021 and ended two years later. His time in Tony Khan’s promotion came after he shockingly left WWE in 2014 and seemingly walked away from wrestling for good.
During his run in AEW, he won the
world championship twice, but his final days there were tumultuous to say the least, and he seemingly burnt some bridges with at least a few top stars. Punk soon returned in WWE in 2023, and he resumed his role there as one of the company’s top stars, which included recently winning the Undisputed WWE Championship on Raw following a post-WrestleMania hiatus.
Meanwhile, Ross has recently missed a significant amount of time away from the AEW announcing desk due to a prolonged hospital stay. Though he has since been discharged, he recently divulged that he’s scheduled to undergo brain surgery any day now.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross praised Punk’s skills while also sharing his personal fondness for the star. He got on the topic of Punk when co-host Conrad Thompson brought up his victory over Sami Zayn for the belt, and how there’s been talk of Punk having a possible heel run in the near future.
“I prefer his work with him having an edge. If the edge is described to the level that he’s not liked and he’s going to be a heel, then so be it. I don’t have a problem with that,” Ross said when Thompson asked if he preferred Punk as a face or a heel. “I like him. I think as long as Punk is featured, then I’m happy. As long as he doesn’t disappear off the face of the wrestling earth, I’m for it.”
The WWE Hall of Famer continued with his praise: “He’s a valuable talent, CM Punk. He could be a great heel or a great babyface. He’s another guy that’s in our reliable category that’s hard to bust him out of that situation.”
Ross then went so far as to say Punk would still be in AEW if he had his druthers.
“I’m a CM Punk fan. Whatever role they decide to put him in, he’s going to succeed because he’s just a real talented dude,” Ross said, adding, “I consider him one of my friends, and I wish we still had him at AEW. He made things lively around that place.”
What do you think, Cagesiders? Would you rather Punk be in AEW or are you happy he’s in WWE? Let us know in the comments.
