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'A Guy That I Don't Respect Anyway' AJ Styles Couldn't Stand CM Punk
via IMAGN Image Services

When CM Punk left WWE in January 2014, he became a very bitter man. With how his health was treated, along with his bad booking, it was understandable why Punk was grumpy, but he took it out on so many of his former co-workers, creating several enemies in the process. For years, CM Punk had real life issues not just with Triple H and Vince McMahon, but Seth Rollins, The Miz, and more. One of the men he disliked most was a surprising one because you never hear a bad word about him, but Punk had no love for AJ Styles, and the phenomenal one made it clear that he couldn't stand Punk either. Now that they are under the same roof, do the two future Hall of Famers get along?

CM Punk & AJ Styles Genuinely Didn't Like Each Other

CM Punk's issues with AJ Styles came in 2020 and had nothing to do with what Styles did, but supposedly because of what he did not do. In the summer of 2020, due to the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota, tensions were high in the United States. Many people took up the cause of Black Lives Matter, including many wrestlers, to voice their opinions. AJ Styles, however, was not among them, and Punk called out silent wrestlers like him on Twitter.

When a Twitter user mentioned AJ Styles not ever bringing up Black Lives Matter on his stream, Punk responded in a now deleted tweet with:

“Well. Come on. That one has been obvious for years.” (h/t Post Wrestling)

When AJ Styles was asked about it in an interview with The Times of India, his response was clear:

"I will not react at all coming from a guy that I don’t [have] any respect [for] anyway. It doesn’t really matter. Look, my job as a performer is to perform and get the mind off all the things that have happened throughout the world. I am not going to react to people saying ridiculous and stupid things.”

AJ Styles Wants A WWE Match With CM Punk

The two wrestlers didn't get along, but what happened when CM Punk returned to WWE at the end of 2023? During an April 2024 interview with The Ringer Wrestling Show, AJ Styles was asked about Punk's WWE comeback.

"If you know anything about AJ Styles and CM Punk, you would know that we really don't care for each other. If you want me to ruin everything you think you know, I can. Here it is. Past performance predicts future behavior, right? Some over at AEW are my best friends. Love them, trust them, know them. I was expecting a problem when he came here. I was wrong. The guy looks like he's happy to be here. He looks like a guy that I want to step into the ring with and tear the house down with. So, I can't wait until that tricep of his is ready to rock so we can tear the house down." (h/t Fightful)

On the June 6, 2025 episode of Raw, Punk and Styles finally met in the ring for a Money in the Bank qualifying triple threat match with El Grande Americano. The wrestler who is definitely not Chad Gable won, but here's hoping we get a proper CM Punk vs. AJ Styles feud before both men retire.

This article first appeared on The Sportster and was syndicated with permission.

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