CM Punk hilariously responds to Jeff Hardy’s claim he wants to RETIRE the WWE legend and gives his honest thoughts on working his former rival again after bitter spat 16 years ago
CM Punk and Jeff Hardy are two of the most iconic WWE names of the modern era. They are now, and they were then, so it made sense to put them in a ring together.
That’s exactly what happened in 2009, when they traded blows – and titles – during their rivalry that came after CM Punk has cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on his opponent.
On-screen, Punk would reference the drug issues Hardy faced, which have plagued his career. Months after Hardy departed WWE to help heal injuries he was dealing with, a video surfaced online that saw Hardy slam Punk in an apparent personal capacity.
Insults were thrown the way of Punk, with Hardy branding him a ‘nerd’, saying he had made Punk a star and putting two middle fingers up at him. He also said he was ‘too cocky, inside and outside of the ring’.
Since then, Hardy has seemingly gone back on his words, saying in 2012 that he had ‘nothing bad to say about the guy’, with his brother, fellow former WWE star Matt, saying ‘everyone’s outgrown dumb s***’.
Now, Punk is in WWE and Hardy is in TNA. By coincidence, though, the two promotions have struck up a deal and Hardy was in a WWE ring for the first time in five years this week when he performed on WWE’s developmental brand NXT.
CM Punk (pictured) has given his verdict on a potential programme with former rival Jeff Hardy
Hardy (pictured) has returned to WWE via the TNA partnership and said in a recent interview that he wants to ‘retire’ Punk
‘He said he wants to retire me?’ Punk questions, speaking exclusively to Mail Sport when recent Hardy’s comments about the topic are raised.
He pauses. ‘I’d like to be able to fly, but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.’
Hardy was on Insight with Chris Van Vliet this past week when he spoke about Punk.
‘I just said a joke a few weeks ago at this show we did, and my humour is different, too. I know a lot of people don’t get my humour, and I guess it can be dark at times,’ Hardy said. ‘I just said that by the time I’m 50 I might go back to WWE, retire CM Punk, and then maybe go into the Hall of Fame.’
He later added: ‘I would love to revisit that feud in some way. CM Punk is such a superpower in the pro wrestling game, but if Jeff Hardy getting sober made him like an a**hole… come on, heel Jeff Hardy against the one and only popular CM Punk. I feel like that’s completely possible.’
Punk hasn’t seen Hardy’s comments at the time of this interview. He seems uncertain on what to make of them.
But the possibility is now there. It has been reported that Hardy is set for a main roster run in WWE later this year as a part of the company’s deal with TNA, and Punk is one of his greatest rivals.
‘I think there’s got to be a lot of bridges crossed,’ Punk, 46, says of a potential programme with Hardy, ’47’. I don’t know how many years I have left.
Punk acknowledges that there are ‘a lot of bridges to be crossed’ for a programme to happen
He also says he ‘roots for people to be free of whatever demons possess them’ following Hardy’s addiction issues
‘I’m all for giving people second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth chances. There are a lot of experiences I didn’t enjoy so much, we don’t have to get into it, but I just root for people to be free of whatever demons possess them.
‘If he’s coming back here, great, let’s see what happens.’
Right now, it feels a world away. Punk will take part in the Elimination Chamber on Saturday, while Hardy is barely back in the company.
Down the line, though, there are plans and scripts to be drawn, and fans may just see the duo face off one final time.
WWE RAW is live on Netflix every Monday – with Elimination Chamber live this Saturday night – and WWE heads to the United Kingdom for the road to WrestleMania this spring – tickets available at ttps://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-tickets/artist/5355641
