CM Punk did an interview with Sports Illustrated, that you can read in it’s entirety here. Punk is always interesting to listen to, but the more he talks the more I get irritated with him. The rebel without a cause act wears real thin after a while, and the more he talks the more he comes off like a whiny brat than someone who left on principle. Here are a few of things that really got under my skin:
SI: Was there one catalyzing moment: I want to fight MMA?
CMP: I’d say there were a lot of little moments. I’d accomplished pretty much all I wanted.
No you didn’t. You said a few months ago that you considered your career a failure because you didn’t main event WrestleMania. You may have accomplished all that you thought you would get the chance to, but don’t feed us this BS now.
SI: I’m surprised more wrestlers haven’t tried to make this transition.
CMP: I am, too. I’ve always been surrounded by guys who talked about it. Half of them talk about it; none of them do it. They have their little comfortable safety net doing WWE stuff, I guess.
Way to denigrate the company that paid you well enough that you could take off and train full time for UFC, and the work that your former co-workers put in. I wouldn’t call the rigors they endure a safety net. Yes, when you reach a certain level you’re pretty much certain to have a gig as long as you don’t get yourself fired. But that doesn’t make them cowards for not doing what you are. Different people have different priorities in life and most people who have a good thing will stay there if they can. Get over yourself already.
SI: Some of the issues you’re mentioning with the WWE—you don’t want stars to get too big; management has a heavy grip on labor—honestly, that sounds not dissimilar to the fighter discontent in the UFC. Do you see yourself getting involved?
CMP: At the moment, no. Everyone’s situation is different. It’s an interesting question and I don’t know how to answer it. I’m not trying to shy away from it. But I’ve been treated great. At lot of what I said and did in WWE, that was about trying to help out the other guys. After a while, I realized, Wow, that other guy doesn’t even appreciate it; he could give a s—. Nobody cared
I find this very disingenuous. Oh, popped off like he did not just because he was disgruntled but because he was trying to help the other guys and they just wouldn’t listen. Sure, buddy. The WWE is a company and like any company the people who stay there a long time tend to suck it up and accept certain things. These guys get paid a lot better than they used to and they like what they do. It’s not crazy for people in that kind of situation to stay and not rock the boat. Most people are not going to follow you on your crusade even if you are right about a lot of things.
SI: What made you a good pro wrestler?
CMP: Well, that’s another thing in that phony world. What does it mean to be a good fake wrestler? That’s an identity crisis that I think I struggled with. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best; someone else picks who they want in the top spot.
Is this supposed to be some kind of revelation? Yes, Vince McMahon and his inner circle pick who’s going to be the headliner, and no it’s not always about who is the best technician. Welcome to the workforce; that’s how it is in a lot of places. The best worker doesn’t always get the promotion; sometimes the reasons are legit, sometimes they aren’t. You’re not special in that regard. And identity crisis? Come on, man. You played a character on TV and performed for people. You weren’t working for the CIA for crying out loud.
SI: This has always been your personality?
CMP: I tried out for the football team and the wrestling team. And I made it. But I had a Mohawk. And both times, they said, ‘You have to cut your hair.’ And I was more into being the opinionated punk rock kid. I said, ‘F— you, that’s dumb.’ And I don’t regret that decision. But it’s also always been my mentality. You don’t like the way I look? You go f— yourself. I’ll peace out and do something else.
And that sums him up more than anything. He just doesn’t play well with others, period. He has his guys that he rolls with and he’s good to them, but if you want him to change up anything for any reason he’s not long for you. You just have to take him or leave him. And that kind of mentality will always get you in hot water in any kind of company. Rebels are alluring but at some point you have to put on the uniform. Even people who work for themselves have to network and sell and can’t just tell people to go f– themselves. He’s extremely fortunate that he was good enough at what he did to get opportunities, and to his credit he took advantage of them and rose to the occasion. And he was paid pretty well for his work. He likely won’t be doing signings or stumbling around a ring in podunk towns when he’s 50 because he needs the money. And instead of being thankful he pisses on his former employer and former co-workers. No matter how his UFC thing goes, based on history he will be back in the company one day and it will be interesting to see how he justifies that versus his statements over the last few months.
Stroke of Genius 