During a recent appearance on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, trainer Greg Gagne opened up about his early doubts about CM Punk during their time together at OVW.
Gagne admitted he could not picture Punk turning into a top star, even though he saw plenty of raw talent in him early on.
It took several weeks of training before Gagne finally connected with Punk and started noticing real progress.
On the other hand, Gagne felt Cody Rhodes was a natural from the start and never doubted his potential. Looking back now, Gagne says it is amazing to see how far both men have come in their careers.
Punk currently holds the Undisputed WWE Championship after beating Rhodes at SummerSlam 2026 (Night One) earlier this month.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On not believing CM Punk would make it: “I worked with CM Punk, I worked with Cody Rhodes. Yeah, they were down in OVW in Louisville. And they sent me down there and I was down there for maybe 3 or 4 months and I worked with both of them and, you know, I honestly, at that time, I couldn’t see CM Punk really making it.”
On it taking a while to through to punk, his thoughts on Cody Rhodes: “I finally got through to him after a few weeks, but at first I just [thought], he’s got a lot of ability, but I didn’t know if it would really evolve into what it has. I couldn’t see it in him, and I can usually pick those out pretty good. Cody was a natural, but I worked with him, and look where they are now.”
On learning about Tiffany Stratton: “A friend of mine, he says, ‘Hey, my good friends, their daughter wants to become a wrestler.’ And I say, ‘What makes her think she can wrestle? What’s her background?’”
On helping deal with Tiffany Stratton’s attitude: “She came in with a little bit of an attitude, which I straightened out pretty quick. I said, ‘Well, then you’d better get your little ass out here right now. Go get in your car and drive home; we’re done.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Professional wrestling, kiddo, you go every night – day after day after day – and if you can’t handle that, you’re not going to make it in this sport, so go home.’ … And then she really got with it and got going, and with her athletic background in gymnastics, she was a natural. She’s done a really good job; I’m proud of her.”
On reuniting with Stratton at WWE SummerSlam: “I went in to say hello to her parents, and she was in there after her match, and I told her how proud I was, gave her a little hug, a kiss on the cheek, you know, a little pat on the butt, you gotta take advantage of those situations. She worked hard, she earned it, and she’s developed into a superstar. And I’m so proud of her, and proud that I got to train her and get her to that level as quick as she got.”
“She said that, her mother said it, and her whole family was in there and giving me hugs and thanks ‘for everything you did for Tiffany,’ so, you know, it was a great moment; really was.”
