Ahead of Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, last month, CM Punk faced an antagonistic crowd on the kickoff show and had to address remarks he made about the countryyears ago on social media. Punk apologized, which sparked controversy amongst certain online fans, but somewrestling industry veterans have called CM Punk's apology a non-issue.
"It's so pervasive, not only in the internet wrestling community, but just across the board," Eric Bischoff said in an episode of his "83 Weeks" podcast, weighing in on Punk's apology and the online reaction. "People are so starved for attention and validation, that when they find a group that validates ... they put it out there in the ether because there's just a large group of people that responds in a positive way to anything that is ideologically 180 degrees from their opposition."
Bischoff further described the reaction as political, and opined that Punk's post is too old to be taken seriously at this stage, and added that the star has been professional since returning to WWE and full-well knew he'd go to Saudi someday. "I respect Punk. He did what he had to do," Bischoff added, saying that he wishes people pulled themselves away from both aisles of the political lane and looked at the bigger picture. "I applaud Punk for his choices, decisions, and his actions and to me he's a pro; he did the right thing." Bischoff added that people should stop virtue signaling online and making everything negative.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "83 Weeks" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
