When CM Punk signed with WWE after nearly a decade with the company, there were many different assumptions about what caused “h*ll to freeze over” and usher him back into the promotion.

Some assumed it because Vince McMahon was gone from a creative role, with his son-in-law, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, being far more in touch with what modern wrestling fans want to see from their Superstars. Others assumed the decision was financial, with AEW wrestlers routinely asserting that Punk only returned for the paycheck and the money offered up by WWE being at least comparable to what Tony Khan was willing to spend. And others still bought the “Best in the World's” words hook, line, and sinker, believing that he may truly be back for the fans who have been chanting his name for all of these years.

But what if Punk had other, more academic intentions, with a desire to give back to the professional wrestling business as the next creative lead of NXT, the promotion currently helmed by Levesque's best friend, Shawn Michaels? Discussing this very topic, which has become a bit of a hot-button topic among wrestling fans, on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T asserted that the “Second City Saint” seems to really enjoy his time in NXT, and the NXT wrestlers appear very happy to have him.

“Punk said he would maybe think of being the successor of Shawn Michaels one day when Shawn Michaels stepped down at NXT. That's the vibe that he's getting around, and I was reading that,” Booker T said via 411 Mania. “So yeah, yeah, Punk seemed to enjoy — I mean, he's been down there every time I've been to work. And I'm like, ‘What is he doing here?' But no, he's been very, very refreshing, man. It's it's been a different CM Punk. CM Punk said, this time around it's not about him. It's about the fans.”

Are the rumblings of CM Punk showing an interest in NXT really about giving back to the next generation, something he wanted to do in AEW without an official title? Or is this more about securing a long-term deal long after his in-ring days are done, becoming a player/coach a la his social media handle? Booker T weighed in on that, too, and his answer was fascinating.

Booker T doesn't think the NXT job will be open for CM Punk soon.

So, with NXT rapidly approaching a new home on The CW in 2024, should fans expect to see CM Punk taking over for Shawn Michaels as the brand's booker and on-screen authority figure? Booker T doesn't see it, as he thinks HBK will be putting in work as a member of NXT for a long, long time.

“No, no. They were saying also, that's not something that's going to happen anytime soon. That's something like years down the road, because Shawn Michaels doesn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon,” Booker T noted. “But he was saying, just because of — I guess, the way he's feeling being around the group as far as being around the young talent, knowing what it felt like to be young once upon a time and being hungry like that. And wanting to be in a system like that, as well as being a, a mentor in a system like that as well. That kind of stuff right there, yeah. When you get to a certain point in your life — I know for me, I get a lot out of working with the NXT guys. And I feel a whole lot better when I go to NXT as opposed to just being Smackdown, being at Raw because I know I'm not doing anything. I can't contribute as much to those guys on the show. Those guys are working. At NXT, these these are guys learning? They're trying to figure it out, so I can give advice here. Give advice here. You know, talk about, give pointers here. So for me, I think that's what he's feeling being down there. Because it is uplifting, being a part of that system down there.”

After rapidly turning NXT into one of the more entertaining weekly television shows on basic cable with his combination of historically influenced storytelling and fast-paced hard-hitting action, it's hard to see Mr. Michaels, who is only 58, retiring any time soon. If, however, he gets promoted to running RAW, giving Levesque SmackDown as his personal brand in a move that has been tried a few times over WWE's run on television, then who knows, maybe NXT could open up as an option for CM Punk after all.