How Corey Graves would handle CM Punk’s return to WWE

Word is it’s unlikely CM Punk will return to WWE at Survivor Series later this month in Chicago — or any time after that. But not all rumor sources have completely ruled it out, and that’s enough to keep hope alive for some fans.

SmackDown color commentator and After The Bell podcast host Corey Graves is one of the people in WWE who might have mixed feeling about Punk returning to the company. During Punk’s UFC run, Graves revealed that he was hurt by Punk ending their friendship after he left WWE back in 2014. But when Corey was asked how he’d react if his former friend re-signed with WWE during a recent appearance on The Kurt Angle Show, he said he’d be willing to start fresh:

“Listen, Punk was always great to me when I was coming up. We were really, really, really close. Remember I told the story at the beginning of the show about how I missed my son being born? Punk was in Pittsburgh at the time and was actually the first guy who held my son after he was born. Like, we were tight.

“Fast forward a few years, I don’t really know what happened. We sort of fell out for one reason or another. I said some disparaging things in a very public, unprofessional manner. We haven’t spoken since prior to then. But at the end of the day, rather than sitting here and wasting everybody’s time, I’m a professional. I’m too old to hold grudges. I feel like whatever’s happened is water under the bridge. I got a whole different life. I’m in a very different place in my life than I was back when all that stuff went down. If it’s right for business, who am I to say no? I’m a pro at the end of the day. I would happily do whatever is needed. I would shake the man’s hand and move on and see what life holds.”

Again, based on what we know right now it doesn’t seem like this will be an issue. But it’s nice to know Graves is in a better place with it than he was a few years back.