CM Punk at Elimination Chamber 2025 WWE.com

Former WWE Star Blasts CM Punk For Being Hard To Work With

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Jon Alba | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 4:12 PM ET

CM Punk has seemingly been on his best behavior since rejoining WWE in 2023, but one former WWE star doesn't seem to care to ever work with him.

Matt Riddle was with WWE from 2018 through 2023, winning the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship, and NXT Tag Team Championship in that time. However, he never had an opportunity to work with CM Punk, who returned two months after he left the company. That doesn't stop him from having some thoughts on Punk's presence in wrestling, however.

Riddle appeared on Going Ringside recently and was asked about the prospect of jumping to AEW at some point. While he said he would, he brought up CM Punk's tumultuous tenure with the company.

"They're still rebuilding," he said. "You know, I'm not a big fan of that guy either. That guy sucks. He's a b**** to work with in the back."

The 39-year-old Riddle, who notably has never appeared on a show with Punk, would explain why he'd never want to work alongside him.

"Because he just belly aches and complains," he said. "This guy complains about getting multiple world title runs. I've heard from my boys that still work there [in WWE] that he is a headache, and this isn't a storyline, this is the facts. So, this is what it is."

Riddle has appeared for New Japan-Pro Wrestling, MLW, TNA, AAA, and elsewhere since parting ways with WWE in September of 2023. Punk had a high-profile split from AEW himself, and has been involved in an ongoing lawsuit with the company.

H/T Fightful for transcript assistance.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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