When it comes to professional wrestling in 2024, a pretty easy way to see which side of the proverbial fence a fan falls on is to ask one simple question: The Elite or CM Punk… unless you're Shane Helms, the “Hurricane” who has experience with both sides during his career in the ring.

That's right, in a recent appearance on Behind The Turnbuckle with Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman and Tommy Carlucci, Helms put over the return of CM Punk, celebrating his impact on WWE's product both on the screen and behind the scenes.

“Punk was definitely the bigger shock, for sure. I didn't think he was ever going to come back just because of the bad blood with past administrations and some of the stuff that was said online while he was gone,” Shane Helms explained via Fightful. “You also have to realize that we all say stupid stuff and get some anger. Maybe we were feeling that way at that time. There is definitely stuff I have said in the past, and people are like, ‘Did you mean it?' At the time, I did. I might not feel that way now, but that's how you grow as a person. In terms of Phil backstage, he's been a pleasure since he's been back. I didn't have problems with him to begin with, so I'm not surprised he's been a pleasure with me, but I haven't heard anything bad, either.”

So, as a certified Punk guy, and not just because he wrestled the “Second City Saint” twice in his career, Helms would have to trash The Elite in his appearance on the podcast, right? Nope, he actually put over the 2018 iteration of the faction too, revealing that he actually returned his rate to Cody Rhodes after appearing in the All In Zero Hour Battle Royale because he wanted to see the group's efforts succeed.

“When they did All In, I worked for them on the show. Cody sent me a payday, and I sent it back. I said, ‘No, that was my gift to you guys. I want you guys to make it.' So, I sent my payday back,” Helms explained via Fightful. “Now that he's got all this money, I might need to revisit that with a little interest. That's how much I appreciated those guys and what they were doing. I thought they were going to bring something new and big. I didn't think it was going to be an entire company, but I'm fascinated with what they were able to pull off.”

So what's the major takeaway from these comments from the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion? Wrestling isn't like other sports, where you typically like one team and hate their rivals. If Helms can like Punk, Rhodes, and the Young Bucks, non-WWE employees can feel the same way too.

Shane Helms is proud of his work with Logan Paul in WWE.

Elsewhere in his appearance on Behind The Turnbuckle, Shane Helms reflected on his new gig as Logan Paul's trainer in WWE, a role he fills in addition to producing matches in the promotion. While Helms didn't initially think he'd be making a second career out of preparing a YouTube star for big matches, in the end, he's proud of everything they've accomplished together.

“He apparently has the best trainer of all time in his corner. I'm just going to lob that out there. I trained him since day one, and it's been incredible. The first time, I thought it was going to be a one-off. The first match was Logan and Miz against Rey and Dominik Mysterio, I thought that was going to be it, but he's invested. He wants to do this. He signed an actual talent contract. He puts in the work. I have to put in the work because I'm there for all the training sessions,” Shane Helms explained via Fightful.

“He is somebody that wants it, and he listens. If the people that I've trained in my career all listened as half as good as Logan, my job would have been a lot easier. He absorbs it, he's on the phone with me all the time asking questions. ‘What about this? What about that?' He watches wrestling. An assignment I gave him, ‘Find 30 minutes. If you can get an hour, that'd be better, but it's only 30 minutes. Every week, watch something. Watch something in wrestling, digest it, and we'll talk about it.' He puts in the work. You can't ask for anything more from the talent.”

Is it surprising to learn that a lot goes into Paul's matches? Maybe to some, but it really shouldn't be, as he's only worked a handful of matches and doesn't do house shows or even TV matches to improve on his craft incrementally. Still, considering the big match feel he brings to each of his efforts, it makes sense that he's putting in the work behind the scenes to get there alongside a veteran worker like Helms, as it shows in the televised product.