CM Punk: Watching peers retire from WWE ‘keeps me motivated’
Watching his peers like John Cena and AJ Styles step away from the ring has given CM Punk some extra motivation.
One week after his World Heavyweight Championship victory over Sami Zayn, WWE uploaded a behind-the-scenes video with Punk reacting to the moment. Punk spoke about the kinship he feels with Zayn and how, at 47 years old, Punk is not ready to retire yet.
“We watched Cena retire. We watched AJ Styles retire,” he said. “And it’s almost, I feel like sometimes, everybody’s now looking at me like, ‘Oh, when are you going to retire?’ But guys like me and Sami, who came up the same way, started on the indies, were told ‘no.’ We said, ‘Watch this.’ We’re told, ‘You’ll never make it here.’ Made it here. We’re told, ‘Well, you’re never going to be anything.’ Became something. And then told, ‘You’re never going to be champion.’ Became champion. You know, that says a lot. Not just for me, but for him.
“You’d have to ask him — I’m not putting words in his mouth — but I think he would agree that it’s about, we’re in a foxhole to some extent. It’s about the guy next to you and it’s about the kids coming up. I am at the point where I’m watching my contemporaries retire, and it almost keeps me motivated to say, ‘You know what, I’m still here.’ And I feel like I’m operating on that high level. I feel like I’ve never been better. Why would I step away?”
Punk’s title win last Monday was his first appearance on WWE programming since shortly after WrestleMania 42. Going into the match, Punk said once-in-a-lifetime nights like this still make him nervous. He was excited to create another moment for his hometown fans in Chicago.
“This is a special business to me,” Punk said in the behind-the-scenes video. “And sometimes I’ve been accused of taking it too seriously, and sometimes I’ve been accused of not taking it seriously enough. But my career has been so long that we can now look back on all these moments. And I get to cherish that much more — the ability to still be here at the highest level in front of the best fans in the world to create more moments.”
CM Punk’s upcoming matches —
Now a member of the SmackDown roster, Punk will be teaming with Cody Rhodes against Zayn & Gunther at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City this weekend. We’ll then see Punk defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes at SummerSlam this August.
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.