CM Punk recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about his time in WWE, how WWE and MMA are the same and more.
SI: Not a lot of grey area in MMA.
CMP: Exactly. In pro wrestling, it’s fake. People always get offended by that word. ‘No, we like to say it’s pre-determined.’ For whatever reason, people get angry at fake; pre-determined eases the blow? It’s fake. At the end of the day it doesn’t really mean anything. So after a while, it was, ‘Let’s just really fight and see what happens.’ Now I get to.
SI: Some of the issues you’re mentioning with the WWE—you don’t want stars to get too big; management has a heavy grip on labor—honestly, that sounds not dissimilar to the fighter discontent in the UFC. Do you see yourself getting involved?
CMP: At the moment, no. Everyone’s situation is different. It’s an interesting question and I don’t know how to answer it. I’m not trying to shy away from it. But I’ve been treated great. At lot of what I said and did in WWE, that was about trying to help out the other guys. After a while, I realized, Wow, that other guy doesn’t even appreciate it; he could give a s—. Nobody cared. Why was I bending over backwards to make it a better workplace for you, when you don’t give a s—? I see the similarities [between WWE and UFC] but I see the differences. And, again, I’ve been treated great….I do things based on firsthand experience.