During a recent episode of his “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, TNA veteran Matt Hardy addressed the controversy surrounding CM Punk apologizing to Saudi Arabia fans following his past criticisms.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the situation: “Punk has a history of being very vocal about things he has been against or things he is not for. And there were so many people that were so disappointed that he ended up going to Saudi Arabia. Disappointed a good word? I think it’s one of those things where — you know, if he hadn’t come to AEW, got himself established real big, he probably doesn’t end up heading back to WWE after he rebuilt himself up there. And I truly believe at WWE, he is grateful for this opportunity. And he knows it isn’t AEW, he can’t do what the f**k he wants to do. He has to play by the rules and like, be a good employee and kind of toe the company line. And I think he was okay with that, and he was accepting of that. ‘Okay, they want me to do this match with John Cena and Saudi Arabia. Now, do SmackDown in Saudi Arabia. Fine, I’ll do it.’”
On whether CM Punk’s actions were hypocritical: “It’s tricky. Because he’s an employee, he has a job. He’s one of the top guys, one of the top acts in WWE, and they wanted him to do that. And that was his job requirement, and he was supposed to fulfill it. So it’s one of those things, especially if you’re trying to be a good employee, and you’re trying to do what you think is right for that place — even if it’s something you don’t want to do, you have to know you’re going to take a hit in it. And you can’t necessarily stand on that moral high ground, because you have allowed yourself to go to a place that people don’t equate with representing that moral high ground that take he had.”
