On a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed reports of CM Punk becoming the next head of WWE NXT creative when Shawn Michaels steps down.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On CM Punk wanting to be the successor for Shawn Michaels in NXT: “Punk said he would maybe think of being the successor of Shawn Michaels one day when Shawn Michaels stepped down at NXT. That’s the vibe that he’s getting around, and I was reading that. So yeah, yeah, Punk seemed to enjoy — I mean, he’s been down there every time I’ve been to work. And I’m like, ‘What is he doing here?’ But no, he’s been very, very refreshing, man. It’s been a different CM Punk. CM Punk said, this time around it’s not about him. It’s about the fans.”
On whether you clear a shoot-work comment by the guy you’re working with: “I would [save it for the promo and not clear it]. It would definitely be done right there in the middle of the ring, just to add a real feel to it. It gives a real reaction. It’s not something that you can prepare for, it’s something that you really just gotta get on the fly. And I always talk about you know, guys that talk about stuff in the back, and guys that just do it in the ring. It’s a difference, the way it looks because when you do it in the ring, it’s just a reaction. And I think that’s what happens when you do something like that; it feels much more real. It’s like slapping when they don’t know they gonna get slapped. As opposed to slapping them and they do know they’re going to get slapped.”
On when Punk could replace Michaels: “No, no. They were saying also, that’s not something that’s going to happen anytime soon. That’s something like years down the road, because Shawn Michaels doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. But he was saying, just because of — I guess, the way he’s feeling being around the group as far as being around the young talent, knowing what it felt like to be young once upon a time and being hungry like that. And wanting to be in a system like that, as well as being a, a mentor in a system like that as well. That kind of stuff right there, yeah. When you get to a certain point in your life — I know for me, I get a lot out of working with the NXT guys. And I feel a whole lot better when I go to NXT as opposed to just being Smackdown, being at Raw because I know I’m not doing anything. I can’t contribute as much to those guys on the show. Those guys are working. At NXT, these these are guys learning? They’re trying to figure it out, so I can give advice here. Give advice here. You know, talk about, give pointers here. So for me, I think that’s what he’s feeling being down there. Because it is uplifting, being a part of that system down there.”
