CM Punk finally breaks his silence.

[Rampage Bentley]

Forgive me if this is posted elsewhere, I looked and didn't see anything. But Punk finally broke his silence on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, which you can listen to here....

http://youtu.be/zxHRJnZsinQ

Punk pulled no punches and gave some pretty shocking information. I won't post any spoilers here, as you should really listen yourself. Probably the best podcast I've ever listened to, but I will ask one question...

To those of you who call Punk a "quietter" does this information change anything for you?

 

[dogstarz]

I was about to start a thread about this podcast and was happy to see it was already mentioned. He comes across as very candid and a good backstage point of view.

 

[GeneralKarim]

I never called him a quiter personally. I agreed with what he did from day 1 because I "knew" ( educated guess ) what shit is going on backstage in WWE, especially concerning Punk. This podcast makes my opinion on the politcal/backstage side of WWE even worse. In terms of wrestling and the wrestlers sure I love WWE but what Punk had to endure is just mind-boggling. It's unbelieveable how out of touch and ruthless and unapologetic they are towards their wrestlers and how out of touch they are with the fans and they are showing that every single day with their hot and cold product that is 90% cold.

There isnt much to be said as Punk threads have always existed so there isnt much more to be added because this just confirms what we already know and then some. We knew he was banged up, tho I didnt know he was THAT banged up, like holy shit.. no wonder he looked sloppy in the ring from time to time, the guy's body and mind were fucking dead and zapped.

And lol at the lowblow with firing him on his wedding day...like wow stay classy WWE. I hope he keeps to what he said and doesnt work ever in WWE because of that wedding shit they pulled. Now, time heals some wounds so maybe down the line a main event at WM and then be done with it could be possible, but that's just dreaming at this point. Very low blow to fire a guy on his wedding day when he gave his mind, body and soul to your company.

 

[Y2JBL]

Amazing interview. He deserves full credit for that. Pretty much every possible detail that anyone could have wanted, down to the very things said in the last moments in the office with Vince and HHH. He could have maintained his silence forever, or given a much less detailed account, or held onto it for a book deal 10 years from now. Also cool that they will be doing a follow up episode addressing email questions.

Not gonna try to disguise it at all, I went from being a huge fan initially to having a very low opinion of him for a long time, even before he left. Back when he was elbowing fans on live TV and stories were constantly coming out about how he treated fans who approached him. None of my feelings really had anything to do with thinking he owed fans a formal goodbye or anything like that. Towards the end of the podcast he even addressed a recent report of how he had treated a fan at a Blackhawks game, and I guess I can understand why he feels that way sometimes. Still, I lean towards feeling that these millionaires can afford to grit their teeth and take a picture with fans in public, even if the fan didn't ask in a perfectly polite way. It has zero to do with me personally, I've never run into him, never plan to, it just bothers me for some reason thinking of a fan approaching him and getting treated like a jerk. Have some gratitude for the spot you got in life; but then again this is the person who believes "luck is for losers" and nothing in his life had anything to do with anything outside of his control. Anyways...

This interview provided a lot of perspective on things. I still think he acts like a huge diva about a lot of stuff, but the interview brought me to a more indifferent feeling towards him. I wasn't exactly losing sleep over the whole situation, but I feel a bit of a weight lifted feeling like I don't have to hate this guy anymore. Again I don't really know why it ever bothered me aside from the reports of how he treated fans sometimes. That didn't settle well with me. The guy who never has to work another day in his life can afford to be nice to people who ask for a picture, IMO.

I was struck by the contradiction that he claimed this wasn't about money, yet the main complaints he brought up seemed to come down to that; he didn't like that he couldn't have sponsors on his ring gear, and he didn't care so much about actually going on last at WM if they would have just "paid him as if he did". How much money does one person need? I personally think the sponsorship thing would have started a gross trend, don't need logos all over everybody. I understand the frustration of seeing Brock come back and maintaining his sponsors, but Punk isn't Brock and it's pretty clear why an exception was made in that case.

Ultimately I think I related to him and started to soften my opinion of it all based on being able to relate to his work place experience. I've walked out on a job before where it was nothing but demands, demands, demands, and zero appreciation for the work I did. Hearing what he went through gave me an avenue to relate and understand.

