CM Punk talks biggest influences, possible heel turn

The present for CM Punk: he’s defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam Saturday. And while Punk shared his thoughts on that match in a recent interview, he also spent time discussing his past and his future. 

Punk shared his thoughts in a conversation with Dave LaGreca of Busted Open Radio. LaGreca cited Punk’s history with legends such as Mark Henry, Terry Funk, and Harley Race, then asked about which person gave Punk the best advice early in his career. 

“Too hard to narrow down,” Punk replied. “Too wide of a spectrum of some of the more brilliant minds in wrestling. You’ve named a few of them there. A lot of them aren’t with us anymore: Terry, Harley, Tracy Smothers, Eddy Guerrero. And then there’s the ones that we are currently fortunate to still have, that even to this day still give me great advice. Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels. These are these are guys who I can reach out to and ask a question, whether it’s something that happened in the late ’90s or, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of this.’ I can bounce these ideas off them and get their perspective.”

LaGreca then asked Punk how he maintained such a strong emotional connection with fans.

“I think initially it’s the authenticity that I bring,” Punk replied. “It’s being myself. But it’s also the job.I’m in the job of manipulating the emotions of the audience based on where I want them to go. And when you’ve done it for this long, you develop a currency with the audience.”

Punk then explained how that connection may dictate his future storylines.

“Even if I thought it would be a great idea to try to get these people to hate me, I think that’s going to be a tough ask,” he explained. “We saw it recently with John Cena. I don’t think people really want to boo Randy [Orton]. I think the situation’s got to be right. But I’m fortunate to have that currency with the audience.