Former WWE Superstar and now UFC fighter CM Punk recently spoke with Rolling Stone to discuss his time in WWE, the backstage politics in WWE, his marriage to AJ Lee and his MMA training. Here are the highlights.
On his time in WWE and backstage politics:
“For the longest time [in] what I did, the competition wasn’t that clean-cut,” he reflects on his WWE tenure. “It didn’t matter if you were the best. There’s slimy backstage politics, there’s always somebody trying to undercut you. To me, there’s something romantic about just you and another guy locked inside a cage and the better man wins. In that time and space, nothing else matters. I definitely think it can be fucking scary, but I like embracing the things that scare me.”
“I think at some point in my wrestling career, I took myself way too seriously, and I took the wrestling business way too seriously,” he reflects. “It probably helped sour me on the whole process. It probably helped burn me out.”
On signing with the UFC:
“Part of me thinks doing it will hopefully get some eyes on the fighters I train with who deserve to be where I am already or signed by other organizations,” he says, having polished off his salad and requested a refill of ice water. “Duke [Roufus] and I have the same philosophy of a high tide raises all ships, so whatever good I can bring anybody’s way, I look at it as a positive. I know this is a piece on me, but where I train and who I train with is a big part of my life.”
On marrying AJ Lee:
“We were friends on the road for so long and she knew everything about me. I would tell her every stupid thing I ever did, and it’s come back to bite me in the ass in certain respects, but there’s no secrets, and I’d have it no other way.”
