Sami Zayn acknowledges CM Punk's skills after wrestling him

"

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 11: Sami Zayn with a Helluva Kick to CM Punk during SmackDown at Arena Ciudad de Mexico on September 11, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/WWE via Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images CM Punk has pissed off pretty much everyone in the pro wrestling industry at one time or another, and that’s led to plenty of folks being unwilling and therefore unable to recognize just how great he really is at what he does. It can look like he’s sloppy in the ring, and maybe he doesn’t have the typical look of top stars before him. But come on, right? The results speak for themselves. Well, one guy who has come around on him is the guy who just took the WWE championship from him, Sami Zayn. That’s what he told Busted Open Radio when Bully Ray asked if he still sees Punk as phony or overrated (via F4WOnline.com): “Phony, yeah. Overrated? I have to be honest, you know, I never got in the ring with him until earlier this year, and I can’t take it away from him. He’s great in the ring. He actually opened my eyes because for a long time, the hype around Punk was like, you know, and I can’t, you could say the same thing about me because people have said it about me. They’re like, ‘I don’t get this guy.’ And there were times that Punk, to the levels he reached, I’m like, ‘I don’t get how he reached these levels.’ Like, clearly there’s something about him, but I don’t get it. I didn’t always get the hype. I didn’t. But after I got in the ring with him three or four times this year, like, you can’t take that away from him. And trust me, I would love to. I would love to just sit here and bash him for the next 10, 15 minutes, but in the ring, I can’t take it away from him.” There’s something to be said about a wrestler the level of Zayn openly admitting this, despite how much animosity there may be for all the reasons it may exist. And he can still poke fun at Punk while recognizing the real.