“Stone Cold” Steve Austin Comments on CM Punk Joining UFC

Through the past couple of weeks, CM Punk has sent shock waves throughout the professional wrestling world. It all began on Nov. 27, when Punk opened up about his WWE departure in a tell-all story on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast.  A week later, Punk appeared on another showing of “Art of Wrestling” to answer some questions fans had about his past interview. Soon after that, Punk figuratively broke the Internet again, announcing he had signed a multi-fight deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship at “UFC 181” on Saturday, Dec. 6.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin took to his podcast, “The Steve Austin Show,” to comment on the matter. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, episode 171, which was Austin’s live interview with Vince McMahon on the WWE Network, following the Dec. 1 “Monday Night Raw,” launched. Prior to Austin’s interview with McMahon starting up, Austin hit on Punk’s jump to UFC.

Austin, who brought up CM Punk during his special interview with McMahon, wished Punk the best of luck in his newest endeavor:

“I think he rolls with some guys, and it’s a very big passion of his. I wish him all the luck in the world, and I know they’ll do a hell of a big buy rate.” 

Regarding Punk’s first opponent, Austin was stumped:

“Match him up with someone of his skill level. It’s hard to gauge what his skill level is though.” 

Austin, who noted WWE needed a peacemaker to bring Punk and McMahon together, similar to how Jim Ross brought Austin and McMahon back together in 2004, also hit on what the move must mean for Punk’s relationship with WWE:

“I talked about maybe bridging the gap with CM Punk and Vince, and then he goes and does the deal with UFC. It would appear to me that they’re way further apart than I thought they were. I knew things were bad, and I hadn’t talked to CM Punk, so it’s going to be interesting.”

Check out the full episode of “The Steve Austin Show,” here.

Editor’s Note

Back when the WWE Network special ran, I was really intrigued by Austin’s comments about WWE needing a Jim Ross type mediator for Punk and McMahon. As soon as I heard those comments, I wondered if Austin could have been that man.