WWE clearly seems like a toxic place to work, and I didn't need Punk's info to come to that conclusion. It's just been apparent all along in the way they do business. They really have the upper hand when they know this is the "dream job" for so many of the guys in the locker room, to the point that they will put up with BS just because there is nowhere else to go. They wouldn't be able to get away with this if they had other major league competition.

 

[iammikerodriguez]

This interview really puts things in perspective.

Towards his final days on WWE TV, you could definitely tell CM Punk wasn't all there. He was going through the motions and he was physically and mentally exhausted.

This interview furthers the obvious truth that the WWE politics and bad working environment are what can ultimately be the downfall of the company one day (like WCW).

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

"I go to the office, like a good little soldier, and I ask them to do this, and they say no. Two weeks later, John Cena is doing it."

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Based on what I read, the only thing that surprised me was how banged up Punk says he was. If he genuinely was that injured, then WWE most definitely shouldn't have asked so much and expected so much. If he needed time off to recover, he should've been given it. There's no excuses for that.

As for the rest of the interview, it still came off to me like there's no real "good guy or bad guy" in the thing. Both have their sides and aside from the revelations about how banged up he says he was, there's not a lot there that's new or different from most shoot interviews. After all, like most shoot interviews, it's mostly about painting the opposition as the bad guys. In Punk's mind, I'm sure WWE is the bad guy and I can't say that he's wrong for feeling that way. Maybe I'd feel the same way were I in his shoes. I'm sure it's not easy working for WWE. With so much money at stake and being in the public eye, it's a high pressure situation. When there's as much money involved as we know WWE brings in, it breeds big egos on both sides. The talent that's generating that revenue gets a swelled head and we all know that Vince & Trips have big egos. When you have people who're as full of themselves as management and some wrestlers are, there's gonna be conflict.

One comment Punk made seems to also jive with various reports and allegations made about him over the years: "I wasn't the nicest guy to deal with or the easiest guy to deal with either." While Punk didn't go into any details as to how he made things difficult, but it does seem to give validity to claims that all Punk has done over the years is gripe & complain about anything & everything. As I've said in other posts, IF he's someone that constantly complained about everything, was never satisfied, and was difficult to work with then maybe that's part of why he wasn't given the John Cena treatment.

Some of the stuff, like about being told not to walk Chael Sonnen to the ring & Triple H walking Floyd Mayweather did seem petty. That's not so surprising as I knew that both sides had a good deal of pettiness towards one another. Being given his walking papers on his wedding day was a low blow but, at the same time, he did just up and walk out of WWE. I agree that it would've been classier to have done that some other time but, at the same time, it's a two way street.

I'm still a fan of the guy as a wrestler, but I didn't read anything that altered my opinion of him as someone the paints himself in a self-important light. As far as "change" being affected by Punk sitting on the couch, he's essentially trying to take credit for changes made. Of course changes had to be made because he left, whatever plans they had for him had to be rethought. Allegedly, he was supposed to face Triple H at WrestleMania XXX that'd lead to a program with Batista over the title but, again allegedly, he didn't think a WrestleMania match with Triple H was good enough. Since he walked out, they put Bryan in his place and altered the WM main event not because of anything Punk did or said, but because fans weren't at all interested in Orton vs. Batista for the strap.

I've no idea how much of what Punk said is 100% truth, how must is embellished, if any of it's just completely false, etc. but I'd still like to hear what WWE's side of it is. Until I know the full story, which means having to hear both sides, I don't think I'm gonna take any particular side. Even after, there may still be no clear cut good side and bad side in the whole situation as the overall idea is that both sides made mistakes and could have gone about things in a different, less confrontational way.

 

[Wald]

One thing about Punk is that he is always honest, even when it makes him look like the asshole in the equation, so I'd take this interview to be the truth and it just confirms a lot of the negative rumours we've heard about the company for years now. I guess the answer for why ideas are shot down, why promo deals outside of the WWE aren't allowed etc. is what Punk says about how you could be worth 8m to the company but they only want to pay you 500k so they try to hold you back or cut your legs off as much as possible.

I am genuinely beyond happy for the guy that he seems to be okay about walking from the industry too. Too many fans give wrestlers hell when they don't get to squeeze every last drop of entertainment out of them and it affects far too many of them.

I am also happy that he brought up Triple H beating Punk in 2011 as just one of H's massive ego trips, because that's all it was. That was one of those nail in the coffin moments for me as a fan because it genuinely wasn't what was best for the fans or the business, it was just what was best for Triple H.

