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CM Punk on AEW; The Rock Praises Hurt Business; Jericho Defends Sting, Big Show
March 5, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Punk Denies He Is AEW's Mystery Signing
Wrestling fans are trying to predict which mystery signing will appear at Sunday's AEW Revolution pay-per-view, but former WWE Superstar CM Punk insists it isn't him.
Punk was asked about it Thursday on Twitter and responded: "100% not me."
He was then asked who he believes would be the best addition to the AEW roster and answered: "I think they should focus on who they have."
The 42-year-old Punk has not ruled out a return to the ring, but he also hasn't been actively campaigning to return to wrestling.
Punk last wrestled a match in January 2014, and he has focused on other projects since then, including an MMA fighting and announcing career, as well as acting.
Ever since AEW burst onto the scene two years ago and became the biggest alternative to WWE since WCW was purchased by WWE in 2001, fans have speculated that Punk will eventually end up in AEW.
It is possible it could happen at some point, but Punk is adamant that he won't be at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, for Sunday's pay-per-view.
Paul "Big Show" Wight, who shockingly signed with AEW last week after 22 years in WWE, announced on Wednesday's Dynamite that AEW has signed a "Hall of Fame-worthy talent" who will be revealed at Revolution.
That could describe any number of wrestlers, and it has led to guesses ranging from Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam and Christian to Punk, Brock Lesnar, John Cena and even The Rock.
Fans may be disappointed if the signing isn't a legitimately huge name, but it seems safe to cross Punk's name off the list of potential signees for now.
Rock Praises Hurt Business
The Rock responded to a tweet by MVP on Thursday and offered big praise to MVP and the entire Hurt Business stable.
In the tweet, The Rock wrote: "You guys are doing GREAT. Very happy for all of you. Very proud, too. Representing."
Monday was a huge night for The Hurt Business, as Bobby Lashley beat The Miz for the WWE Championship, marking the first WWE title win of his career. Lashley joined The Rock and Kofi Kingston as the only Black WWE champions as well.
Lashley, who is atop the WWE mountain at the age of 44, responded to The Rock's tweet, writing: "You and so many others paved the way for us to do what we do. Without The Great One, there might not be an All Mighty."
MVP is essentially the manager and mouthpiece of The Hurt Business, and he has assembled a group that holds much of the gold on Raw.
In addition to Lashley being the reigning WWE champion, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are the Raw Tag Team champions.
The timing of Lashley's win is significant, as WrestleMania 37 is only about a month away, meaning Lashley could enter the biggest show of the year as WWE champion with Drew McIntyre and potentially even Brock Lesnar looming as possible opponents.
Lashley worked long and hard to get to this point, and even left WWE for extended period of time and became a top guy in Impact Wrestling to prove he could be the lead dog.
Now, Lashley is precisely that, and he figures to be part of one of the top matches on the WrestleMania 37 card.
Jericho Accuses WWE of Treating Sting, Wight Poorly
AEW star Chris Jericho called out WWE this week for its treatment of older wrestlers.
In an interview with Stephanie Chase of Digital Spy, Jericho discussed the recent AEW signing of former WWE stars Sting and Paul "Big Show" Wight.
Jericho opined: "These are guys that were kind of almost insulted in their WWE runs. [Sting and Wight were] definitely not treated with too much respect over the last few years."
Sting joined AEW in December more than five years after his final match in WWE. After suffering a scary neck injury during a match against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015, Sting was never again cleared to wrestle in WWE, and he instead served as an ambassador and made infrequent appearances on television.
While Sting did end up wrestling a few matches in WWE, he was never considered a true "WWE guy," as he spent the bulk of his career in WCW and TNA. Now, he will have a chance to get back in the ring for AEW, as he is teaming with Darby Allin against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks at Revolution.
Wight, meanwhile, was with WWE for 22 years before shocking the wrestling world by joining AEW last week as a commentator for AEW Dark: Elevation, as well as a wrestler.
Jericho praised AEW for its treatment of legends compared to WWE, saying:
"We treat our legends with respect, we don't make jokes out of them and WWE is notorious for that, whether it's Sting, Paul Wight, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts, Dustin Rhodes, throw in Chris Jericho.
"We know how to treat our legendary performers with respect and make them all look great and make them all worthy of being in AEW because if they aren't worthy of being in AEW, why would they be there? Everybody's that's under contract in AEW is there and designed to be as much of a star as they possibly can be."
AEW has signed many veteran wrestlers who used to be part of WWE and put them in varying roles, from in-ring performers to managers.
Jericho's opinion may be somewhat biased given the company he currently works for, but there is clearly a desire for older wrestlers to sign with AEW based on the influx there has been in recent months.
AEW also announced that a "Hall of Fame-worthy talent" will be introduced Sunday at Revolution, meaning another legend could be joining the roster.
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