We are all guilty of having a bad day. When you’re in the public eye if you have one prickly exchange with a member of the media or with a fan, then you’re labelled an asshole or a prick.
CM Punk may in fact be those things sometimes, but aren’t we all? It’s part of being human.
CM Punk was recently interviewed for Complex magazine and apparently he wasn’t thrilled about some of the questions he was asked by writer Kevin Wong.
I’ll be the first to admit I come to Punk’s defence because I, like a lot of people, am a HUGE fan. I still miss seeing him on my TV screen every Monday night. There is something so vanilla about the product now. The product needs the kind of grit that only the former leader of the Straight Edge Society and the Chicago made Second City Saint can bring to the table. However, I’m not just a fan of CM Punk when he’s entertaining me in a wrestling ring. I am genuinely interested in whatever he does. It doesn’t matter whether it’s writing comic books or graphic novels or perusing a career in MMA. I’m also a big fan of his wife AJ Lee. I can’t wait to read her memoir when it comes out. Based on the very small portion of their personalities that I have gleamed threw the interviews they have given, I thought it was cool that the two of them found each other and I even marked out a little.
Punk’s stepping into an arena that he had limited experience in when the big announcement was made that he would be fighting under the UFC banner. Right from the start there have been so called experts, who have never stepped foot in the octagon, speculating that this man from the fake world of wrestling may have bitten off more than he can chew. Jealous MMA grapplers have been complaining that he moved to the front of the line. The UFC is where countless men and women scrape and claw to be. CM Punk gets a pass to straight to pay per-view because people like me, who have never watched an MMA card, will defiantly want to see Punk’s first fight. Others will want to see him get his ass kicked to prove they were right about him all along. It’s about new eyes and more money. This is a great business move for UFC.
If you were busting your ass and giving your all to follow your passion, wouldn’t you get angry and frustrated when all you’re getting is questions and criticism?
Kevin Wong asked Punk about weaknesses or flaws he’s working on in training. When Punk told him “I work on everything” Kevin didn’t feel he got enough from the answer so he rephrased it and Punk came back with “It’s a boring answer, because it’s kind of a boring question.” I think Punk gave the right answer. Here is man who, like so many fighters and members of the media have reminded us before, has never had a professional MMA match in his life. Why wouldn’t he be working on every aspect of the craft? It’s a perfectly acceptable answer to me.
A question about being anxious or intimidated to be transitioning from the WWE to the UFC gets a response from Punk that shows he’s frustrated “Your question is insulting. You’re asking me if I know the difference between the WWE and the UFC?” Again, I don’t blame Punk for reacting like this. He’s been eating sleeping and breathing his training in preparation for the biggest moment of his life and he’s also been talking a lot to the press. Punk takes this VERY seriously and at this point anyone interviewing him should realize that he’s sick of talking about the WWE and he isn’t naïve about what he’s getting into when it comes to MMA.
Yes I’m a CM Punk fan and this whole column might seem like he can do no wrong and everyone else can do no right, but he’s not your conventional role model. If he could smile for the camera and give you the cookie cutter answers to the same questions repeated over and over…..then maybe Vince and company would have put him in the spot that he earned in professional wrestling.
I am very grateful that Rajah is giving me this platform to express myself, but in my opinion CM Punk didn’t “flip out when asked about the WWE.” I encourage you to read the article for yourself here
The only thing I do take issue with is the pictures of him wearing a New Jersey Devils t-shirt. Although I guess it balances out with the ones in which he’s sporting a Chicago toque. Go Blackhawks!
Sorry if a column called “WWE In Dept” didn’t dig deep into what’s happening in the WWE right now. WrestleMania is on the horizon and we’ll have plenty of time to talk about stuff like….who the hell is Undertaker facing?
A Huge shout out to Jeff Martin and Brian Burga for having me on their “High Spot” podcast recently. We spent almost an hour taking about The Royal Rumble, AJ Styles and predicting the card for Mania. You can listen to that episode https://soundcloud.com/bry-28/the-high-spot-episode-19
As always I welcome your feedback. You can email me at [email protected]