CM Punk: I’m doing ‘the best work of my career’ at 47 years old
At 47 years old, CM Punk still feels like he’s leveling up in his pro wrestling career.
Punk celebrated his 47th birthday on October 26 and is now heading into WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event with a chance to become World Heavyweight Champion. He spoke to KSL News in Utah to promote the show, noting that he feels like his age is actually a benefit. With his experience, Punk feels like he’s doing the best work of his career right now.
“I’m fortunate that I’m continuing to level up in this business,” Punk said. “I just turned 47 the other day, and some people would say that’s a detriment; I think it’s one of the more positive things about me.
“I’m ‘this old’ and operating on this level, doing what to me is the best work of my career.”
It will be Punk vs. Jey Uso at SNME with the vacant World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Original plans called for Punk to challenge Seth Rollins for the belt, but Rollins suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to vacate the championship.
Since his November 2023 return to WWE, Punk has not had a substantive title reign. He did briefly become World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam this year before Rollins immediately cashed in to steal the title from him.
The SNME card for this weekend includes four title matches, including Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship, and Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta vs. Rusev for the Intercontinental title. Punk told KSL News that he wouldn’t mind his match against Uso opening the night.
“Every single match will be high stakes, high drama,” Punk hyped. “People always talk about who’s the main event. But on a card like this, I almost want to be the opener; I want to get done with work and sit and watch the rest of the show. These matches are all hot.”
The Delta Center in Salt Lake City is hosting both SmackDown tonight and SNME tomorrow. SNME is set to stream live on Peacock at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.