Booker T On How CM Punk Should Have Handled Adam Page's Comments
"Hangman" Adam Page may not have been present for the chaos following All Elite Wrestling's All Out Press Conference, but his involvement in the long-term tension between Punk and The Elite cannot be understated. With Punk's rant largely stemming from issues that arose during his program with Hangman earlier this year, many believe that the turmoil and suspensions that have occurred since All Out 2022 would not have been as severe had the problems between Page and Punk been addressed earlier. Booker T is one person who believes this, and he discussed the topic of how to avoid things between Punk and Hangman getting so hostile on a recent episode of Hall of Fame.
When discussing the promo, in which Hangman made a comment regarding "workers rights" that Punk felt was inappropriate, Booker believes that it is now a non-issue. "If that is the problem, it should've been handled that night when [they] walked off the stage." Booker explained, confused about why such an issue would brew for so long rather than be dealt with immediately.
'You gotta nip that in the bud'
Booker believes that Punk, as a veteran wrestler, should've taken the initiative to diffuse the situation rather than addressing it in a promo months later. "CM Punk, from his star power, he definitely has the ability to say 'Hey bro, we need to fix this,'" Booker continued, "You gotta nip that in the bud, you don't do it on television."
The conversation then led to Booker and his co-host, Brad Gilmore, pointing out the hypocrisy of Punk's comments about Page during the All Out presser. While Punk was upset that Page tried to "Bury the top babyface" during their Spring 2022 program, Punk was quick to do the same when he returned from injury. "Tony Khan said 'Hangman Page was the greatest AEW World Champion ever,'" Booker concluded, "Then to bury the guy like that ... Punk being the adult in the room should've been able to squash that immediately by saying, 'Bro, I'm not here for that, I'm here to help all of us make some money.'"