What Wrestling Legends Really Think Of Modern WWE
5. CM Punk
CM Punk didn't change the culture on WWE Backstage - the show no longer exists, if that counts - but he did let slip the odd milquetoast opinion on a show he very clearly only watched passively.
His disposition was a slight, technical notch above "I wouldn't watch that sh*t if you paid me," and it should have alerted everybody to his future plans. He is so over professional wrestling that he could barely bring himself to bury it.
Punk also had sage advice for Drew McIntyre on Instagram. He shared an infuriating bugbear with your writer, only for creative to not take said advice on, literally, a weekly basis. Punk reckoned that McIntyre needs to stop being so "negative about himself". This has come to consume the core of his character.
Drew McIntyre is the guy that got fired and worked his way back to WWE. We are reminded of this every week. It is copied and pasted into every last one of his promos. He is promoted as a failure done good, which is nice and redemptive and all that, but reminding the audience that he used to be a bit sh*te isn't effective promotion. "I used to suck, but now, I'm overseeing record low ratings!" isn't good material, no matter how well he delivers it.
Did Vince McMahon ever remind Steve Austin that he was the Ringmaster in 1998?
No.
He made money instead by pushing a star as a star.