Cody Rhodes revealed in an interview that he and The Young Bucks made an official offer to CM Punk; an offer he declined for the All In event on September 1, 2018.
All In — an independent wrestling event organized by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks — is mere days away. It is slated to be the biggest indie wrestling show of its kind with names like Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Rey Mysterio and Kazuchika Okada set to be part of the show. One name that won't be there is CM Punk.
Fans had hoped Punk might make a return to wrestling at All In, especially now that it appears his MMA career might be over. He was slated to be in the area around the time of the show but Rhodes announced during an interview with Wrestling Inc.'s Aaron Varble, Punk turned down their offer to appear.
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Saying he and the Bucks actually hoped they could convince Punk to show up, Rhodes said, "Matt [Jackson] actually made a full offer or full pitch for his services." Noting he believes Punk turned them down because of his MMA aspirations, he added that they didn't talk about offering a deal to Punk publicly nor ask Punk to specifically wrestle anyone, they simply wanted him to make an appearance.
"We just wanted him to be a part of the event," he said. "For a lot of fans, he's captured their imagination even with the amount of time he's been gone. He has a mythical presence to them. I thought it would be good for him to connect with them, but that's me, you know?"
Punk apparently didn't agree.
Since leaving WWE, Punk hasn't had anything to do with professional wrestling. He's fought two bouts in UFC, losing both decisively. He was also entangled in a court battle with WWE doctor Chris Amann. It was a lawsuit battle he eventually won but also a war that appears to have cost him his friendship with Colt Cabana.
Slowly, fans have started to sour on Punk who appears to have no loyalty at all to professional wrestling and judging by the success of All In's sellout and fan interest, the event certainly won't need Punk to make it successful.