TNA made a recent bid to sign former WWE star CM Punk, reports Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The offer came a few weeks back, when TNA reached out through an intermediary who is friends with Punk. This is similar to the play they made for Alberto Del Rio. The pitch was that Punk would come in and be the biggest star of their brand. They were going to put him on the same money they had Hulk Hogan on and the hope was that Punk's presence would attract a new TV deal. Whether this offer was even remotely interesting to Punk is unknown. The promise of top money and the freedom to be the main guy would've surely appealed on some level. However, the former wrestler has vowed never to return to the ring. He also maintains a dislike for TNA due to the experiences he had with the company in the early 2000's. There's also the issue of the six months work he owes WWE. They'd likely launch a legal challenge to stop him wrestling for anyone else. It's probably good for TNA that they didn't sign Punk. He'd appeal to wrestling fans, but TV executives wouldn't have any idea who he is. The impact on negotiating TNA's TV deal wouldn't be like what they had when a mainstream guy like Hulk Hogan was fronting the company. CM Punk is probably a cost the struggling outfit just doesn't need right now.
