Punk made the comments during a preview show ahead of Saturday’s Royal Rumble, which is being held in Saudi Arabia as part of the Riyadh Season series of events
CM Punk took a dig at late WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan ahead of the Royal Rumble – by suggesting he wasn’t a fan of the Hulkster growing up. The WWE World Heavyweight champion, 47, appeared on the Royal Rumble kick off show ahead of the event.
During a discussion, panelist Peter Rosenberg said: “Remember back in the day when we were kids, everyone loved Hulk Hogan”. But Punk, real name Phillip Brooks, quipped back: “I dunno where you grew up.”
Punk previously stood emotionless during a 10-bell salute to Hogan on Monday Night Raw after his sudden death at 71 last July.
One fan disagreed with Punk’s stance, dubbing him: “Always a edgelord wanting to be different.” And another another said: “Douchebag Phil has to break kayfabe to attack the most popular wrestler in history.”
But a third said: “I’m so glad we live in a timeline where top stars of today can take a massive shit on Hulk Hogan.” A quipped online: “Seriously. No chill, straight talk from punk here…”
Punk, who has stated on the record his love for wrestlers such as Bret Hart and Roddy Piper, is said to have had a long-running feud with Hogan.
Last January, he ranted during a promo before last year’s Royal Rumble: “You put Hulk Hogan in the Royal Rumble, I’ll throw his dusty a** over the top rope, and I’ll kill Hulkamania once and for all.”
And in 2021, he branded Hogan a “piece of sh*t” in an interview, in which he accused him of hogging the spotlight when he was a top star and not willing to nurture younger talent.
Fellow WWE star Becky Lynch made similar accusations last year when fans posted memes online calling her Becky Hogan after he return at WrestleMania, fuming she had been compared “to the scummiest person on Earth after everything I’ve done.”
Hogan was one of the biggest wrestling stars of all time and beloved by fans during the 1980s and 90s, when he became larger than life figure and appeared in films such as Rocky III and his far-reaching influence helped transform WWE into a global juggernaut.
But away from the ring, his reputation was tarnished in recent years and he was axed from the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 after audio of a racist rant emerged in which he used the n-word. He was reinstated in 2018.
During his final televised WWE appearance — during the first episode of Raw on Netflix in January 2025 — he was hit by a chorus of loud boos when he walked on stage from the crowd in Los Angeles.
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