CM PUNK OPENS UP ON HIS WWE EXIT
Best. In. The. World.
BY: WESLEY COPELAND
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
In an interview with Colt Cobana on Colt's podcast The Art of Wrestling, CM Punk has opened up about his perceived decision to leave the WWE.
According to Punk, it all comes down to his mental health. After repeated disappointment, he was miserable, and with enough of a bank balance to no longer need to wrestle, Punk put himself and his wellbeing first.
"Money is not everything, ladies and gentlemen," Punk says. "That will be a big theme in my story."
Punk fears that by doing the interview, and laying it all out on the table there's a chance he'll be seen as bitter.
"It's okay to be bitter about stuff. You have to eventually work through it and get over it, which is what I've done, but there are a few bright spots; a few things that still get me to this day.
"I'm the f*cking happiest I've been in I don't know how long, at least three years, legitimately. I find these other things that have made me happy and I thought this thing that I loved, that I thought I loved, it just made me so miserable. All the time, it made me miserable. I guess the black and the white of it, when you boil it all down, the essence of it, was I was miserable, I was unhappy. So f*ck it. I made myself happy. I left. That's what it boils down to. It wasn't an easy decision to make but it was also a long time coming."
One of the popular Internet theories about Punk's leaving was that he wasn't happy with his creative direction and that he refused to work with HHH.
"There's an element of truth in all those things but I can't say there was one big thing that led to my decision," he says, before reiterating the biggest reason for leaving being his health.
Regarding facing HHH at Wrestlemania, Punk says he "didn't want to give him the f*cking privilege." Punk is convinced HHH never liked him. "The way he would always look sideways at me, the way he always treated me. [HHH thinks I'm a] piece of sh*t."
An example Punk offers revolves around a sponsorship deal. Punk was offered a huge sponsorship deal after the 'pipe bomb' moment, he then pitched the idea to Vince McMahon which would see Punk wearing UFC-style fight shorts. McMahon nixed the idea as it could potentially cause problems – lower guys on the card couldn't get the same deals, thus leading to jealously. McMahon told Punk it wasn't "[Punk's] hill to die on," then brought in Brock Lesnar, who wears UFC fight shorts with sponsors on.
Another example Punk cites of WWE saying one thing then doing another is when Punk wanted to walk out alongside his friend and fighter Chael Sonnen at a UFC event. When Punk told McMahon, The Chairman's response was that UFC was barbaric and that "someone might die." Shortly after Punk's request, HHH walked boxer Floyd Mayweather to the ring.
Of the WWE environment, Punk says it's a "creatively stifling, toxic environment."
Punk goes on to mention how he only receives a fraction of what he earns the WWE. As a rough estimate, he says if – hypothetically – he's worth $8 million, he'd only see around $500K.
"That place should be the happiest place to work and they use that as some bizarre mind-f*ck, you know? 'Go out there and have fun!' It's like 'f*ck you, this place sucks, and on top of that, you're not f*cking paying me nearly enough to do this sh*t."
Further issues with Punk not receiving his due dividend arose when WWE launched The WWE Network. Punk mentions Wrestlemania – before the network fans had to pay full price, but with the WWE Network they are – in effect – only paying $9.99 a month for it. Can the WWE still pay talent what they're owed if the biggest pay-per-view of the year only costs $10?
"WWE doesn't do anything to protect wrestlers, only to protect themselves." I got a concussion in the Royal Rumble, it's pretty goddamn obvious, I knew I had a concussion, everyone knew I had, and they want me to take this test, and I was like 'Your test is bullsh*t.' I took the test while texting [Colt Cobana] and listening to my headphones and I "Passed". But then they were like 'We want you to go to the ring and run the ropes.' But I just passed [their] test? 'Yeah but we still think you have a concussion.' So your test is worthless? I'm not going out in the ring like a two week rookie. Let's just call it now."
Speaking about leaving, Punk says he didn’t. He was miserable, but he never quit. According to Punk WWE were avoiding his calls. Then, two days before his wedding to AJ Lee, he gets a text from HHH asking if he had time to talk. Punk responds saying he's got to plan his honeymoon, and make final preparations for the wedding, and he'll contact HHH the moment he's back.
Furthermore, Punk says he was owed two months' worth of royalties, which when he mentioned it to HHH, HHH ignored him. "The day of my wedding I got a Fed-Ex in the mail, it was my termination papers, I was fired. Take that everyone who says I'm a 'quieter'," he says, making a joke about Twitter users unable to spell 'quitter'.
Punk laughed, he needed time off and was miserable. With some leg work, and a spare 15 minutes, he called a lawyer.
"I called a guy. A vicious, vicious lawyer – he's Jewish, from LA – I said, here's the deal, here's who I am, here's my story, I'm going on my honeymoon and I'll call you when I'm back. And he's like 'Great, let's get these mother f*ckers.' And we did. We lawyered up, and we got those mother f*ckers.
While Punk can't discuss the settlement, he says he got "everything he wanted."
"Then there was all that sh*t about the video game, which is dumb of them to advertise me" Punk says, referencing WWE 2K15. "2K Sports tweeted at me 'Do we have your attention now?' Well, 2K Sports, do I have your f*cking attention now? Thanks for the big fat check."
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