 

[rge2010]

At Raw the night he walked out, he went in and was told he was going to have to take a drug -- he calls it a "piss test" -- test and considering the new policies they put in place so wrestlers who had failed previous tests could get strikes taken off their record, he was livid that he, of all people, would have to take a piss test. He demanded to be taken care of for his various health issues and they wanted him to sign a bunch of papers and take the piss test. That's when he decided he was done.

I find this part very very interesting. Sounds to me like the straight edged superstar maybe had something to hide...

 

[kumarjtk]

still he is a quitter. He and bryan are best wrestlers now but both are not able to handled the top spot. Punk now gone and wait for his settlement and now he open his mouth. Bryan injured and out for past 6 months. All efforts you forced to do at wm is now waste. Bcoz of that wwe lost batista.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I find this part very very interesting. Sounds to me like the straight edged superstar maybe had something to hide...

No... not at all, it just sounded to me like an exasperated guy making clear that they were not meeting a duty of care. His "straight edge status" wouldn't absolve him of those responsibilities but there was no need to have it THAT second. That he then asked Hunter if he was taking one is more the point, clearly not as he gets away with it.

All in all it was very informative and pretty much as I expected... I did think he'd have some time off stored up that he could use but that they ultimately fired him and tried to get the "non disparagement" clause is pretty telling about how WWE does business in reality.

The whole thing seems so needless, it wouldn't have taken much for WWE/Vince to turn the relationship round other than listening, slightly changing what they do and on Punk's side perhaps being a little less concerned about how he "looked". But when you're not getting anything, you do fight for every little victory and I think he was quite honest about that.

Very refreshing to see someone not just do the "flame everyone" type interview and while it's a shame WWE did what they did and he has pretty much confirmed he will never be back... I think 90% of people who thought of him negatively would, after listening in FULL, get it.

It's almost sadder he didn't sue for the illegal contracts as he puts it, as the point is very valid... the last thing Vince wants is either a union or worse for him SAG getting involved (every one else on a Monday night TV show has to be SAG registered...why not WWE talent if they're not sportsmen but actors?)

Sad we won't see him back, but it genuinely sounded like he's survived the wrestling business...anyone who can with all their faculties and be happier is a win...

 

[Wald]

I find this part very very interesting. Sounds to me like the straight edged superstar maybe had something to hide...

Considering this is coming from the man himself I doubt he is hiding anything

 

[rge2010]

I have read the full transcript....

Looks to me like Punk was expecting to return at some point but was suspended for 2 months as punishment (for walking out) which means he was to miss Wrestlemania. He says he was expecting to hear something when the suspension was up but he didn't.

He then received a text from Triple H on June 11th which stated Triple H wanted to talk to him. He was busy so couldn't and promised to talk later. He then received a letter a few days (on his wedding day lolz) later saying he was fired for breach of contract.

Reading between the lines this wasn't what Punk expected and looks like he could have returned.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

still he is a quitter. He and bryan are best wrestlers now but both are not able to handled the top spot. Punk now gone and wait for his settlement and now he open his mouth. Bryan injured and out for past 6 months. All efforts you forced to do at wm is now waste. Bcoz of that wwe lost batista.

Did you even listen to what he said? Seriously, he was challening Vince to give him opportunities and he was knocking them all out of the park. Everyone said he had the best match at WM29 and he should have been the main event, yet nothing happened. He worked with mid carders for half the 2013, while being banged up severely, and right as he thinks he is about to get his main event at Mania 30, Batista comes back and steals it. In the meanwhile, no one cares about his health. I supported Punk 99% before hearing all this, now I support him 999%.

 

[Chrome]

From the interview

*He left after the Royal Rumble mainly because of his health. He talked about working with broken ribs, a concussion and bad knees during his last months with the company. Punk was so sick during last November's European tour that he was throwing up and dry heaving every night after his matches. He had a fever for months and no appetite. WWE doctors gave him so many antibiotics that he had an accident in the ring on SmackDown, all while watching his paychecks shrink. He said it was the worst he's ever felt in his life.

* He suffered a concussion early during the Royal Rumble match but still worked. He passed a concussion test the next day and called the testing "bullshit." WWE informed he passed but wanted him to run the ring ropes and evaluate him. Punk then demanded that they just decide he has a concussion and admitted that he had been trying to deny he was hurt and just tough it out.

