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WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently opened up about the backlash he received for criticizing certain aspects of CM Punk's AEW debut at Rampage: The First Dance on August 20th.
Speaking on his podcast, Hall of Fame, the WCW legend said it was hard to digest the hate he received from fans for simply sharing his opinions on Punk's debut.
Booker T added that even if he had met CM Punk in person, he would have honestly told the latest AEW signee that he could have done better with the promo. The Hall of Famer stated that he's man enough to say the same things to a person's face.
Booker T added that if someone engages in constructive criticism, he will respect that person's thinking. In closing, the wrestling veteran said that he's not among those who would hate on others for just voicing their opinions.
"It's amazing, no, I'm serious, it's amazing, the hate someone gets for praising someone or just having a comment about someone like CM Punk. Like I said, CM Punk and I have don't have any beef with each other. If I saw him, I'll tell him, "man, you could have done a lot with that promo. I was looking for a pipe bomb, that's what I was looking for." Okay, so if you can't respect that, as a man because I'm willing to say to a man's face what I say on the air when I see him in public. I'm not going to be a little man on the air, because I'm a man and I know how I would feel. But, if you got something constructive to say, some constructive criticism, about Booker T and I hear it, and it goes into the right ear, and I go, man, he might be right. But I'm not going to hate on the guy or anything like that. That's just my point," said Booker T
Booker T is not the only one who was critical of CM Punk's AEW debut
Apart from Booker T, WCW veteran Disco Inferno also had some gripes with how the former WWE star's debut was booked.
Inferno stated that it doesn't make sense for AEW to book a babyface vs. babyface feud between CM Punk and Darby Allin. He instead suggested that AEW should have picked MJF as Punk's opponent since he's fresh off a major win over Chris Jericho, is a heel and is terrific at promo work.
What do you think about Booker T's defense of his criticisms over CM Punk's AEW debut? Do you think he was unnecessarily attacked for sharing his opinions? Sound off in the comments section below.
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