As far as the world of mixed martial arts goes, I wish the summer would hurry up and get here. Aside from some great title fights lined up, summer is also a likely window for when we’ll see the UFC debut of former WWE Champion CM Punk. I’m happy to see that he’s doing well at the Roufusport camp alongside the likes of Anthony Pettis and Ben Askren, but I’m just about tired of the speculation and training updates. However, if a guy like Stone Cold Steve Austin comes along to liven things up, I’ll watch pretty much any amount of filler material until Punk’s first fight.
Lucky for us, that’s exactly what we got over the weekend when Austin stopped by AXS TV’s Inside MMA program to talk with host Bas Rutten, who is basically the big, friendly uncle of Muay Thai. Here’s a clip:
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“Of course, I’ll be cheering for [CM Punk]… It’s not like we’re best friends, but I wish him well, and I’ll be real excited to see his debut.”
It’s no secret that Austin’s an avid MMA fan. He’s had guests like Chael Sonnen on his podcast, and he occasionally shows up at UFC events. But let’s ignore that and get to the part where he wistfully talks about the Punk/Austin feud that might have gone down in some parallel universe not too different from our own. It’s one of the great “What If” rivalries in wrestling (video games can’t seem to stop setting it up), so I always enjoy hearing Stone Cold talk about how he and Punk might have played off each other. And shout-out to Bas Rutten for name-dropping the “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba as an example of pro wrestling and MMA crossing over. Also, Stone Cold makes a very necessary point about people who boo during “slow” fights. If you’re that guy who boos during and after a five-round decision, let’s just say that soccer probably isn’t for you, either.
