5 Star Wrestling Increases $1 Million Offer to CM Punk, Wants to Talk to Dana White
5 Star Wrestling owner Dan Hinkles is not done with vying to acquire CM Punk to be a top name for his company, and he is willing to keep pushing the envelope.
Sitting down with the Pancakes and Powerslams Show, Hinkles explained in great detail what it means to acquire CM Punk for the company, and how his contract with UFC should not make a difference regarding his potential pro wrestling endeavors.
"“I’ve never seen CM Punk’s [UFC] contract. We know that he had the fight, we know that he is a part of a multi-fight deal. We’ve also seen Dana White come out and say he’s not going to fight in the UFC again. And we’ve seen Punk come out and say he’d love to. I’m not suggesting for a second that what [5 Star Wrestling] would do would take precedence over that. What I’m saying is, if Connor McGregor, the Lightweight Champion of UFC, can go and box Floyd Mayweather, why the [heck] can’t CM Punk come and make a million dollars wrestling. If the lightweight champion can go out and actually lose in a real fight, in the world of fighting, the last thing thing you want is your real champion go and lose in another sport.“But what we do is a bit different. If CM Punk returns to professional wrestling, it would be an iconic moment, a great moment, that could really kickstart [his return]. He could go back to the WWE, and they would pay him fortunes to do that, far more than we could ever offer. But what we could do is say that you can go do that for a company where you’ve already left, and we don’t know the real circumstances behind that, that’s his thing. But, he can come and really kickstart something here. He could come and be the guy that took this [company] to the top level.“Just to put that in perspective, people said this was a publicity stunt, right? But what I want people to understand is, I’m running 30 arenas this year. And I don’t mean 30 1,000-seat venues. We all know the tragedy that happened in Manchester, but we’re booked in that venue twice this year. That’s a 21,000-seat venue.”"
Hinkles went on to state that he is willing to go past $1 million to get CM Punk, and is willing to talk to Dana White about allowing him to wrestling for the company.
"“When I say that I’m willing to give CM Punk a million dollars to come join, that’s not a stunt. That’s a business decision. I’m saying if the guy come to the table and just talked about it, we might even be able to work something better than that, because I’m not saying that it has to bejust a million. It could be a million with some big upsides down the [line]. Let’s get to the negotiation table, and we’ll see.“I would love to talk to Dana White about this. None of that means anything if CM Punk himself doesn’t want to do it. But when I’m putting this money out on the table, what I’m getting at is, I don’t know many wrestling companies in the world who could offer a guy a million dollars. In fact, I know [just] one. I’m not sure if [Impact Wrestling] has any guys with that kind of money, I’m not sure if New Japan does. They might be in a position to, but I don’t think that they do.“But I don’t know their business inside-out like I know my business. But I do know that the vast majority of [promotions] couldn’t do it. What I’m saying is, maybe CM Punk does want to return to wrestling, but maybe he doesn’t want to go back to WWE because they’ve got some kind ofproblem. There’s only one man that knows, and I’m one of those guys that when he’s got something that he is trying to do, he goes out and does it.”"
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Perhaps CM Punk may see all the buzz that is going on about being offered big money to return to wrestling, and it causes him to actually sit down and negotiate with Hinkles. Turning 39 this year, a few more years in pro wrestling would be much better on his body than competing in the Octagon. Moreover, from the devastating loss he received from Mickey Gall at UFC 203, this career path may not be the best choice, seeing how the UFC community was not impressed whatsoever that another wrestler tried a career in MMA.