Rolling Stone recently spoke with CM Punk about his debut. The full interview is at this link and you can read some highlights below.
Politics in WWE:
“For the longest time [in] what I did, the competition wasn’t that clean-cut. 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 f*cking scary, but I like embracing the things that scare me.”
Taking wrestling too seriously:
“I think at some point in my wrestling career, I took myself way too seriously, and I took the wrestling business way too seriously. It probably helped sour me on the whole process. It probably helped burn me out.”
Wrestling being fake:
“People get so mad at me when I say this, but [pro wrestling] was fake. This is not. When we do jiu-jitsu, you’re getting hit. That changes everything drastically. When we’re in those situations, I’m too nice. I’m just wired that way, and I think it will work its way out.”