Exclusive Interview with CM Punk

0:00Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces, TGL playoffs are here. First, Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club. Then, Rory's Boston Common Golf and Tiger's Jupiter Lynx face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in Tuesday, March 17th at 6.30pm and 9pm only on ESPN and the ESPN app.

0:26O'Shea:Man, first the Z bros break up. Every time I wake up, somebody got a problem with Phil. Guys, this man right here, you know, before we had any of our fans out there, before we knew what we were doing, our very first episode of the No Contest Wrestling Podcast featured this man. He is now the world heavyweight champion. Ladies and gentlemen, CM Punk, welcome to the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. It's debatable that you guys know what you're doing now. Oh, no, no, no. We real good now. We're better than we were, but probably not as good as we'll get. Yeah. You sound like me now. 1 % better every day, gentlemen.

1:10O'Shea:Isn't that the goal, though? It is. So both of us, the pod and you, have been pretty busy since that first episode. Absolutely. The very first one was right before Hell in a Cell, and you have been on quite the journey, including main eventing WrestleMania. Yep. Now you're going for the second time. So I just want to start it off right because I have to because I told you a while ago that I needed this signed. So if you would please sign my ticket from your first main event of WrestleMania last year. Sharpie, what do you want? Silver Sharpie. You want a silver? Silver. How dare you? You want gold?

1:51You tell me. Waste of time. We've got 30 minutes. Craig Domino got the clock on. Right, right.

2:00There we go. That's neat. I don't know anybody dabbled in paper tickets anymore. Yeah. I've kept it. It's unbelievable. Very good call. I wish I would have brought mine.

2:09O'Shea:Yeah, that's what I didn't tell you. So take us through that feeling. That feeling after that night one main event. Oh, gosh. You know, I think with any big moment, there comes with it a sigh of relief and oh god thank god it's over kind of thing you know um and i i think that is amplified when the moment is good yeah the moment's bad when it's a man when you to bed yeah you're like huh right well okay i guess i'm glad it's over but But so much had been said and so much had been built up about me main eventing at WrestleMania. I felt like I put my best foot forward. I felt like we stole the show.

3:03And, man, I was relieved that it went well. But I really just tried to live in that moment because it's so fleeting. and it was so important to me for so long i i just i wanted it to be it wound up being everything i wanted it to be legitimately you know because you it's life you got to take the sour with the sweet but everything about that that day and that night and that match i thought i don't think it could have gone any better and there's that moment that they captured and it's weird to say that i didn't know they were filming me because there's cameras everywhere always in my face with unreal and everything otherwise, especially mania.

3:47There's camera angles that you didn't even know existed. There's drones now. I didn't know the camera was filming me. I was literally like, I'm surrounded by all these fans, and there was a moment where it was just mine. That moment was for me. I was by myself, and I let out a sigh, and I said, I fucking did it. Yeah. Yeah.

4:08O'Shea:Absolutely. And with WrestleMania deciding to go back to Vegas, which financially is going to be such a hit to me. But going back to Vegas. Financial hit to him. I mean, like, you know, life's a gamble, and I like to do it. They gamble in Vegas, baby. So you're going back. Yeah. Going back to do it again, presumably all night, too. Yeah. I mean, it's one thing to have your dreams come true, but then to go back and repeat for it to be against Roman, And talk to us a little bit about your mindset about a night two main event. And before that, you said presumably. Yeah. I think we can officially announce here.

4:51O'Shea:I just never know in wrestling. They've broken my heart so many times. I second that emotion. Yeah, I never know. There's a lot of real estate between today and April 19th. Well, I think we can say here officially on No Contest Wrestling that, and I got this word from inside sources, CM Punk versus Roman Reigns is officially the main event of WrestleMania 42, which that means you are the main event of night two. How about that? Another NCW exclusive. Congratulations, Roman.

