Stone Cold Steve Austin said he recently exchanged text messages with CM Punk, with the WWE Hall of Famer expressing admiration for the AEW star.
"Man, I just sent Punk a message last night. I didn't know he had torn his triceps," Austin said in an interview with Alfred Konuwa of Forbes. "I haven't been following anything. I don't know what's going on with that. Me and Phil trade messages every here and there. We rarely talk, probably once or twice a year. I love the guy, and I don't even know if I mentored him because Punk's probably a lot smarter than I am."
Punk has been out of action since suffering a torn triceps in his win over Jon Moxley at last year's All Out pay-per-view.
Austin went on to praise Punk's career, both as an in-ring worker and on the mic.
"Great promo guy, great worker, he's got his own thing going and we're just friends," Austin said. "So I think I remember there's a picture of myself and him from Chicago, my favorite town to work in, my favorite building. And I guess he had come down to where we were all hanging out. Maybe he looked up to me back in the day, but I don't know if I so much mentored him because I think he paid his own dues. He learned it the way he did and he got over on his own merits. The fact that maybe I could have been somewhat of an influence would be flattering if that were the case. But he's made his own career."
By the time injuries ended Austin's in-ring career in 2003, Punk was ascending on the independent scene with Ring of Honor. He would make his debut in WWE in 2006 as part of the revamped ECW brand, staying with the company until his departure in 2014.
Punk joined AEW in 2021 after a seven-year in-ring absence but has dealt with injuries throughout his time in the company.
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