In a recent interview with The Wrestling INC Daily Podcast, former WWE on-air talent Renee Paquette discussed several topics, including why she believes that recent AEW signing CM Punk chose joining the company over a potential WWE return.

“I think the thing with WWE that everyone says is, never say never, so if Punk were to have ended up back in the WWE, I don’t think I would have been so floored by it, because I think no matter what, everyone’s just kind of waiting, when’s he going to put the boots back on, when are we going to get CM Punk back in the ring and honestly, as more time was passing, I was like s***, are we ever going to see this, is it never going to happen, so I think for him to be able to sit back, and I know he took the time over the pandemic and watching these no crowd shows and what was going on with AEW to now fans are back and he came back at obviously the perfect time in Chicago from past pay-per-view to showing up on Rampage.

I’m not surprised that it was AEW that he decided to go to, I think the thing for him, whether it’s talking money, talking dates, whatever it comes down to, it’s the storylines and the people that he wants to work with. I don’t think there was anything fresh and new in WWE that he really wanted to do, I don’t think there was anyone there that he wanted to work that he hasn’t already worked, storylines he’s not already been able to do. Whether it was at AEW, or Ring Of Honor, or what have you, to now looking at things being busted wide open at AEW and having Adam Cole there now, you’ve got Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, for him to be able to tag with Bryan Danielson, that was one thing that he mentioned to me on my podcast, I think it’s just those other opportunities and different avenues that he can kind of take his career now, I think that’s what really spoke to him more so than somebody driving a truck of cash up to his house, which hopefully he got that too.”

The full interview is available at this link.