Report: CM Punk Auditioned for Role on Fox’s ‘WWE Backstage’

CM Punk could be returning to WWE television after a contentious departure.

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CM Punk was Fox Sports’ Los Angeles studios this week to discuss a possible role on the network’s new WWE show, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports.

Punk (real name Phil Brooks, 40) “did some test on-camera material,” according to Johnson, but it is unclear whether he has signed on to participate in the project.

The new “WWE Backstage” show will air Tuesday nights on FS1, beginning on Nov. 5. Renee Young will host the show, with Booker T joining as an analyst. WWE has said other personalities will join the pair. According to Johnson, Taz, Paige, Rey Mysterio and Sean Waltman (aka X-Pac) have met with Fox about potential roles. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter previously reported that Punk’s agent had contacted Fox about getting his client on the show.

The show is being produced by Fox, not WWE. Punk has been adamant about not returning to work for WWE after an acrimonious departure from the company in 2014. In November of that Year, 11 months after his last WWE match, Punk spoke at length about his issues with the company on a podcast with independent wrestler Colt Cabana. Punk’s comments about WWE doctor Chris Amann on the podcast led Amann to sue Punk and Cabana for defamation.

Fans have been hoping that Punk, a multi-time champion in WWE and one of the company’s most popular performers at his height, would return to the ring for years now but he has repeatedly shut down the idea (though he did make a masked appearance at a tiny indie show in Milwaukee). A spot on WWE Backstage wouldn’t be same, but fans would still be happy to see Punk on their TV screens regularly again.