After CM Punk's legendary return to WWE in November of 2023, his first in-ring adversary was none other than current AAA Mega and WWE Intercontinental Champion, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. That match may get overlooked, if only because it occurred at an untelevised live event at Madison Square Garden and the two haven't had direct on-screen interaction since, but as far as Mysterio is concerned, Punk's comments on "WWE Unreal" went as anything but unnoticed.
Appearing on "SHAK Wrestling," Mysterio was asked about Punk's assertion that nothing exposed the wrestling business more than "WWE trying to convince people that a Greek goddess like Rhea Ripley would ever date a nerd like Dominik Mysterio." In response, "Dirty Dom" pulled no punches. "Nothing kills the business more," he said, "than someone thinking they're actually good enough to go fight in the UFC and get their ass beat not once but twice." Punk, of course, infamously competed in UFC two times, first in 2016, and then again in 2018, losing in non-competitive fashion to Mickey Gall and Mike Jackson (though the second bout was later ruled a no-contest due to Jackson failing a drug test).
Punk, who trained under the late Duke Roufus at Roufusport in Wisconsin, and paid tribute to his fallen mentor with custom gear at "Saturday Night's Main Event" in November, has said that he was "too old" when he pursued that endeavor but has never seemed ashamed for having done so. Mysterio, however, piled on nonetheless, invoking the name of Punk's first UFC opponent directly. "If you want to talk about 'nothing kills the business more,'" Mysterio said, "just go watch CM Punk's fights in the UFC and you tell me what kills the business more. I don't know, let me call my friend Mickey Gall real quick and see what he thinks."
While the pair has yet to tangle on WWE television, these comments might be worth revisiting when that relative inevitability comes to pass.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "SHAK Wrestling" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
