CM Punk’s remarkable WWE journey might never have taken off if not for the WWE Hall of Famer, Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat.
Punk, who signed with WWE in 2006, made his television debut the following year and became a regular presence until his departure from the company in 2014.
During a recent episode of the “Wrestle Binge” podcast, Steamboat reminisced about his involvement in a Ring of Honor event where he first recognized the potential of the future WWE and AEW World Champion. He recalled,
“It was a Ring of Honor event, and they brought me in as the special guest referee for a match he had against Samoa Joe. This was about 12-15 years ago. I was the third person in the ring, and I listened to CM Punk guide the entire match for a full hour. That right there told me that this kid has ‘it.’
“He understood the psychology, knowing what to do, when to do it, why to do it at a particular moment, and why not to do it at the end, among other things. He had all the pieces of the puzzle connected, and that truly impressed me.
“At that time, I went back to John Laurinaitis, who was responsible for talent development, and told him that he needed to take a good look at CM Punk and bring him up here for an audition. John responded, ‘We’ve had him up here a couple of times, put him in the ring with one of our regulars for five minutes, and didn’t see much.’ I explained that I had refereed his match, and he went the distance for a full hour, orchestrating the entire match. This kid possesses that special ‘it’ factor.
“He’s got ‘it,’ and I believe you should give him another chance, partnering him with one of our top guys for a 15 or 20-minute audition instead of a quick 3 to 5-minute encounter. So they brought him back, he stepped into the ring for 20 minutes, and he earned his spot.”
CM Punk’s tenure with AEW recently came to an end earlier this month following an investigation into a backstage incident involving Jack Perry at AEW All In 2023.
