Before he was an MMA commentator and WWE’s voice of the voiceless, CM Punk was one of the bright stars of Ring of Honor. He is one of the world champions that established the promotion with long feuds against Samoa Joe and Raven. He ran their training facility, and many thought he would be there for his entire career. Perhaps at one point, even before the pipebomb, he wanted to go back.
On this week’s edition of the ROH Strong podcast, former ROH owner Cary Silkin claims that there were two “rinky-dink” offers to purchase the company. One came from TNA co-founder Jerry Jarrett in 2007, but there were never any serious negotiations. The other came in 2010 out of the blue via text message from one CM Punk. Whether the offer was legitimate or not, Silkin didn’t seem impressed.
“I’ve hustled tickets on the street and have had a somewhat successful business. I don’t think text messaging is the way to approach sales of companies. That first text message might be, ‘I’d like to talk to you about something.’ Those were my only two real offers…they weren’t real.”
Punk was in the midst of the Straight Edge Society angle throughout most of 2010, with the end of the year seeing him form the New Nexus. He was half a year away from the pipebomb, but his mind was seemingly already on ventures outside of World Wrestling Entertainment. Would the earth-shattering promo have even taken place if there were serious talks between Silkin and Punk? Would WWE have ever looked at the indie scene if Punk never broke through the mainstream?
It’s certainly an interesting thought experiment, as an ROH controlled by Punk could have provided an AEW level kick in the pants to the whole industry a decade early.
Thanks to our friends at Fightful for the above podcast transcription!
