The battle between the Lightning and Blackhawks has spilled outside the arena and into the squared circle. Former wrestlers Hulk Hogan, a Tampa Bay fan, and CM Punk, a Chicago fan, have engaged in a war of words regarding the Stanley Cup final.
And now, for a sentence you didn’t expect to be reading during the Stanley Cup final: it appears an old-school wrestling feud is underway between a pair of notable fans from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks.
Hulk Hogan, the legendary professional wrestler and Lightning supporter, and CM Punk, a Chicago native, former professional wrestler and current UFC fighter, have gotten into a war of words regarding the final. The latest barbs come from Punk, real name Phil Brooks, ahead of Game 3. Punk took aim at Hogan’s mispronunciation of Steven Stamkos and mistakenly calling Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, “Jon Conner.”
When Punk says Hogan spoke his name first, he’s referring to an interview that occurred before Game 1 of the series. Hogan referenced comments Punk made, and followed up by saying he, “wouldn’t want to be a Blackhawk tonight.”
The feud goes a bit deeper, too, as the two former squared-circle grapplers continued their war of words on Twitter, with Hogan saying the Blackhawks should, “take their (puck) and go home.” Punk retorted, with some colorful language we won’t use here, that he would, “wreck,” Hogan.
Punk has been gone from WWE since 2014, but should he return, maybe a bout with Hogan is in the cards. Winner gets a miniature Stanley Cup.