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CM Punk appeared on the MMA Show Tuesday with Ariel Helwani. Highlights from the conversation pertaining to AEW:
Whether he regrets going to AEW:
"There's too many things that I've done since coming back that have overshadowed whatever negative spin you want to put on anything. If I didn't come back, I wouldn't have I wouldn't have met Brody King. I wouldn't be friends with him to this day. Danhausen, Dax, Cash, Darby, Sting. I don't want to name everybody because I don't want people to be punished any further for being my friend. But, there's so many people and I'm sure I helped somebody along the way, and to me, that's what it's about. If you hate me, great. There's a lot of knowledge in here, right? I started doing this when I was 15 years old. I got to study under. Paul Heyman, Danny Davis. For all his faults, Vince McMahon. I got to watch Main Eventers move. I got to watch all this stuff. Sometimes I'm wrong, but I know a thing or two. And I never projected that or forced that on anybody. There's the, that thing about oh, oh, he would run around and give unsolicited advice. Never. My time is valuable. I'm not running around trying to help people if they don't want the help, but I was always a guy that would run around and ask me, Still to this day. Do I regret coming back? No. You know why? Because I get to ask questions to people who have been in it longer than me. Hey, you know what? Shawn Michaels, what do XYZ? Hey, Triple H? What are you? What's your mindset on this? Why are you doing it this way instead of this way? Oh, we thought of it. And Obviously my body is not gonna last longer than my brain. So I have way more to give to professional wrestling. So do I regret coming back? No, 100 percent not. No."
Whether WWE was an option before his AEW run:
"Yeah. Okay, this is done. Even before [WWE] Backstage. See, I thought Backstage was going to be like a backdoor way to get me in, and I told everybody from FOX, I was just like, look, I want to work for you guys. This sounds like fun. But if it's any way tied to, trying to get me back we're not going to have the greatest, business relationship, because at that time, I, I had a handshake thing. And things were in place, and then it didn't happen. So I was, again, I was just like, okay so I'll do this, but not that. And they're like no, we're, this is, we're hiring you to be an analyst. We have, we bought the TV rights for SmackDown. So you're gonna be talking about, it's no different than, Brett Favre doing football or whoever, Tom Brady, et cetera.'
His relationship with HHH today:
"I think I'm way more reserved than he wants me to be. I think I'm still...Okay, I'm, I don't want to rock the boat, and I'm not trying to do this, and I, but we've had some great conversations, and, I'm part of the team, so I'm doing what I can. And I'm sure my responsibilities might grow in the future. I'm totally stoked doing what I'm doing."
Potentially working in WWE management:
"I don't know. I, a lot of people said that it's something that I would be good at. I, but, I don't know. I think I re regard regardless of what my triceps want to tell the world. I think I still have a lot to offer in the ring. And maybe that's just the crazy, athlete holding on too long in my head. But I look at it like I'm the same age Terry Funk was when he did Roadhouse."
AEW:
"I'll say it again because obviously the headlines from, lousy reporters is going to be like, 'Oh, he said this. And he said that.' I wish them all [in AEW] well. I legitimately do it. Honestly, some people might think the most offensive thing that I could possibly say is we're just not in the same business. We're not. I think maybe if I looked at it that way at the time, I maybe would have handled things differently, but I'm a dude who I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I wasn't just hired to be a wrestler. I very much had two contracts. I was consultant to Tony or whatever the hell it was. So, if you're going to tell me that, oh, you can't even tell all the wrestlers to do what. Okay, great. But the problem is we give away too much. So there's that small niche audience that is more consumed about what's going on in my life and what's going on with theirs and like this backstage stuff and all that stuff. I'm just glad to be out. They obviously didn't want me there."
