CM Punk
American professional wrestler and actor
36
APPEARANCES
20
PODCASTS
Aug 4, 2026
Corey GravesPANELIST
Did you have any feelings when you found out that you would not be the main event?
CM PunkGUEST
Of course I had feelings about that, but I'm not one of these guys that has it in their contract that I have to end the show.
CM PunkGUEST
Listen, ladies and gentlemen, there's a main event, and there's the, there's the match that goes last, right? It ain't for me to decide.
Joe TessitoreHOST
Why is tonight at Summer Slam different? Not- notwithstanding the relationship between yourself and Cody Rhodes, what is CM Punk willing to do differently to make sure that doesn't happen again tonight?
CM PunkGUEST
Well, I think one of the biggest differences is today is actually the 20th anniversary of my debut in WWE, and that carries some weight.
CM PunkGUEST
Um, I never thought that I would make it, you know, 20 years later and be here on top of the mountain as champion, as having the chip that everybody wants.
CM PunkGUEST
The difference between WrestleMania and Summer Slam is a couple... 10 degrees, you know? It was a little colder in April.
CM PunkGUEST
I, I, I think a lot of young wrestlers get lost in the sauce a little bit, and they think it's about the moves, right? And it's not.
CM PunkGUEST
It's about, it's about who's doing them and when they're doing them, right? People know that he's got the tombstone.
CM PunkGUEST
They wanna see him walk the ropes, 'cause that's impressive, 310, you know, walk- walking on the ropes like the Spoiler back in Texas.
20 MINS LATER
CM PunkGUEST
Like you said, I haven't wrestled Cody in 18 years, and it was a very different Cody and it was a very different CM Punk.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, so I watch a lot of tape, and the gym workouts, uh, the volume is low, the intensity is through the roof.
Mike GreenbergHOST
What do you feel like you still have to prove at this stage of your career and your life?
CM PunkGUEST
I, I, I'm in the job of manipulating the emotions of the audience based on where I want them to go.
CM PunkGUEST
And when you've done it for this long, you develop a currency with the audience, you know? So even if I thought it would be a great idea to try to get these people to hate me, I think that's a tough, that's gonna be a tough ask.
CM PunkGUEST
I think the situation's gotta be right, but I'm fortunate to have that currency with the audience.
Dave LaGrecaHOST
When you look at Cody Rhodes, how, how much are you psyched for that match at Summer Slam with Cody?
CM PunkGUEST
I, I, I showed up partially because it, it helped me, you know, being here, uh, amongst my Road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level, uh, helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to, to process.
CM PunkGUEST
Um, and one day away from my wife is one day too many, you know? So like, uh, I, I been with her, like, every single day, and now that I'm back, I'm, I'm champ and I'm on the road, and I'm, I'm as full-time as full-time gets.
8 MINS LATER
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, and they came and they supported w- they, they, they saw themselves on the television.
speaker_3ADVERTISER
Looking back on that summer of 2011, what memories do you have of it?
CM PunkGUEST
Now, now I'm here," but also, like, be careful what you ask for because now the hard work really begins, you know? It's like I, I feel like I busted my ass in my career to get to that moment where I was finally recognized, um, but I knew, you know, you're only as ...
11 MINS LATER
18:48
So when you first started to see that popularity pop appearing in different countries, how did that make you feel? It's
speaker_24UNKNOWN
CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk!
Rider StrongHOST
Do you, uh, come to address a fight differently when you don't like your opponent than you do if you like and respect your opponent, or is it all just on the day, it's work?
CM PunkGUEST
Like even if you, you, you line up, uh, you, you're on the offensive or defensive line in a football game.
CM PunkGUEST
You've maybe played college ball with them or your kids, your kids play in the park together or something like that.
38 MINS LATER
speaker_20UNKNOWN
Thank you.
CM PunkGUEST
You know, and any time you're in there with, uh, a star of the caliber of Roman Reigns, it's a proving ground.
CM PunkGUEST
So I tell people all the time, and I have to preface it with, "Are you a Star Wars fan?" Star Wars is cool.
