CM Punk gets tryout for WWE Backstage FS1 studio show

CM Punk was brought in this week to do a screen test for Fox Sports One’s new WWE Backstage show, first reported by PWInsider’s Mike Johnson and later confirmed by our Dave Meltzer. 

According to Johnson, Renee Young was also present at the tests held at Fox Studios in Los Angeles and that other personalities have been brought in for potential roles over the past few months including Taz, Rey Mysterio, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, and Paige.

The Backstage show is a Fox production and not WWE, but it’s unclear who made the reach out to the 40-year-old Punk (real name Phil Brooks) to come in for the test. 

Formally announced by WWE earlier this week, Backstage kicks off on FS1 on Tuesday, November 4th and will be similar to other panel discussion shows under the Fox Sports banner. Young and Booker T have been confirmed thus far as co-hosts.

Meltzer had reported previously in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Punk’s agent was pushing for him to get a tryout, but WWE wasn’t interested. Acrimony between the two sides grew when Punk left the company in 2014 and was released, getting the legal papers on his wedding day. He went on Colt Cabana’s podcast that fall and detailed his issues with the company, specifically with a claimed medical misdiagnosis from Dr. Chris Amann. That later led to Amann filing a defamation lawsuit against Punk and Cabana which the latter won.

Punk was on a panel with Johnson as part of Starrcast earlier this month and said if WWE called him, he wouldn’t “not take” the call. Besides filming movies, Punk has been doing more as a commentator for CFFC.

For this part, Punk tweeted the following before moving onto promoting his new movie: