Edge And Christian Mock CM Punk’s Possible UFC Debut On The WWE Network
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk left WWE back in January, 2014, and nearly a year later, he signed with the UFC. Originally, the plan was for Punk to make his UFC debut in the summer of 2015, but lingering injuries have prevented the former self-proclaimed “Best in the World” from stepping inside the Octagon.
CM Punk will fight Mickey Gall whenever he’s ready to make his pro MMA debut, but there are many who are questioning if we’ll ever see the former WWE Champ inside the Octagon at all.
UFC president Dana White’s idea was for CM Punk to fight Mickey Gall at UFC 199 next month. But, a lingering back injury from Punk’s pro wrestling days kept the UFC president from officially making that fight, which led many to believe that the former WWE star’s debut would be pushed back to UFC 200 in July, but, in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Punk said that he probably wouldn’t be able to fight on the July card.
Other than congratulating him on their website after he signed with the UFC, WWE has stayed away from talking about CM Punk’s new career. But, on the latest edition of the Edge and Christian Show that Totally Reeks of Awesomeness on the WWE Network, the former WWE Tag-Team Champs poked fun at CM Punk’s future in the UFC.
On the show, Edge and Christian played a game called “Will WWE talk about it?” One of the questions was CM Punk’s UFC debut, and both Edge and Christian said that WWE will gladly talk about Punk’s Octagon debut, “if it ever happens.” Then they ended the segment by laughing about the fact that, in their opinion, Punk will never be healthy enough to fight in the UFC. You can check out the clip below.
Most believe that it’s only a matter of time before CM Punk goes back to WWE, and both Triple H and WWE chairman Vince McMahon have said that they would gladly welcome him back. But, in several interviews after his WWE departure, Punk made it clear that he doesn’t intend to return to World Wrestling Entertainment, and if he ever did, he’d look at it as a personal failure.
Odds are that Punk will return to WWE at some point, because there have been guys — Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino — who have left under worse terms than he did, but they all returned to the company at some point.
Punk’s back injury which required surgery was the second injury that had sidelined him since he signed with the UFC. Back in October, it was reported that Punk had injured his arm, and that he wouldn’t be able to train for about two months.
CM Punk is 37-years-old, and he suffered a ton of injuries throughout his professional wrestling career, which is why many believe that his body won’t hold up during a training camp. But, as of right now, CM Punk is confident that he will fight at some point, and when he does, it’ll be a huge story.
There’s a chance that Mickey Gall, who is supposed to be Punk’s first opponent, will fight again before he gets inside the Octagon with the former WWE Champ. Gall last fought in February, where he defeated Mike Jackson via submission in just 45 seconds.
[Image via MMA Fighting]
