CM Punk Talks His WWE Exit, When He Started Feeling Burned Out, New Project, WWE Return
As noted earlier, CM Punk was interviewed on Opie with Jim Norton while making his media rounds. Here are the highlights:
* Punk said that the reason he did the Art of Wrestling podcast was to tell his fans why he split. He didn't want to be a guy who constantly said negative things about WWE. In response to some people saying he lied about things, he said that he couldn't have even made that stuff up.
* Punk says that there's always somebody who will replace someone else on the wheel, and he is no different. He says he doesn't blame WWE for that. He didn't intend to bash the company, he was just telling his story.
* On a possible return to WWE, he said. "You asked if I'm going back to WWE, and my answer now is I can't be sure. I don't want to be the guy who says 'never say never,' I don't plan [to go back], but I can't tell the future. Something could happen, but I personally don't see it."
* He says that a lot of his media interviewers think he doesn't know he's really going to get punched. He said jiu-jitsu is his strongest area, and he's confident fighting off of his back. He said he loves MMA because there are so many different aspects.
* CM Punk says he'll likely compete at 185 pounds and will train most of next year. He said UFC will announce the match and he'll go through a full training camp. He'll also be at UFC 182 to watch Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones fight. Cormier is a friend of Punk's and offered to train with him.
* Punk is writing a story in the Thor annual that's coming out from Marvel, and is also writing for DC Comics. Punk will be writing a new title called "Strange Sports Stories."
* He says that both he and WWE probably wish that they would have ended things differently, but it was something that had to be done. Punk said that after WrestleMania 29 he'd torn his knee up and had five weeks off and rediscovered life because he'd never had that long off.
* Punk seems like he would have welcomed a WWE return after his initial suspension, but nobody contacted him. He was prepared to sit out his contract after that, and thought the company withholding his royalties. When he found an uncashed royalty check he had to call them.
* Regarding WrestleMania 29, Punk said "Yeah I was [over it by then]. I didn't care, and that was a big part of the problem, I was wrestling The Undertaker in front of 80,000 people, and I didn't give a f**k. I was just like 'ah, whatever.' I had zero passion, I was just like 'yeah, whatever.' And (The Undertaker) might get offended at that, but it's nothing against him, it's just where I was at. But I would hope he gets it."
* The hosts talk about Jason David Frank and Jose Canseco challenging him, and they joke about it saying it was exactly what Punk didn't want when he signed with UFC.