Ex-WWE Superstar CM Punk Declined Offer to Wrestle at 'All In', Cody Rhodes Says

Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks made an attempt to get former WWE champion CM Punk to appear at the Sept. 1 "All In" event at the Sears Centre in Chicago.

Speaking to Wrestling Inc. president Raj Giri (via WrestlingInc.com's Aaron Varble), Rhodes explained that Punk turned down their offer for the show:

"Matt [Jackson] actually made a full offer or full pitch for his services and I think Punk is focused on the Mixed Martial Arts element of his career. One of the reasons we didn't first come out and say, 'here's who we want you to wrestle,' because I think we just wanted him to be a part of the event for a lot of fans, he's captured their imagination even with the amount of time he's been gone. He has a mythical presence to them. I thought it would be good for him to connect with them, but that's me, you know?"

Punk hasn't done anything in professional wrestling since leaving WWE after the 2014 Royal Rumble. 

Since walking away from the ring, he has tried his hand at mixed martial arts. The 39-year-old had two fights in UFC, losing to Mickey Gall via submission in 2016 and Mike Jackson in June via unanimous decision. 

Following Punk's loss to Jackson, UFC President Dana White told reporters the former WWE star "should call it a wrap" on his MMA career. 

Punk will be in Chicago during "All-In" weekend for a signing event at a Pro Wrestling Tees shop on Aug. 31. 

Even though it doesn't seem like Punk will have a role on the show, "All In" did make history by becoming the first non-WWE wrestling show to sell at least 10,000 tickets since WCW in 1999.