AEW superstar CM Punk recently spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer about the 2006 WWE Survivor Series pay per view, where the Chicago Savior teamed up with Degeneration-X and the Hardy Boyz to defeat Rated RKO, Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox, and Gregory Helms in a Survivor Series match.
Prior to the bout Punk received a huge ovation from the Philadelphia crowd, something WWE later told him was due to them being internet fans. Hear his response to that in the highlights below.
Says WWE was mad that he was over:
“People were mad because, ‘We don’t understand. Why’s this kid over?’ Then they’ll use the crutch of, ‘Oh, it’s just internet fans.’ Yeah, OK, 18,000 people packed the place and they’re all just internet fans but whatever. It means something to me now because it was validation. Like, ‘Yeah. My hard work is paying off. Yeah. People are seeing me and the things that I’m doing and people like me. Let’s go.”
Says now if that happens he is embraced:
“Now I’m in a spot where if that happens, it’s embraced. It’s not picked apart and told why 18,000 screaming people are wrong. Now we’re just like, ‘Yeah, those 18,000 screaming people were right.’”