For the first time since walking out on the WWE 10 months ago, CM Punk recently took to his good friend and fellow wrestler Colt Cabana's podcast to finally provide insight on what lead to his decision to walk away for good.
Punk explained that it was ultimately a culmination of factors, which included the pressure to return from injuries in spite of not being fully recovered, insufficient diagnosis of injuries, and the inability of WWE to fulfill his wishes in terms of the direction of his character. He reiterated at several points that this interview wasn't done solely to bash WWE, but instead to simply tell his side of the story.
On injuries:
- States that the biggest reason why he left was due to his health.
- Expresses his disgust for working with Ryback, who he refers to as "The Steroid Guy". Says Ryback broke his ribs when kicking him in the stomach too hard, and that he was never given a call or apology from him afterwards.
- Says he developed a painful lump on his back, which WWE doctors seemed to brush off, regardless of it continuing to get worse. At the advice of his future wife AJ Lee, he went to a doctor in Tampa to have the lump examined. The lump was discovered to be a staph infection, and the doctor suggested he could have died from it. Punk explained that having it removed was the most painful experience of his life. After having it removed and being placed on antibiotics, he says he slept pain free for the first time in a long time.
On the direction of the company and booking:
- Says that after his "pipebomb" promo, he was approached by various mainstream outlets for sponsorship deals. He pitched the idea to Vince McMahon but was denied. Not long after, Brock Lesnar came in, and he was allowed to have sponsors on his ring shorts.
- Says that The Shield was originally his idea. They wanted to pair Punk in a heel stable with Big Show, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins. Instead, Punk suggested guys from development be brought up, and proposed Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Chris Hero. Triple H vetoed the idea, and swapped Roman Reigns for Hero.
- While he pushed to be part of the main event at WrestleMania, he was instead put in a match with The Undertaker. Punk stated that afterwards, WWE officials suggested that match was the best on the card, and should have gone last. With this in mind, Punk felt he should have been paid like it. When Triple H suggested that this was the main event, Punk asked him if he was paid as much as Undertaker and the guys that wrestled after him (Triple H, Brock, Rock, and Cena). Triple H was silent.
On the end of his time with the company:
- Punk was asked to take a drug test the night on Raw when he walked out. He was told by Triple H that Batista took the same test. When Punk asked Triple H if he took the test, he was silent. Punk was livid that he of all people would be tested, and voiced his frustration of his poor health, and how little had been done to help him. It was then he decided he was done. In talking to Vince, Punk states "You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment, I no longer want to be here
- Vince hugged Punk with tears in his eyes, while Triple H extended a handshake. Punk shook his hand and said goodbye.
- When Punk attempted to get ahold of royalty checks he was owed, he was unable to get a hold of anyone to answer his calls.
- Punk then hired a lawyer to get his royalty checks, and reach a settlement.
- Since leaving the company, Punk explains that he is the happiest he's been in a long time, and is enjoying being married, writing comics, and training.
The full podcast can be found on Colt Cabana's
website, and on YouTube
here.