Punk says that same day he was being pressured about taking a drug test and signing visas for future tours instead of listening to his requests for help because something was obviously wrong. Punk then told Vince McMahon and Triple H that he was going home. Punk says he told off Triple H about cutting off his momentum in 2011 and complained to Vince for stifling Punk's creativity. He says he told them both it was garbage how Daniel Bryan wasn't being considered for the WrestleMania XXX main event. Punk says he told them he didn't want to do this anymore and was done. Vince was in tears when he hugged Punk goodbye and told him he was family.

* However, Punk was actually fired from WWE. After he left in January, he was told a few weeks later by Vince McMahon through text message that he was being suspended for two months. This was the day before Vince told WWE shareholders that Punk had taken a sabbatical. Punk heard from no one in WWE once the suspension was over and received termination papers for breach of contract on his wedding day in June.

* Punk says he hired a very vicious lawyer to go after WWE and fight their claim of breach of contract. In the end, he got a settlement that gave him everything he asked for and more. Punk's not allowed to talk about the settlement. He said they are done and will never have a working relationship again. Punk says WWE wanted to issue a joint statement with him but he told them to "fuck off." WWE was worried he would go to TNA but Punk's lawyer told WWE that he despises wrestling now and will never wrestle again.

* He said wrestling Ryback took "20 years off his life" and described Ryback as "steroid guy."

Trained medical professional - You don't have a concussion and scans suggest your body is fine.

CM Punk - But I have a concussion, trust me guys, I've got no medical background whatsoever but just admit I'm right.


Jokes aside I really don't know how to feel about this. Sounds like bad judgment from both sides, I'm glad Punk is finally speaking out at least the marks will stop chanting his name.

On the other hand, it is understandable why he wanted to quit, his matches toward the end were kinda bad. He had been on a road nonstop and has a legit reason as to why he can quit.

But then, he's kinda being an asshat, if Vince actually hugged him in tears. Saying "Goodbye and you're family" and you reply with "Fuck Off" later... What the Fuck? Of course I'd love to hear WWE's version of the story, but that will never happen, because all we know, CM Punk could be lying about the Vince part just so he can say things like that about Vince outside of WWE.

Then about him and his career? He has no fucking right to complain. He's the longest WWE Champion in fucking 25 years, he got to face The Undertaker, who rare people only get to face, he got to face Triple H, who also wrestlers in special occasions. No fucking rights to complain, when there's guys like Drew McIntyre, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Tyson Kidd (who is getting now somewhat of a push), Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison and etc and etc, the list goes on and on who actually were treated unfairly. Being a WWE main eventer and facing The Undertaker at fucking WrestleMania in a big time storyline is not treating unfairly, I don't care what the fuck you say. His legacy is better than most I can see SOME of his frustrations.

Regarding his jab at Ryback...does this mean the IWC all go back to hating Ryback? I can't .. I love the BIG GUY!!

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

Not yet had the chance to listen to the interview but I will later.

From the comments it seems very interesting, but from a Devil's Advocate point of view, you can't take everything he says as 100%. This is a guy who fell out with the WWE (for whatever reasons) so his intervie will be his side of it. He would always put himself in the best light of this situation.

I'm in now way saying that he is not telling the truth, or that he is making stuff up, but until 2 or 3 more guys come out with the same stories, you can't totally buy into this yet.

Take the Montreal Screw Job as an example. How many versions of the story behind that are there??

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

Did you even listen to what he said? Seriously, he was challening Vince to give him opportunities and he was knocking them all out of the park. Everyone said he had the best match at WM29 and he should have been the main event, yet nothing happened. He worked with mid carders for half the 2013, while being banged up severely, and right as he thinks he is about to get his main event at Mania 30, Batista comes back and steals it. In the meanwhile, no one cares about his health. I supported Punk 99% before hearing all this, now I support him 999%.

You can't take everything Punk says as Gospel, when there is no other argument for the other side. Back him 999% but when is WWE ever exactly as ONE person says it is??

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The most telling and interesting thing was how he kept AJ out of it... Mentioned "his wife" throughout but not who she is. Even when he said " I still have friends who work there..." He didn't say his wife... clearly he wants to protect her from blowback and did a good job... Altough if this, as I suspect was recorded a while ago then suddenly the AJ loss on Sunday makes some sense.

