While it should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody who actually heard the interview, the Colt Cabana “Art of Wrestling” podcast with CM Punk earlier this week has been the talk of the locker room in WWE since it first appeared on the internet.
The general consensus is that virtually everyone within WWE — most notably the talent themselves — thought it was one of the greatest things ever.
It’s widely known within WWE that in certain circles, CM Punk is well-liked, while in others, which is a big much bigger circle, by the way, everyone — fans and detractors of Punk — all thoroughly enjoyed the interview.
The key reason that everyone was in favor of Punk’s appearance on the show was because whether you like him or not, he pointed out — in what is said by many to be in very honest fashion — many issues that the current pool of talent within WWE deal with, and have dealt with, for quite a while. Many are said to be afraid to speak up about many of the issues that Punk touched on, but universally applauded him for having the gull to do so without any fear of repercussions.
The reason of Vince McMahon himself was said to be not as bad as you would think. While McMahon is notorious for “no-selling” issues that do in fact bother him, the general consensus was that while he wasn’t pleased with Punk for many of the comments he made, to say the least, he wasn’t as over-the-top angry or upset as two other key WWE high-ranking executives.
Those executives are none other than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Triple H was said to be outraged and furious, and according to one person close to the situation, outright said he “wants to kill CM Punk.”
While this is likely a moot point, as Punk himself made it clear during the podcast that he has no desire to return to the world of professional wrestling, much-less WWE, that he is on one of those unofficial “banned for life” lists.
Some people believe that while Vince McMahon is still alive and in complete control of the company, anything is possible in terms of being willing to bring Punk back one day, however, those same people are under the belief that when and if it becomes up to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Punk has no chance whatsoever at stepping foot back onto a WWE television, or non-televised program, for that matter.
Also on the “sh*t list” in WWE as a result of the podcast is Colt Cabana. Those who were wondering whether or not he would ever get a shot at working for WWE as an announcer, a job he has tried out for several times in the past, can pretty much assune that it’s never going to happen after this week’s show with Punk.
It was also mentioned, as we noted on the website earlier, that Ryback was less-than-pleased with Punk’s comments as well, to say the least.
In terms of whether or not the Punk interview will be brought up this coming Monday night when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon appears on Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which is generally a “shoot-style” interview show itself, the feeling is that at best, Vince will give a generic, corporate, “politically correct” type of answer to any questions regarding that particular subject.
McMahon’s appearance on Austin’s podcast will air live on the WWE Network immediately following RAW on Monday night.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Punk craziness isn’t completely finished yet, as a “part two” version of Punk on Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast is still scheduled for the near future, and this time will feature Punk fielding questions from his fans.
