What’s the story?
Bruce Pritchard spoke about former WWE superstar CM Punk and what made him stand out on a recent episode of his podcast, Something To Wrestle With Bruce Pritchard. He also explained why The Rock’s custom-made ‘Brahma Bull’ belt was never used in the WWE. Pritchard said:
“It took too long to get made and by the time that it was made, [The] Rock had already dropped the title and so they just kept it and never brought it back out again.”
In case you didn’t know…
The ‘Straight Edge Superstar’ gimmick that Punk portrayed during his days in the WWE was inspired from his character in real life. The two-time Money in the Bank winner is an ardent follower of the straight edge movement which means that he abstains from consumption of tobacco, alcohol and other recreational drugs.
CM Punk has been a 5-time world champion in the WWE, winning the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship twice. Apart from that, he has also held the Intercontinental title and the Tag Team title one time each. Punk retired from the professional wrestling scene in 2014 and made a foray into MMA.
The heart of the matter
Talking about CM Punk, Bruce Pritchard said that he loved the business and was different in a lot of ways from others. He also appreciated him for being able to stick to his straight edge lifestyle in a business where things like drug usage and partying are very common. Here’s what the former WWE producer had to say:
“Punk probably generated more heat backstage than he did in front of the camera, but for me, I always liked CM Punk because he had a genuine love for the business. I like the fact that he stood up and was unique in his own way and for somebody to come into a business that was heavy on the reputation of drugs and partying and all this stuff and be a straight-edge guy and denounce drugs and partying, not just publicly, but backstage with the guys.”
Pritchard revealed how his opinion about Punk changed after he had a chat with him one day and found out more about him. According to him, ‘The Best In The World’ may come across as someone who is arrogant and likes to stay away from people but there is a completely different person behind all that. He stated:
“I took the time to sit and talk to him and tried to get to know him, and once you actually had a conversation with him, you found out that he was a pretty interesting guy. He could be aloof. He could come off as very cocky and a know-it-all. But once you get passed all that, you find out that there's something else behind it. And I personally like the guy. I think he's a hell of a talent.”
What next?
On his MMA debut at UFC 203 last year, CM Punk had suffered a first-round loss to Mickey Gall. It is being speculated that Punk may be released from the UFC, post which there are chances that he may be signed up by another MMA promotion, Bellator. However, a possibility of him returning to the WWE fold is also difficult to rule out.
Sportskeeda’s Take
During his time in the WWE, CM Punk was certainly one of the biggest stars in the business and enjoyed a lot of support from the WWE Universe. But if he decides to make a comeback, it may be difficult for him to garner the same amount of respect following his humiliating outing in a very short MMA career.
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