5 former WWE Superstars who've had legitimate issues with CM Punk

CM Punk is the self-proclaimed “Best in the World”. There may be some truth to that, given his past championship runs with Ring of Honor, WWE, and AEW (currently). He's had epic rivalries with the likes of John Cena, Chris Hero, Bryan Danielson, MJF, and Triple H.

CM Punk is currently involved in some heated issues with AEW management due to comments aimed at Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, and Colt Cabana during AEW's All Out Media Scrum.

As serious as his current situation seems to be, this isn’t the first time CM Punk has ruffled some feathers in the wrestling industry. Today, we take a look at five former WWE Superstars who have had legitimate issues with CM Punk.

#5 – Elijah Burke: the worst wrestler in the world, according to CM Punk

Elijah Burke had a stint in WWE as a part of the ECW brand several years ago. During that time period, he and Punk had several matches together.

Punk didn’t like working with Burke. During an interview with WISK FM Radio, the Straight Edge star had the following to say about his former opponent:

"I always get who's your favorite opponent. This is great because I enjoy talking trash. My least favorite opponent; does anyone even remember Elijah Burke? Oh, he was terrible. He is absolutely the worst. Absolutely the worst. Talk about a diva. Man oh man, sorry if you liked him."

Burke later responded to this statement in an interview with SEScoops:

“Never heard them… People mentioned it to me via social media, but I have no thoughts on it. EVERY thought that I ever had about Phil, he knows them because I told him to his face, and I’d like to think that he’d do the same, but I have no thoughts or comments about what was or may have been said. What would that say about me to say something behind Phil’s back or in an interview where he can’t respond for himself?? I mean, what type of person would do such a thing? Not I, not Pope.”

To this day, both men still maintain a mutual dislike for each other.

#4 – Lana offended by Punk's storyline suggestion

During CM Punk’s brief stint as part of the “WWE Backstage” show, he spoke about a storyline at the time featuring Lana, Rusev (AEW’s Miro) and Bobby Lashley.

Punk spoke about the feud on the show. He suggested a tag match featuring Rusev and Lashley teaming together to face a team of Lana’s choosing, with Lana being suspended high above the ring in a shark cage at WrestleMania.

Punk suggested that the winning team gets to “keep” Lana, as he elaborated on his Twitter page regarding the suggested angle:

“Loser keeps Lana match. Just booked you through mania, chica. You’re welcome.”

The comment made Lana very upset, as she replied on Twitter stating:

“I know you’ve been away from WWE for several years. Perhaps moving forward, you will favor WWE and FS1 by refraining from misogynistic comments like ‘chica’. Thank you.”

Since then, the two have yet to cross paths or make amends over their respective comments.

#3 – Hornswoggle's lost friendship with CM Punk

Hornswoggle was a friend of CM Punk’s at one point in time, but Punk seemingly didn’t feel the same way. After the Straight Edge star left WWE in 2014, Hornswoggle became one of the friends that Punk cut out of his life and stopped communicating with.

Hornswoggle said during a shoot interview with Kayfabe Commentaries that Punk took offense to him asking for the phone number of a mutual friend after Hornswoggle lost his phone. Punk took this as Hornswoggle using his friendship with Punk for his own agenda.

Swoggle said:

“I am not in touch with him today because I offended him. I asked for a phone number of a mutual friend that we have from him, which is odd because it wasn’t like he didn’t like the person. He’s still best friends with that person today. He saw it as me using him. We were best friends on the road together for years, but not anymore.”

Punk spoke about this (in general) during Colt Cabana’s podcast after he walked out of WWE. Punk stated:

"So if you're out there and I stopped talking to you, it's because you have an agenda. You weren't checking in on me because you were f***ing concerned about me. You wanted to be like 'oh, I spoke to Punk' and you wanted to use our private conversation as some sort of a weird f***ing way to grab hits, or whatever the f*** you call them."

The two stars had a falling out at this point and have not communicated with each other since.

#2 – Eric Bischoff offended by CM Punk's comments made at Hulk Hogan

Eric Bischoff had some choice words for CM Punk. Bischoff was offended by Punk's comments aimed at Hulk Hogan, who is known to be close friends with Bischoff.

Punk made some disparaging remarks to Hulk Hogan when he appeared on Barstool Wrestlin’, saying:

“You can make the argument that Hulk Hogan is a bigger star than Steve Austin. Then you look at business periods and eras and box office receipts and all that other stuff. I think Hogan is a piece of sh*t, so obviously, I'm like, 'Steve Austin, yeah.' What it feels like, I don't have the words to describe. I know what I feel like is, I want to help everyone on the AEW roster f***ing get there.”

Bischoff replied to these remarks on his 83 Weeks podcast by stating:

"A lot of the comments I made, the shots I took at CM Punk, is just because I think he's a disrespectful guy. If you're going to get yourself over, go out and get yourself over. But if you're going to go out - and for example - in his very first promo, the first thing you do is go out and talk about what a piece of sh*t Hulk Hogan is. Well, guess what, CM Punk doesn't know Hulk Hogan. How does he know that? He doesn't know that.”

Bischoff has since lambasted Punk over his presentation and drawing power in AEW, calling him a 'financial flop' for the company.

#1 – CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana: The Saga Continues

Colt Cabana and CM Punk first met when they attended the same wrestling training school. Cabana later had a brief stint in WWE that didn’t work out in his favor. The close friendship between the two Chicago natives went into a downward spiral after Punk's own WWE departure.

The Straight Edge star appeared on Colt Cabana’s podcast to air his grievances and tell his side of the story in 2014. This opened a can of worms that led to lawsuits and countersuits between Punk, Cabana, and WWE doctor Chris Amann.

Colt eventually sued his former friend for breach of contract, claiming that Punk had agreed to pay his legal fees during the protracted court battles. Evan F. Moore from the Chicago Sun Times wrote the following regarding the lawsuit:

"Cabana’s lawsuit contends Punk promised to help him out with the legal bills they amassed fighting the defamation lawsuit. Cabana claims Punk told him in a text that he would be '100% covered. Punk has failed to keep that promise, leaving him with unpaid legal bills totaling $513,736, according to the lawsuit. Punk asked Cabana to pay half of the legal fees, which comes out to $256,868, saying, 'You are on your own.'”

Punk recently commented on the situation with Cabana during AEW’s All Out media scrum, stating:

“My problem was I wanted to bring a guy with me to the top that did not want to see me at the top, OK? You can call it jealousy, you can call it envy, whatever the f–k it is. My relationship with Scott Colton ended long before I paid all his bills. I have all the receipts. I have every invoice. I have every email. I have [an] email where he says ‘I agree to go our separate ways, I will get my own lawyer and you do not have to pay anymore.”

This is one situation that seems even more volatile than the rest, and arguably led to the current controversy in AEW. One thing's for sure: it's not going away anytime soon.

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