Booker T has spoken about the recent CM Punk vs Samoa Joe clash on AEW, claiming it did not match up to their previous encounters.
The pair wrestled in Ring of Honor nearly two-decades ago, facing off in multiple 60-minute time-limit draws.
Punk never picked up a win over Joe, which led to this match on AEW Collision to be a very personal one to him.
The former ROH Champions battled in the semi-finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament, with a match with Ricky Starks in the final up for grabs.
CM Punk pinned Samoa Joe to pick up the win, although WWE Hall of Famer Booker T was not a fan of the match (in relation to their previous bouts).
On the latest episode of his “Hall Of Fame” podcast, Booker T revealed what he thought about AEW’s first Samoa Joe vs CM Punk.
He revealed that he didn’t want to speak badly of either man, but that the match did not compare to the duos’ early bouts against one another.
Booker T compared it to WWE rehashing his best-of-seven series from WCW, and how it will never be able to live up to the original.
Speaking on the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T said:
“I got a chance to see some of it. I’m going to reserve my opinion, because I like Samoa Joe. He’s a friend of mine. CM Punk, as I said, is a guy I have no ill will towards as well. But the match, it’s one of those types of things. I’m going to say this about the match.”
“And you guys can go back and watch the match yourself and you guys can go back and watch [Punk vs. Joe] 3, 2, and 1. That’s what I’m comparing this match to. It’s so hard to go out there and recreate something that you did once upon a time, and top what you did once upon a time.”
“Trust me. I say that — best of seven series when I did that in WCW was one thing. Best of seven series in WWE. My bones were like, ‘What the hell am I thinking?’”
“I’m going to tell you right now, that’s what it looked like to me. It looked like the guys were like, ‘Man, this ain’t like it was when we were in our 20s.’ So that’s what I saw when I watched that little bit of that match.”
CM Punk went on to lose to Ricky Starks in the finals, facilitating a heel turn for Starks.