Rebuilding relationships with WWE talents he knew on his last run:
"So when I left, I very much did stop talking to a lot of people because I was immediately embroiled in this lawsuit. They, and I look at it now, I'm just like it fed into the tribalism, where it was just very much just them versus me, and right or wrong that's how I survived. I had to draw a line somewhere, and there were people that I didn't talk to, because I couldn't trust if I said something, it wasn't going back to them, people who were suing me. So it's just a sh** situation that I wouldn't wish on anybody"
Moving past the old WWE issues:
"I woke up this morning. This is what I tell people all the time. How are you doing? I woke up this morning, you get one shot at all this, and I see so much hate out there based on, the color of somebody's skin, or religion, or, all this stuff. I just, I'm just like, man, we're all here for such a short time, and maybe that's just because I'm not a religious guy, I'm an atheist, and I don't believe that there's anything to look forward to, I believe this is it, if I woke up today, everything else is gravy."
Changing and putting things in perspective vs. how he held onto things in the past:
"I think a lot of how I handled things was a trauma response from not getting what I needed when I was a kid. Broken home, no money, like how do I better my life? The people who were supposed to take care of me never did. Like I said, respect is the default. I'll walk in the room and I'll respect you. The instant you piss on my shoes, Okay. And some people are like, Oh, that's crazy. How are you going to hold that grudge? What the fuck are you pissing on my shoes for? What's the point of that? It's weird too, because when I'm on television, I'm not an astronaut. You know what I mean? I'm not the King of England. I'm CM Punk. What the fuck does that mean? Just I'm straight edge. So there's so many elements of who I am on TV. And again, it's a double edged sword. I get to blur that line. Oh sh**, what's he doing? Is that, Oh, he's man, he's real. Oh, so many people are going to be mad. Oh, he just did this. He just did that. But then that translates over. And then there's people who hate me because I, I beat Jeff Hardy and he had to leave the WWE. I've been such a good bad guy in my career that they think that shit carries over into real life. So when they hear stories of, Oh, he's super violent backstage. Of course he is. He, he sang happy birthday to Aliyah Mysterio on TV. They conflate the thing. And that's the problem, again, with social media. Parasocial relationships and all that other stuff. I'm just a dude sitting over here like trying to have the time of my life."
Whether his old friendship with Colt Cabana can be repaired:
"Probably not."
Whether it's been attempted:
"No. He came up to me one time at a show and was like I was at the curtain watching the show and he came up to me....Hey, can we talk so it's not weird between us? And I just said, I won't ever talk to you without a lawyer present. And that was it."
The Cabana situation:
"It caused all this dumb shit. For no reason, oh, I got the guy fired. He hasn't been on TV since whenever....It is what it is. Yeah. I applaud and I said this to Hangman. I was like, man, I get taken up for your friends. I get it. That's commendable. I do that all the time. Right or wrong, I'll stand up for my f***ing friends. But, you f***ing go on national television and jeopardize a million dollar house that you ain't never drawn before. Now you're disrespecting me. And you're disrespecting the business. Fuck you. That's my house. I drew that. Not you. And that's egos. It is what it is."
What if he saw Tony Khan today:
"Hey, Tony. How's things?"
The potential of his wife AJ Lee returning to TV:
"Probably not. I think there is [an open door.]. Yeah. I, selfishly, I would love it. But I'm her biggest fan, so I would, I love everything she does. "
Whether he's foreshadowed her return on promos:
"I think I've talked about her a lot. Maybe I am. Okay I don't know. Again, yeah, there's that line. I got you. I got you. I know how to do this. I mean I think about the pipe bomb all those guys."
