24-time champion recalls running into CM Punk in public, comments on his UFC run

CM Punk sent shockwaves across the professional wrestling world when he returned to the Stamford-based promotion at the Survivor Series 2023. Hall of Famer and 24-time WWE champion, JBL, is proud of Punk's journey.

After initially departing WWE, Punk transitioned into mixed martial arts and eventually joined UFC. Unfortunately, he was unable to get his hand raised in either of his two fights, losing to Mickey Gall in his debut. His second fight ended in a draw against Mike Jackson.

Speaking on WWE's The Bump, JBL recalled wrestling Punk in his early days and also mentioned running into him in Las Vegas. The Hall of Famer admitted that he always liked Punk and that he was proud of the latter's journey, including his short UFC stint.

“CM Punk, I got to wrestle him a lot when he came in. I liked him then, and I like him now, and I’m glad he’s back. I’m proud of his journey. I thought his journey was awesome. I saw him for the first time last year in Vegas, and I pulled him aside. I said, I’m really proud of what you did in MMA," said JBL. [H/T: Fightful]

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JBL commented on CM Punk's MMA journey

JBL praised CM Punk for transitioning to mixed martial arts and claimed he was proud of the former WWE Champion.

The 57-year-old concluded by stating that Punk deserved the success and briefly also spoke about his recent injury. He understood how much guts it must have taken for Punk to try his hand at MMA from scratch when he was already an elite pro wrestler.

"That took a lot of guts to stop doing something that you’re best in the world at, and go do something completely different, and put all that effort that he did into that. I mean, that was ballsy. I was really proud of him for doing that. I thought it was wonderful, what he did. Then to come back and the crowd’s going crazy, I hate that he got hurt right when he comes back, but I’ve always liked CM Punk, and I think he’s deserving of everything that he’s done. He’s worked his butt off for a lot of things," added JBL. [H/T: Fightful]

Punk is currently feuding with Drew McIntyre, whom he cost the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL, and more recently, a number-one contender's qualifying match for the same title McIntyre lost to Damian Priest.