I respect him a lot for what he didn't say... "I won't go back for the wedding stuff...not cos it bothered me... But it hurt her... And they knew not only that it would...but cos she works there had to take it."

The best thing though... Monday you hear Vince's side... I really think they Dropped this now to get Punks side out first...good move...Vince has to call him a liar now.

 

[sanefan_har]

From the interview

Then about him and his career? He has no fucking right to complain. He's the longest WWE Champion in fucking 25 years, he got to face The Undertaker, who rare people only get to face, he got to face Triple H, who also wrestlers in special occasions. No fucking rights to complain, when there's guys like Drew McIntyre, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Tyson Kidd (who is getting now somewhat of a push), Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison and etc and etc, the list goes on and on who actually were treated unfairly. Being a WWE main eventer and facing The Undertaker at fucking WrestleMania in a big time storyline is not treating unfairly, I don't care what the fuck you say. His legacy is better than most I can see SOME of his frustrations.

No rights to complain?? Dude, the guy has every right to complain when he played second fiddle to Cena, Brock Lesnar and The Rock during his 434 day reign. Like Mick Foley said, that reign is only a stat and did nothing to elevate his legacy or popularity. His feuds as champ were absolute garbage in comparison to his feud with Cena at MITB 2011. He fought Ziggler because of Laurinitis, then he feuded with Jericho over a stolen moniker and they even brought up his daddy and sister issues, which was a terrible angle to go with.

Then he feuded with Bryan. The matches were stellar, but AJ kissing the living hell out of both of them seemed to be the focus of the storyline. Then there was that Big Show and John Cena mess, following which they rushed into Ryback's awkward push and CM Punk's forced heel turn which made no sense, other than to satisfy the Rock's demands of facing a heel.

And through all of this, he main evented only when Cena and Rock were his opponents, or when they weren't there. His feud with Taker relied heavily on the death of Paul Bearer. Again, they took the cheap way out on the storyline.

After this, the whole feud with Heyman took a toll on his body by being paired with the wrong opponents in Brock Lesnar (can't blame him) and Ryback (well we know what happened). The beginning of his feud with Heyman saw him bleeding thanks to a ladder smash, and that surely was no icing on the cake.

You can go on and on about the championship reign, but I'd take a healthy life over the longest WWE championship reign in the modern era.

 

[rge2010]

Yeh, this is only CM Punks side of the story. We havent heard Triple H's or Vinces and we probably never will.

When it is all said and done, no matter what his grievances were he should not have walked out on the fans. He should have done the last 5 months of his contract and walked. At leats that way he could have said goodbye and thanked his fans properly.

The guy is an asshole - many many fans have said this when they have met him. I think now that Punk has broken his silence, we will see various wrestlers coming out and giving their opinion on the matter.

 

[rge2010]

No rights to complain?? Dude, the guy has every right to complain when he played second fiddle to Cena, Brock Lesnar and The Rock during his 434 day reign. Like Mick Foley said, that reign is only a stat and did nothing to elevate his legacy or popularity. His feuds as champ were absolute garbage in comparison to his feud with Cena at MITB 2011. He fought Ziggler because of Laurinitis, then he feuded with Jericho over a stolen moniker and they even brought up his daddy and sister issues, which was a terrible angle to go with.

Punk was second fiddle to Cena, Rock and Brock because he isn't on their level. Never was, never will be. And Punk gave Jericho permission to bring up the daddy and sister issues.

Time Punk realised he was a good worker but was never ever 'the man'.

 

[kingconor]

Yeh, this is only CM Punks side of the story. We havent heard Triple H's or Vinces and we probably never will.

When it is all said and done, no matter what his grievances were he should not have walked out on the fans. He should have done the last 5 months of his contract and walked. At leats that way he could have said goodbye and thanked his fans properly.

The guy is an asshole - many many fans have said this when they have met him. I think now that Punk has broken his silence, we will see various wrestlers coming out and giving their opinion on the matter.

Did you even listen to the podcast?