5:24O'Shea:So what are the emotions knowing that this time around it will be a title match on night two, Tribal Chiefs return, everything that goes into that? because while WrestleMania, there's just things in wrestling you can't ignore. This is a bit of almost like a chapter closing on The Shield. You had your time elsewhere with Moxley and Ambrose and that feud. The Seth one just seems like that feud won't end. And now to get into a feud with Roman and kind of cap things in this way at a WrestleMania main event, are those things going through your mind? Well, they are now because you put them there. But night one, night two, the argument.

6:14I currently don't feel any more pressure to perform night two than I did night one. Now, maybe that'll change. I think if it does, it'll be incremental. I don't differentiate between the two. People will argue that I once said in a promo Which doesn't make it real life ladies and gentlemen God, they're the easiest ones to work They're the easiest ones to work And they're the ones that fold their arms and go, I'm not worked You can't work me I got you right here In the palm of his hands So the emotions will be high I gotta prepare I'll always be like, I gotta get in better shape I got to do this.

7:02I got to do that. But really everything that I've ever done in my career has prepared me for these moments. You know, this is all I ever wanted. It's all I would, you know, when I would be screaming at Vince, I need the experience. I need to level up. I can't level up. I can't be better. I can't sell more tickets. I can't draw more money if you don't put me in those situations, you know, then here we are. You know, and the thing is, yeah, you did have the promo about night one of night two, right? And last year you got night one. But there's, you know, I know you probably don't care about the naysayers, but the naysayers are still kind of like, well, he didn't get night two.

7:39Now you've got night two. So nobody can say any, that is official. No one can say anything to you, right? Hasn't happened yet. True that. No, but they're always going to say something. That's why you can't focus on those people, because they don't, they don't like me. So they wait and they wait and they look for, oh, I got you. All right. Okay. Good for you. To me, you're a fan. You're still a fan. You can say you hate me. More oftentimes than not, those small voices talk more about me than anybody else. I mean, Seth's always talking about me. Roman's always talking about me. My biggest haters are my biggest fans.

8:21Put that on a T-shirt. Write it down. Well, speaking of Roman, as you did and we brought him up, you know, not many people can box with you on the mic. We all realize that. But during Roman's promo on Monday, I think was probably the best promo he may have ever had. And it looked to me at one point that you got a little sly smile on your face. And because of that, I thought, and just correct me if I'm wrong, but I took that as you looking at him going, wow, you stepped it up right now. Am I off base? No, you're not off base, but it's also, it pleases me so much as somebody who prides themselves on getting guys to become the best version of themselves.

9:07This is a shit talk business, ladies and gentlemen. You know, everybody's always putting everybody else down and talking trash and all that. And I have a very self-deprecating style to where I'm always trying to spotlight the locker room and those others around me. But after a while, I feel like I got to remind people who I am. And a lot of people don't like that. But when a guy is on the microphone with me, if they don't level up, if they don't become a better version of themselves, I will eat them alive. And it makes me smile to know that they know it too. See, I was right. And it makes me smile to go, you did it.

9:55See? Hell yeah. Like, let's go. Now we're here. Now we take them to the promised land. There's, you know, there's that. And it's not all me. You know, Roman is amazing. He's fantastic. But we talk about gear changes in wrestling. and to find that quote-unquote new gear you know i think it's great cody's great at it don't like saying anything nice about drew mcintyre but that's another guy that recognizes situations and steps up um roman you know like seth these are all guys that i feel like i have gotten something out of that other people haven't, you know, and I, I, I pride myself on that. I think it's great.

10:47It takes two. It really, it really does. Yeah. Like I said, I'm watching it and I paused it and I looked at you and I think I text him. I'm like, he looks very happy in this moment. I mean, I, that, that smile is also because I got you. I got what I wanted. I got under your skin enough. Now I know we step up our game whenever we know you're on here. So I wore my nice coat, you know what I'm saying? So yeah, we knew we had to step up. See the chain? I see it. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back.

