What was planned for CM Punk if he had joined TNA Wrestling in 2023 after leaving AEW
As seen during the 2023 WWE Survivor Series PLE, CM Punk made his return to the company at the very end of the show. Prior to Punk’s return, there was talk of him possibly joining Impact Wrestling/TNA. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Impact made a “major” money offer to Punk that he was at least thinking about.
While speaking to Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Steve Maclin commented on what was planned for Punk if he had joined TNA…
“If you want some behind-the-scenes dirt that nobody knows about, CM Punk, before he almost possibly signed with TNA, was coming in and I was going to be his first challenger. I found out right as Scott D’Amore was let go.
We were having dinner one night and he let me know, ‘Yeah, Punk was gonna almost sign there, and you were gonna be his first challenger.’ I was like, ‘Really?’ It would’ve been cool, man. Because when you see his time coming back into wrestling, what happened at AEW and even WWE, it just shows the star that he is now and that he’s always kind of been that way. That culture—he’s literally a cult of personality, if you want to play the cliché to the song—but it just shows the magnitude that he’s one of the last alive superstars.
There were a few times he was behind the scenes in Chicago. But it was cool to just see him, and it was fun. I’m like, ‘Oh, CM Punk, what’s up, man?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, what’s up, Mr. Maclin?’ I was like, ‘Cool, good to see you.’
Because he was really good to me when I was an extra in WWE. You always hear the horror stories as an extra—when you say hello to people and they shun you and stuff—but he was very respectful, and I never forgot that.”