Booker T Says CM Punk's Backstage Demeanor At NXT Deadline In Line With WWE Raw Promo

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is somebody who is known to speak his mind, often making headlines on his podcast, "The Hall of Fame." From time to time, Booker has brought up CM Punk, whether it's discussing his controversial time in AEW or the prospect of coming back to WWE, and Booker didn't always have the most positive things to say about Punk. On the latest episode of his show, Booker discussed coming face-to-face with the WWE star during Punk's surprise visit to WWE NXT Deadline over the weekend.

"CM Punk wasn't hiding. He wasn't hid away in some room," Booker said. "He was running around mingling. I ran into CM Punk in catering, and he was sitting there talking with a couple friends. ... I walked up to CM Punk and I said, 'CM Punk! What up, man?' And he stands up and he goes, 'What up, man? You flip-flopper.'"

Booker laughed about the encounter, apparently having told Punk that sometimes he has to play the heel and sometimes he plays the babyface. The WWE Hall of Famer said that he then sat down with Punk and talked for a short while. At that time, Booker got the impression that Punk is currently in the right headspace for his WWE run.

Speaking to the man backstage, Booker said Punk was friendly and felt just like the person that he remembered interacting with in the past. Booker then referenced Punk's return promo from the "WWE Raw" following Survivor Series: WarGames, with Punk's closing line having particularly stood out to him.

"He said he's not here to make friends, he's here to make business, but in this kind of business you've got to have friends in order to ... do business," Booker said. "Because you're working with a lot of guys that you're going to have to trust when you're out there in the middle of that ring."

According to Booker, anyone who doesn't have the trust and support of the locker room isn't going to last very long. The "WWE NXT" commentator believes this is something Punk is already aware of as well.

"It's the reason why things didn't work out [for Punk] in AEW, because a lot of those guys probably didn't care about each other," Booker concluded. Before moving on, however, Booker owned up to Punk's playful jab backstage, admitting that he is a "flip-flopper."