Booker T found it easy to work with CM Punk during their time together on WWE Backstage, even if the future AEW World Champion was “standoffish” at times.
WWE Backstage lasted from November 2019 to January 2021 and would feature a panel of analysts, including Punk in his first appearance on WWE-affiliated programming since 2014.
Discussing Punk and his AEW release during a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T recalled working with the Chicago-Made star. He said,
“Punk, he was easy to work with, but he was kind of standoffish. You know, him and I, him and I were, you know, acquaintances, and I guess we would be called what in the workplace? Co-workers. Yeah, coworkers, and we handled business, just like what you said a second ago. You don’t really have to like who you’re working with to work with them, you know.
“I don’t think CM Punk, you know, looked at me as one of his buddies or anything like that. I’ve never been one of the guys to call CM Punk on the phone. CM Punk and I, we’ve never broken bread or anything like that. And it’s one of those deals where I understand that he understands that, and we both play our roles. We play our roles to the best of our ability, I think, on that show, I think that’s what happened. He didn’t get in my way. I didn’t get in his way, and I think that’s the way it should always be when you’re working in the workplace.”
Punk was released from AEW last week following a week-long investigation into the backstage altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All In 2023.