CM PunkGUEST
The opening scene in Empire Strikes Back is the planet Hoth, and you look at it and you're like, "This sucks.
CM PunkGUEST
This looks awful." That's Chicago.Don't go to Chicago in February if you've never been there.
49 MINS LATER
CM PunkGUEST
Right? It's a lit- I mean, it's a little weird that, you know, like, every, oh, everything happens for a reason.
CM PunkGUEST
Um, it, it's just, it's just one of those things, you know? I, I, I did it last year, and, uh, you know, there's that moment in Unreal where it, it, it...
CM PunkGUEST
I- there's always cameras on us, but I don't, I didn't know they were shooting me at that moment.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, I didn't win, you know, and it's far beyond being about that, and I was just standing in the ring by myself, and I was just looking at, like, all four sides of the crowd and, like, people.
CM PunkGUEST
I could tell, there's people from numerous different countries, and I'm just kind of, like, looking around all four sides, just, like, soaking it in.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, so when people are fans just based on what I do, wrestling, that's, that's always cool.
CM PunkGUEST
The words he said to me, if I can go ahead and say it and he's not gonna get embarrassed or mad, um, he specifically talked about, you know, being a kid and seeing me preach about being straight edge, not drinking and not doing drugs.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, I'll, I'll get parents that tell me, like, "Hey," you know, like, "thank you for being a good role model for my kid.
5 MINS LATER
Bobby BonesADVERTISER
Let's get loco, El Pollo Loco.
59 MINS LATER
CM PunkGUEST
Like, uh, it's, it's, uh, the run of a lifetime, and I'm, I'm, I'm just trying to hold on as long as I can.
CM PunkGUEST
[crowd cheering] All right, to borrow, to borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, what do you wanna talk about?
CM PunkGUEST
... until it didn't work, you know? Uh, uh, but I like a coach who takes those chances, and I like a quarterback who succeeds under pressure.
CM PunkGUEST
There's a what if I wrestle Eddie Guerrero in WWE and stuff like that, and I think, you know, because it is a video game, and it is this fantastical circus pro wrestling, like, the fantasy aspect of things, I think, is a big hook for the fans.
CM PunkGUEST
You should pick CM Punk in WWE 2K26 because there's, like, a dozen different iterations of him, different tattoos, different hairstyles, different T-shirts, all kinds of fun stuff.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, so when Hard Knocks did the Bears, I was like, "I'm gonna watch this," and she sat down and watched it with me.
CM PunkGUEST
You know, and she watched one whole episode, and then it turned into, "Hey, are you- can I watch it with you?" "Oh, great." And we have obviously a show called Unreal on Netflix-
CM PunkGUEST
Now, I love and I hate the show, 'cause I do think we pull the curtain back a little bit too much.
CM PunkGUEST
Uh, but what it does that's good, in my opinion, is show individual athletes, uh, outside of the spotlight, and I think it does the exact same thing that Hard Knocks does, where it captivates somebody who doesn't like sports, like my wife, because it shows these players as individuals and humans.
CM PunkGUEST
And you see them playing with their kids, and you see them getting ready for a practice and what their attitude is throughout the day, and I think that's the most beautiful thing about it.
TJHOST
Mm
CM PunkGUEST
... uh, as somebody who prides themselves on getting guys to become the best version of themselves.
CM PunkGUEST
You know, uh, everybody's always putting every- everybody else down and, and talking trash and all that, and I have a very self-deprecating style to where I'm always trying to spotlight the, the locker room and those others around me.
16 MINS LATER
TJHOST
The yellow body glove, yep
CM PunkGUEST
... whipping his hair all around, like, looking at these guys just like, "Oh, this is crazy," you know? Like, and something, um...
CM PunkGUEST
I mean, I'm a white kid from Chicago, so seeing the, the Black artists, like, absolutely rip, it was just like, it was eye-opening to me, you know? And I, I, I think that, uh, it helps kind of break a racial divide, too, when you realize, like, yeah, it's, it's rock and roll.
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