CM Punk on Triple H: ‘I love working with the guy’

Their relationship might have been adversarial in the past, but CM Punk now loves working with Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Earlier this year, Levesque opened up to the High Performance podcast about how he and Punk have improved their communication with each other. Levesque said that, though he and Punk clashed during Punk’s first WWE run, collaborating with Punk is now one of his favorite things to do as WWE’s head of creative.

Punk returned that praise in a new interview with TV Insider, noting that working with Levesque is “really a treat.”

“Between me and Triple H, there is so much more of an understanding,” Punk said. I’ve advanced in my life to a point where I have the perspective I didn’t have before. For him, likewise has advanced in life to where he has experiences and knowledge he didn’t have before. Me and him, I think we were both on the main roster, and were talented guys. It was more adversarial because we were competition. Now we’re not and are on the same page and want to help the next generation and kind of guide them the right way with their creativity showing through but also producing them. It’s more like, ‘Maybe do it this way and see what happens.’

“Look, I love working with the guy. It’s amazing. It’s really a treat. I think we’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg. I’m still kind of pumping the brakes on any kind of office title. I don’t want to be office Punk while I’m active main roster wrestler Punk. Those things do not mix. You can not try to tell somebody else what to do while you are essentially booked in a certain position on the show, in my opinion. I’m stoked being a wrestler and until I hang my boots up, I’m going to be stoked being a wrestler. I want to do the best I can with the group I have, which are some supremely talented, genius minds for the wrestling business.”

Punk walked out of WWE in 2014 and spent seven years away from the ring before joining AEW in 2021. He then returned to WWE in 2023 after his contract with AEW was terminated.

In the TV Insider interview, Punk said the biggest difference between his two WWE runs is that he’s more stable in his position now and doesn’t feel like he always has to fight to prove himself.

“I don’t think I’m fighting for real estate anymore where as early in my career I was always fighting for what I thought was the way to do things. I feel like my role is 100 percent more solidified now,” he said. “It feels weird saying that I’m a living legend, but I’m not sure how else to say it. I’m 46 years old and have been doing this for a very long time. Pardon my French, I’m pretty f*ckin’ good at it. I know that now. It’s not me fighting and trying to prove that to people now. It’s me being more like, ‘We all get it now. We understand each other.'”

Punk has not won gold since his WWE return, but that could change next month when he challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Punk earned the title shot by winning a gauntlet match on Raw this Monday.