WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has branded CM Punk's return to television "a breath of fresh air."
Punk seems fully acclimated in his role on FOX's WWE Backstage despite only making his actual debut this week and it's been reported that ratings nearly quadrupled as a result of his involvement.
Austin, who was on the State of Combat podcast this week, seemed pleased with the development and loves that Punk and WWE are back on good terms following their acrimonious split. Of course, Punk is not employed by WWE and will be getting his cheques from FOX but it's unlikely he'd be part of the show if things were still sour.
“I don’t know if it leads to anything more, I guess speculation, to be determined, we’ll find out," Austin said. "Just the fact that he’s returned to be doing business with WWE, I love, because I don’t know, they split up on bad terms, and now they’re back in business together.
"CM Punk was a lights out pro-wrestler, great promos, great work, great talent, so to have him back in the fold, obviously, I guess they ironed out whatever they need to iron out, and both sides are happy, so it’s great to have CM Punk back in the pro-wrestling/sports entertainment business. It’s a breath of fresh air because the guy brings a great perspective, great insight, and great opinion on all things sports entertainment.”
Good Times
Austin is hardly the only one who's excited over Punk's return. As mentioned above, Backstage was almost four times as popular this week and that is more than likely a direct result of the former Straight-Edge Superstar's addition.
A reported 180,000 persons tuned into the show to listen to Punk and they couldn't have been disappointed as he got into his element right away.
Maybe this develops into something physical in future; who knows? But for now, we can enjoy watching the ex-wrestler and MMA fighter do his thing as a co-host.
Source: State of Combat (h/t 411Mania)