The guy had a staff infection, a concussion, worn out knees, damaged ribs and wasn't able to sleep and you think it's reasonable to be annoyed that he didn't work another five months in that condition for your personal satisfaction? What does he have to thank you for exactly? He walked out because his body and mind were breaking down. If he can't put himself first even in that scenario then when can he?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You WILL hear Vince's side on Monday with Austin... that's WHY they've dropped this now to "steal the thunder" a little bit and ensure Punk's version gets out first... I'd put money that this was recorded a month or two ago and someone at WWE got wind Punk was preparing to talk, so they jobbed AJ out and set up the Vince/Austin thing to try to be first... they didn't know it was already recorded and could be dropped in a couple of days with the promise of a follow up "next week"... VERY smart business from Colt Cabana and Punk... you don't have to pay $9.99 to hear Punk's side and now inevitably his retort to Vince... but to hear Vince's side you have to pay... immediately Vince loses that battle.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I haven't checked out the podcast quite yet, hopefully I'll get a chance to do so later today after work (it's not Turkey Day up here in Canada, we had our Thanksgiving last month). But based upon the excerpts I have read and the comments here on the forums, nothing has really changed my opinion on the whole scenario.

If we take everything at face value (bearing in mind there are two sides to every story), he probably does have some justification to be pissed off and burned out mentally and physically. A lot of what he says would piss me off too if I were standing in his shoes. However, at the end of the day, I don't think it was appropriate and correct for him to walk away from his contract, which was going to be expiring in six months or so anyway. He should have informed the brass that he was unsatisfied and if things didn't change between then and the end of his contract, had would be leaving the company and not renewing a new deal. A contract is a commitment between both parties, yet he failed to honour his part of the deal. I'm sure he was well paid for his services while in WWE. Sure, money isn't everything, but that doesn't change the fact that he's been living a comfortable lifestyle, financially speaking, thanks to WWE. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it damn well helps. All of these interviews, and supposed endorsements, and celebrity appearances (such as at Wrigley Field) all came his way because he was a contracted and famous WWE superstar. Regardless of his skill level, if he were toiling in obscurity in the Joe Blow Wrestling Federation, safe to say these opportunities would have been far scarcer. He reaped the benefits of being a top guy in the biggest worldwide professional wrestling company, the least he could have done was honoured his obligations back to them. Until his contract expires, and then he's free to do whatever he pleases.

He's been in the business a while. The pros and cons should have come as no surprise to him. When you sign on that dotted line, you agree to take all the pluses that come with it: the money, the fame, etc., But you have to be prepared to accept the minuses as well. Once you reach a point that you no longer want to do so, you can leave and do something else. Once your contract is up.

Athletes in pro sports do it all the time, and it pisses me off then too. They sign a 5 year 25M year contract, 5M per year. Then they have an awesome year and all of a sudden, they want more money. If you want the ability to renew your deal after 1 year, then don't sign a 5 year deal. If you have an off season, the team can't all of a sudden decide to pay him less, because there's a contract in place which has to be honoured. It should be a two way street. And same goes for Punk. If you weren't prepared to fulfill the obligations if the entire term of the contract, you shouldn't have signed it and reaped all of the benefits that came with it.

I understand Punk's frustration on many of the matters he discusses. But you shouldn't be able to bail out in your employer just because you're frustrated and unhappy. None of the rest of us regular Joes can do it, so why can he? Unless he has a feeling of entitlement and arrogance.

 

[sanefan_har]

Punk was second fiddle to Cena, Rock and Brock because he isn't on their level. Never was, never will be. And Punk gave Jericho permission to bring up the daddy and sister issues.

Time Punk realised he was a good worker but was never ever 'the man'.

Define "their level". You could have said the same for Austin never being on the "level" of Hogan back in 1996, and look at him now. Punk's promos and wrestling have been stellar since he turned heel against Jeff Hardy. He outsold Cena in merch sales.

My issue is with how his championship run was treated, and why people shouldn't use that as an excuse to blame Punk for being ungrateful. I get that some feuds might be more important (like Taker v Shawn or Cena v Rock) and I'm cool with that. But the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit playing an upper card role, instead of replacing the Cena vs Laurinitis main event, was an abomination and an insult to the one key component that the WWE is based on : Wrestling.

Fun Facts : Cena vs Laurinitis was the same thing as Punk vs Laurinitis, except it was more corny and stupid. Also, later that year, there was a Cena - AJ angle mirroring the Punk - AJ angle from just 6 months ago. And don't bring up the "Oh it mirrors Steve vs Vince" crap because they barely resembled each other (i.e watered down).

These 2 facts, give me no choice but to believe Punk when he said he would come up with some idea, be rejected and within a few weeks someone else would do the same.