WWE Chairman Vince McMahon isn't thrilled with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan's rumored AEW signings, as per Andrew Zarian on the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast.
It has been a while since Sean Ross Sapp reported that CM Punk and AEW were in talks for a possible return for the former WWE Champion. Around the same time, it was reported that WWE veteran Daniel Bryan was on his way to AEW.
Vince McMahon's backstage reaction to AEW's rumored signings
Andrew Zarian had the following to say in regards to Vince McMahon's backstage reaction to the two megastars possibly signing with AEW:
“There’s a lot of rumors that Vince is very upset and management is very angry, how could they have these two go? I think Daniel Bryan is the disappointment for them, CM Punk not so much. There’s no buzz that I’m hearing coming from the office side that ‘we f’d up by not signing him.’ There’s a lot of people that think his stock is not what it normally would be. They think his UFC losses hurt him. A lot of people worked with him when he was very unhappy and I think that’s the memory that they have. I’m saying from management, not the talent. I think the talent knows what a big deal this is.” [credits for the quote goes to WrestlingNews.co]
Vince McMahon and CM Punk aren't exactly strangers. Punk competed in the 2014 Royal Rumble match and quit WWE immediately after. Punk later revealed that Vince McMahon was in tears during their final meeting. Punk was one of the biggest stars in wrestling when he left and is still a big name in the business seven years after his WWE exit.
Daniel Bryan turned into one of the biggest WWE Superstars in history during his stint in the promotion. The "Yes Movement" angle on the road to WrestleMania XXX in 2014 is still talked about by fans, to this day. Bryan last wrestled for WWE in a Universal title match against Roman Reigns on the April 30, 2021 edition of SmackDown.
Vince McMahon is reportedly furious but the majority of wrestling fans are excited at the possibility of these two big names going to AEW. What do you think? What would be your reaction to seeing Punk and Bryan appear on AEW TV?