During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Sting gave some high praise to CM Punk. The WWE Hall of Famer also commented on returning to Greensboro as part of AEW, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On returning to Greensboro as part of AEW: “This means the world to me. I never thought I’d be back here like this. I thought I was just going to disappear from wrestling, and I didn’t like the thought of that. Then I came to AEW, and originally, we were just going to explore cinematic matches. And I got in the ring. I can still hear Cody [Rhodes] telling me about my kinetic energy and that I could wrestle a match. I was like, ‘Ease up now, Cody.’ Then I heard Darby say, ‘Steve, you can do it.’ This entire stretch, and now coming back to Greensboro, it has all been surreal.”
On CM Punk’s AEW run: “CM Punk, he’s truly amazing to me. Hearing the crowd respond to him, it’s made me turn back the clock and think of all the different memorable reactions over the years to different wrestlers. I’ve especially been thinking about The Road Warriors. Animal was really big on that. He would say, ‘This guy got a huge pop, but it wasn’t a Road Warrior pop.’ That’s what Punk gets.”
On the pop Punk got when he debuted for AEW: “I had an idea of CM Punk’s greatness, but now I have experienced it. His appearances are so electrifying. He is remarkable, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to be in the ring with him and Darby as their tag team partner.”
On working with FTR: “FTR, they’re a modern-day Arn and Tully. They’re as good as it gets. I put them up there with anyone, and they’re one of the best tag teams in the world. When you’re in the ring with them, it’s game on. There is no playing around, especially the pace they can go, and I saw that firsthand when we wrestled.”
On being able to write a new final chapter of his career: “Not many people get to rewrite their final chapter, not at this level. I had great matches at the Greensboro Coliseum with Lex Luger, and now I get to do it with Darby and CM Punk against MJF and FTR. It’s a great way to end my career. The crowd, their appreciation makes me want to tear up. It’s almost as if they don’t want to say goodbye. Grown men and women talk to me about how they had no relationship with their dad except for watching me wrestle. Those stories mean a lot to me. Coming back to Greensboro with a lot of my old buddies, I’m hoping some of my generation will be there.”