Wrestlemania Commentary:
"Yeah, definitely for that [World Heavyweight Championship] match, but I'm doing a whole bunch of other stuff, too. I'm doing like a two hour Kickoff both days. I'm actually really excited to do that. I think I mentioned this in my promo on Monday, where I was just like, if you asked me to host a Wrestlemania like ten years ago, I probably would have been offended. Oh, that's beneath me. And now I look at it, I'm just like, man, This is great. I want to be in the mix and I want to feel the energy from the crowd and I want to be out there because, honestly, I do. If you, I think if you're in this business, I do very much think you have to believe that like you're in the pole position and I got to look at the landscape of professional wrestling and be like, okay, yeah, that guy's better than me, but who's better at everything. I think I can do all things and I'm handy to have around. "
Will he regret it if he doesn't get to headline Wrestlemania:
No....No. It was once a time. Again, I think making something so big of a deal Like on TV carries over and again, it's the people are always gonna point out like your failures They won't talk about your triumphs. People will be like, oh, you're old. Oh, you're this Oh, you're that and like this gray hair, right? Like I find it comic like it's people will be like, why don't you dye your beard? This is you look old and I'm like f**k you. I Earn this sh**. Like, all these scars I earned this sh**. These, I'm missing a fucking molar here, why don't I fix that? Because I went to go get it fixed in the pandemic and the dentist was closed. I don't got time for this s***. Like, all these, and they'll criticize all these things. All these things that I've done wrong. The way I look, the way I act, this, that. But they don't realize that all those faults make me who I am. That's who CM Punk is. I have to be doing something, right? I have a sterling silver ticket from Tiffany's that Madison Square Garden gave me that said, Congratulations on your return. Thanks for selling out the building. All right, cool. I'll just keep being me, f**king gray beard, old, grizzled that's me. That's the phase I'm in right now. I, I think trying to, change your appearance and all that other stuff, I think lends to a little bit of insecurity and all that stuff. I look at this as like a Vince thing. I would never be allowed on TV looking like this. This means he's gone. Ah. Like I, sometimes I look at it and I'm like yeah, I don't look like 2007 CM Punk and I go, good, because I have all those years and I have all that experience and all those things and like I said, all the, what people think are negatives, I think are positives."
Getting over the triceps injury:
"It was a dark...it was real bad. Worse than the foot, worse than the other tricep....I had something to look forward to. And again, I looked at it and the Monday after, I think an idea was pitched for me to do something completely different. And I was just like, please just let me go out there and talk. Please, and I said it, I had it. It was right here, it was in my hand. I had it, and I got hurt. This is an occupational hazard. Nobody ever wants to get hurt, it never happens at a good time. But I think, once again, I've proved why I am who I am. I've turned chicken [sh**] into chicken [salad]. I will continue to do."
When he may return to the ring:
"I think at this point, it's more of a, like a business decision. Because I, not to spoil anything, No one's watching. This one is night and day from this one for a myriad of different reasons. and I'm recovering really well. Cautiously optimistic that it's going to be half the time as the left one, and like I said I got something to come back to. When I did this one [other tricep that was injured in AEW], I was just like, okay, nobody's talking to me. I guess I don't work here anymore. Like, all right, like whatever. But this time it's, it's people checking on me and it's people making appointments for me and going to the best doctors and doing the best PT and having a goal to come back to, I think mentally helps me a lot. It's gonna, it's gonna be a business decision, I know there's some big PLEs that they haven't even announced yet that are coming up over the summer, so just, it kind of matters. And that's what I, one of the things I told Triple H when I came back, it's like, if I can be the difference maker on certain things that's why I'm here, don't, they don't even do house shows anymore, really. So the business has changed where I think you can save your body a little bit more and you can extend your career. Randy [Orton], me, AJ Styles, I think AJ is older than I am. I don't see him slowing down anytime soon."
WWE and UFC under the same umbrella:
"I asked my wife the other day, cause I said something, I was just like, yeah, what was I like 35 when I fought? And she was just like, oh no, you were like 36 or 37. I just went, what the f***s I thinking? It was valiantnd that walkout in Chicago was tremendous. The walkout in Cleveland was tremendous too. I'm glad I did it. Yeah. Zero regrets. I shouldn't have fought, because the worst two weeks of my life, like easily the worst two weeks of my life because of the court case and all that I couldn't cut weight properly. I still made weight. I'm proud of myself for that...But my mind was, okay, I can fight at 170 because the dude's at 185. F**king beasts, but I get it. It's easy to 'LOL, make fun' of me. You know what I mean? Some people look at that and be like, oh, that's embarrassing. I f**king, I made the weight. I made the walk. I am 100 percent proud of myself and I would do it again because, that was me at my absolute worst, and I did it.
Yeah. I'm tenacious. I'm tough if I'm not, anything. If you want to call me a loser, that's cool. But, I was stoked I got that opportunity and I was stoked I did it."
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