CM Punk reckons Vince McMahon WILL continue to run WWE despite retiring aged 76 after hush money controversy
CM PUNK is not convinced Vince McMahon is completely done with WWE despite announcing his retirement.
McMahon, 76, called time on his career after stepping down as Chairman, CEO and Head of Creative after 40 years in charge of the wrestling giants.
The American businessman announced his decision after accusations of sexual misconduct and reports he allegedly paid several women millions in hush money between 2006 and 2022.
But WWE legend and AEW superstar Punk, 43, is not convinced McMahon, who remains the promotion’s majority shareholder, is completely done with the company.
The 76-year-old’s daughter Stephanie has succeeded him as Chairwoman as well as co-CEO and will be in charge with co-CEO Nick Khan, while her husband and wrestling great Triple H is Head of Creative.
But the seven-time world champion suggests McMahon will still be running things from the shadows.
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CM Punk told Absolute Geek: “You think because he [McMahon] tweeted that ‘I’m retired’ that he’s not going to be hands-on, and he’s not gonna [run the show]?
“Sure, we all are [hopeful of a change], but I don’t think the structure there. I don’t think the culture there changes. At all. I think it is what it is.”
CM Punk believes WWE’s culture remains the same as he looked back at how the company reacted to ex-WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out.
The pair stormed out during a live episode of RAW in May due to frustrations with recent booking.
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RAW commentator Corey Graves branded them “unprofessional” while SmackDown announcer Michael Cole stated the next Friday night that they “let us all down” live on air.
But Punk noted that the same didn’t apply for Brock Lesnar when he reportedly walked out of SmackDown last Friday upon hearing about McMahon’s retirement before returning for the main event.
The ex-WWE Champion also claimed the same happened to him after he walked out of the company in 2014 before he was fired.
Punk added “I’ll put it to you like this – people are going to be real f*****g mad about this, but f**k it.
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“Mercedes [Banks] and Trinity [Naomi] leave, and they announce on SmackDown that ‘Gosh darn, we’re so disappointed in them, they really let our fans down.’
“Brock splits, comes back obviously, I think he worked the show [SmackDown], but where was Michael Cole saying ‘Man, Brock Lesnar really let these fans down?’
“I walked out, they went on TV and they called me a quitter. What’s changed? What’s the difference?
“You’re gonna attack these two poor f*****g women because they kinda had enough and walked? They got bigger balls than everybody there. So what’s changed, you know? There’s nothing much that’s changed.
“There’s people that talk about it and there’s people that do it. The people who lick the boots and have the audacity to go on live television and say that about those two women?
“They’re f*****g cowards and bootlickers. That s**t is ridiculous. Why didn’t they do it for Brock? They did it for me, you know?”