Like many, Daniel Bryan watched the mixed martial arts debut of CM Punk at UFC 203.
Punk was a hot topic among pro wrestling and MMA fans last weekend, as he dropped a quick fight to Mickey Gall in dominant fashion.
“I was really hoping (CM Punk) would win. Punk and I have never been best friends or anything like that. I don’t even think I have his number in my phone,” Bryan told PhillyVoice.
Bryan said he agreed with CM Punk’s post fight speech, referring to it as a “promo.”
“It’s the whole thing with me and him, and guys like Sami Zayn and Neville even trying to wrestle… It’s just this idea of you have this dream that everybody tells you that you can’t do, but you just keep going after it,” Bryan Explained.
He went on to commend CM Punk for stepping in the octagon, Bryan says a lot of people will not compete because of their ego. The age of CM Punk was another point of respect for Bryan who has a comparable career and age. Other topics covered in the interview included his thoughts on NXT, AJ Styles, cruiserweight wrestlers and his relationship with Philadelphia having performed there several times.
“I was part of the first season of NXT, but you can’t even say it’s the same thing. And I had no part in it becoming as good as it is now.” He mentioned wrestlers like Finn Balor and American Alpha who built their following at NXT before arriving at the main roster. Bryan wanted Balor on the main roster sooner but conceded the time at NXT built Balor into something bigger,” Bryan said.
