Bobby Fish Blasts CM Punk's MMA Skills
Bobby Fish didn't issue a challenge for CM Punk to fight him — it was more of an invitation. The former AEW star was a guest on NBC Sports and talked about how he had expressed a desire to get physical with Punk on an episode of his podcast, "Undisputed."
"Phil is not a bad pro wrestler, but what Phil is not is a martial artist," Fish said, naming himself, Bryan Danielson, and reDRagon partner Kyle O'Reilly as individuals who heavily trained in the style, allowing them to plug some MMA into their ring work. "You can paint with whatever color you want. Choose a color that you have in your toolbox. If you don't have blue, you're not painting with blue. CM Punk is not a martial artist."
Fish fought CM Punk in a singles match on the October 27, 2021 episode of "AEW Dynamite," which saw Fish take the pinfall for Punk. Fish again credits Punk for his pro wrestling ability and was fine with losing, but finds it insulting to the intelligence of the audience and his colleagues when Punk incorporates martial arts, and says Punk didn't handle the aftermath the most professional way.
"You're asking me to go out and sell, put over, your bunk-ass martial arts," Fish said. "Phil, after the match, was a c***, and frankly, as a martial artist, I laid my shoulders down for you, like you should be grateful that I did, because on national TV, if I decided that if I wanted to Haku your ass, I could've, because you're that little bit of a threat in my world."
Fish also went on to discuss how Punk finished him with the GTS, a finisher that first belonged to KENTA. "You weren't even decent enough to change the name."