How CM Punk's WrestleMania Match With Undertaker Factored Into His Wrestling Hiatus

When CM Punk disappeared from the professional wrestling landscape, exiting WWE after the 2014 Royal Rumble, fans continued to chant his name at shows across the globe in his absence. It would be nearly eight years before he resurfaced in the wrestling world, however, debuting with AEW in August of 2021. Now back in WWE and very much atop the industry once again, it stands to wonder whether or not he still gets the anticipatory feeling before a match at this stage of a career that dates back to 1997. Addressing the question in an appearance on "Pardon My Take," Punk recalls his WWE departure and the recognition that something just wasn't right.

"That was one of the reasons I disappeared for seven years from the business and 10 from WWE," he explained. "I wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania and I was just [deflated]." Realizing that's not at all how he should have been feeling after taking on a wrestling legend on the business' biggest stage, things weren't sitting well with Punk at all. "It worried me," he said, "This is everything I ever wanted. At that point, I had been on the road for, like, nine years straight, no breaks, and it's just a grind, and I loved the match we had, I loved working with him, and there's a part of me that's just like, 'Man, I should have been in a better headspace than that to really be able to enjoy it and realize the gift that it was.'"

These days, Punk seems to be having just as much fun as ever, at or near the top of the card in WWE since his return in November of 2024 (though a triceps injury kept him out of action for a good portion of the following year) and now enjoying the company of his wife, AJ Lee, after her recent return following her own decade-long hiatus. Looking back again on the end of his initial WWE run, all the signs were there to step away, and perhaps if he'd have recognized them more quickly, that first separation could have been more amicable, and more of a break, rather than the nasty split it ended up becoming.

"I just wasn't mentally there and that sucked," Punk said. "When the bell rang, my head was in the game, but I felt like I shoulda been more excited about it. I shoulda been more amped up about it. I shoulda been like, 'Yeah, here we are,' and I was just more pissed off and angry about all this other bulls***."

All's well that ends well, of course, and the lessons from a decade ago have given Punk a different perspective, which seems to be making his current WWE run more easily appreciated. "That feeling is still there," he said. "It's actually, I think, amplified now because I am more present and more in the now, not worried about yesterday, not worried about what the hell we're doing tomorrow, and I can enjoy it because I know this ain't gonna last forever."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Pardon My Take" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.