Booker T has made the case that CM Punk’s second run in WWE has been better than his first, offering his assessment during a recent discussion of Punk’s career trajectory, according to F4W Online and eWrestlingNews.
Punk’s path back to WWE has been anything but conventional. He walked out of the company in 2014 following a contentious exit, then pursued a career change into mixed martial arts with the UFC. After suffering losses in that venture, Punk pivoted away from fighting and moved into broadcasting as a commentator before an unexpected stint with AEW, which ended in his firing from that promotion.
From there, Punk made his return to WWE at Survivor Series in November 2023, arriving just months removed from his AEW departure and nearly a decade after his original split from the company. That homecoming set the stage for the current chapter of his career, one that Booker T now says has eclipsed the body of work Punk built during his first tenure in WWE.
Booker T, a WWE Hall of Famer and veteran of the industry across multiple eras, has become a regular voice offering analysis on current WWE storylines and performers through his media platform. His comments on Punk add to an ongoing conversation among wrestling commentators about how Punk’s unlikely return and subsequent run compare to the legacy he built before leaving the company in 2014.
The specifics of what Booker T cited in drawing that comparison were not detailed beyond his overall assessment that the second run surpasses the first. Neither source provided direct quotes elaborating on particular matches, storylines, or achievements that informed his conclusion, so the full basis for his claim remains limited to the general verdict he delivered.
Punk’s return continues to be one of the more closely watched storylines in WWE given the unusual circumstances that preceded it, including his MMA detour and his turbulent AEW tenure. Booker T’s comments reflect the broader industry interest in measuring Punk’s current output against the standard he set earlier in his career, a comparison likely to continue as Punk’s second WWE run progresses.
