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CM Punk has picked Bret Hart over Shawn Michaels as the best there was, the best there is and the best there ever will be.
On a recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, the Straight Edge Superstar was asked about the influences on his career. Punk cited Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Punk further said that while he liked Shawn Michaels, his stuff didn't hold up like Bret Hart:
"I think Bret Hart is legit the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be," said CM Punk "His stuff holds up! I was a Shawn Michaels fan when I was a kid because he did flashy stuff, you know, he was cocky. But some of his stuff doesn't hold up the way Bret's does. Bret's is timeless. You know, Bret is, you called it, the Excellence of Execution. He calls himself that, at the time, it was a cool nickname to me, but now I look back, and I realize, and man...everything he does is fundamentally sound. Like he didn't misstep in the ring once."
Punk went on to discuss how Bret inspired him in the ring:
"Like everything he did, there was a reason for it," Punk continued "You watch his matches, you're like, 'Oh, that's kind of want to build my stuff and model myself after.'"
CM Punk is unapologetic in his assessment of Bret Hart's career and the legacy that he left behind. While some fans may find his comments a little polarising with its comparison to Shawn Michaels, there's no denying the impact The Hitman had not on CM Punk's career but several others.
CM Punk's booking in AEW has been criticized by Konnan
While CM Punk has only faced two opponents so far in AEW, former WCW US Champion Konnan criticized Punk's booking, believing that he should focus on high-profile opponents:
"It's his idea to wrestle these young cats. Most of the fans don't wanna see that right now. So, of course, I don't know what his ratings actually are, but if they are not that good, of course, they're not that good because he ain't doing anything dope. He ain't going out there cutting fire promos. The feel good period is over dude, let's get to the business, but he wants to wrestle Hobbs and all these young guys and give [them] a chance because he wasn't given a chance. We weren't given a chance. Bro, you can do that later. But maybe Tony's the one that's like, hey, I want you to wrestle this guy, and Punk's like no, I want to wrestle the young guys," Konnan said.
It'll be interesting to see how CM Punk is booked down the road in AEW.
Please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription should you use the quotes from this article.
