Ace Steel 'very proud' of CM Punk for WWE return

Ace Steel is "very proud" of his friend CM Punk following Punk's WWE return.

Steel was recently a guest on Wrestling with Rip Rogers. During the interview, Steel addressed Punk's WWE return and commented on the bond they share together. Steel said that, even though they aren't related by blood, him and Punk are family.

"I’m very proud of my number one student that I’ve ever coached in the world for heading back to show the world who the hell he is," Steel said. "I did a speech at the Cauliflower Alley [Club]. Steve Keirn was supposed to induct Punk at the Cauliflower Alley but he couldn't make it. So they were kind of scrambling around and I said, 'I'll do it, because who else can introduce you and talk about the days we started together?' And I said, 'The reason people hate him or whatever is he’s not about bullsh*t, and the guy doesn’t take sh*t, and he doesn’t take it lightly. And when you’ve had enough sh*t, you either explode, or you take care of business yourself, and you defend yourself. People don't like him because he defends himself or calls stuff out when it's not proper. But if you treat him right -- he treats everyone else right.'"

Punk and Steel were involved in a backstage fight with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega at AEW All Out in September 2022. Steel was fired after the incident, but he and Punk both returned to AEW earlier this year. Steel was released by AEW again in September, which came after Punk's backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In. Punk's AEW contract was terminated with cause following the incident.

On Wrestling with Rip Rogers, Steel was asked about his time working behind the scenes in AEW and the All Out brawl:

Well, I worked with a lot of great people -- some great, some not so much. Family still exists in this business. There are things none of us can say, and none of us will. I think actually my wife’s the only one who could probably tell the story since she was there. And maybe someday. As far as that goes, you don’t f*ck with family. You just don't. You just don't. And we came out just fine. I have a great lawyer: Stephen P. New. Stephen P. New. He's the man. Let's just put that in the world. That Stephen P. New -- he's a gem, he is for the wrestlers, he's for the boys, he's on the right side of the world. So I will give him all the praise in the world [for] why I'm sitting here smiling.

"I am proud of my clients and would not represent them if I didn’t truly believe in them as people," New wrote on X yesterday. "And @acesofsteel is correct. Sometimes clients and friends are family."

Steel worked as a producer for Impact Wrestling during Bound for Glory weekend this October.

Steel was previously a coach for WWE from 2019-2022.

Punk made his WWE return at Survivor Series last month. Since then, he's appeared on one episode of Raw, one SmackDown episode, and at NXT Deadline. Punk is currently a free agent in storyline. On Raw tonight, he'll reveal which brand he's signing with.