CM Punk recently spoke with Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting ahead of his commentary debut for Cage Fury Fighting Championships on December 14 in Atlantic City, N.J. You can read a few highlights below:
CM Punk comments on the reports that Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks are starting a new wrestling promotion, if he has any interest in joining them?
I think at this point that whatever those guys decide to do will be great for them and their families. If I was asked what I would do or what I would say to them — because they could obviously go to WWE whenever they want — it’s just a matter of is this what’s best for your family? And I think we live in a time now where WWE is not the end-all, be-all. I don’t think it has been for quite some time. I think the stigma that it is is still there and probably will persist for many, many years. But enough people have been there and left that can, I guess, extoll the knowledge of, ‘Hey, you know what, the place ain’t all that.’
And I’m in a spot now where I’ve been gone what, five years? Maybe the place has changed. I’ve got people who text me and say otherwise, but there’s ways to make money and support your family outside of that. With also being able to satisfy the side of your brain that’s creative, the side of your brain that loves professional wrestling, the reason you bought a pair of boots in the first place. And I think those guys can definitely do that. I think they can command their price if they want there. But if they did go there, then they’d just be another guy — just like everybody else on that show. It’s amazing, the more time the show gets, the less time it really seems they develop new characters.
If you want to bring this thing back full circle, this is exactly what I’m talking about with CFFC. I’m talking about not just, oh here’s two fighters. Here’s two human beings and they have a family and friends and you can examine all those things without just sticking them out there and trying to sell something that the wrestlers in the ring, that the fighters aren’t trying to sell.
If those guys all go and start their own thing, more power to them. Let me bring it full circle again, I’m not actively pursing really much of anything. I’m just kind of floating. And it’s a nice thing to be able to do and just kind of float and hang out and if somebody wants to pick up the phone like Dave Sholler did and call me up and say, ‘Hey, we really think you’d be good at this and we want you to be a part of your company,’ they can call me up and make an offer. That has remained to be seen. Pro wrestling is not on my radar.
CM Punk Talks Broadcasting In MMA, ‘Doing Things Backward,’ Fighting Again & More
Punk on whether or not he would listen to an offer to return to wrestling?
I would always listen. I would listen to them, because just like Dave, I like the Young Bucks. I text with Matt on and off. But business is business. I know Cody was out there in the media saying that an offer was made [for the All In event Sept. 1]. An offer was not made. Calling me up or texting me saying, ‘Hey, if you want to come to the show and do something, we would love that’ is not an offer. That’s not an offer.
There’s other things. There’s a couple more loose ends that I’m still trying to tie up to fully absolve me from the world of pro wrestling. I feel like I’ve still been attached to it since the day that I left it and that’s mostly because of fugazi lawyers and such. But we’re wrapping all that up and that’ll come to an end. And once I’m truly free, we can explore the world and just float and hang out. And I can walk my dog and drink coffee and do commentary for Dave Sholler and continue to train at Roufusport. And do all kinds of stuff. I’ve earned it, I’ve paid my dues.
Punk also talks about the appeal of MMA broadcasting, why he’s not going to fight Logan Paul, if he’s looked back at his fight against Mike Jackson, and much more.