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12:14O'Shea:All right, now, you know, we saw Roman's comments about, you know, nobody stepping up during his absence. And, you know, people had a lot to say about that. But I also saw a comment that you had where you spoke about, you know, back in the day, it was if you got the title, You know, you get, you know, a bigger cut. You know, your position on the card kind of motivated you to want to be better and want to get the opportunities and things like that. But now things have kind of gotten into it where everybody has their, you know, flat salary. While that's good for the boys, you know, it might be a little troubling elsewhere.

12:56O'Shea:So how do you feel that wrestling can capture a healthy level of competition to stay motivated? The same way that you say you get stuff out of people, how do you see that the young stars can kind of find that edge about them to kind of always want to be pushing forward with the characters? It's up to the individual. And I was actually speaking to quite a few people that work in and around the NFL. It's not just a wrestling thing. They're paying these college kids now. Yeah. And I held this. And I've had more than one NFL veteran talk to me about how these kids ain't hungry. Right. How could you be?

13:39They're already paid. And I love the fact that we get paid more money. I'm always for the boys. And I do think the hungry ones will find a way. They will break through. I see a guy like Javon Evans. Yeah. He's hungry. You know? Absolutely. Getting paid is great. That's the name of the game. That's always been the name of the game. But also, at some point, you have to talk about, like, legacy. Do you want to leave a mark? Do you want to change the game?

14:17It's up to the individual, you know? It's easy to coast. It's easy to, you know, sit in catering. Rest on your laurels a little bit. Yeah, for sure. For sure. It's easy. But I think it just boils down to the individual. Like, at this stage, why do I care? Because I still want to always give 100 % and leave it all in that ring every single night. And I want the fans to know that and to walk away going, gosh, yeah, man, he is the best in the world. Man, he worked his ass off. You know, I don't ever want to give less than 100%.

14:52O'Shea:I mean, that's the, you know, just from my perspective, the difference when, you know, a lot of players retire. Not a lot of players get a farewell tour, you know, and that seems to be a major difference. You know, who really wants it more, who dedicates themselves to it completely. We've seen, obviously, John Cena's farewell tour. um AJ Styles kind of he spoke to us on the show about you know when it's time for him to say goodbye you know you won't even know and then it happens crazy yeah we were like you're AJ Styles how could we not know sure now with you do you think when it is time down the road because you obviously you got a lot more to give are you the type to are you will the fans know is punks last year i really don't i really don't know um i i think it's big in japanese culture and japanese wrestling the retirement tour you know uh so hashi just had a yeah but like you know like when muda retired like they they did it they're just like you know here's big dome show that, you know, here's, here's all these shows.

16:09Um, they've done that over there for, for many, many years. Uh, it was just new to, I think Western wrestling fans. So Sina did it and I thought it was brilliant, you know, um, say this is the last time you're going to come see me. You're going to get to see me, you know, put my boots on and wrestle or, or, you know, appear or whatever. Uh, with me, I really, I really don't know. I almost don't like talking about it because I don't think it's going to be anytime soon. And the way our business is, I like to keep some things shrouded in secrecy and mystery. So we'll have to wait and see. I'm just trying to keep myself in one piece because I feel like I'm on the run of my life.

16:52I think I'm doing the best work I've ever done. Why would I want to step away from that now? Absolutely. So speaking of leaving, when you left WWE, over a decade ago, right? And, you know, you did whatever you did and then you made your way back. As you're on top now, and you seem, I think we talked about this, about you not being a guy who doesn't really have regrets, maybe, but is there any point of you, any part of you that goes, man, like, what could I have done in this decade? Or are you like, you saved wear and tear on your body that has made you be able to have this run that you're having, right?

17:30Or is this something that doesn't even, you know? I would guess that because, I mean, I'll just go ahead and say it. Like, Vince was still here. I don't think anything was ever going to change. You had mentioned that. For me, at least. You know? So, no. Like, can I think about, man, that's 10 years. Like, oh, I could have worked with AJ a whole bunch. I could have done more with Cena. I think I did pretty good. Yeah. I mean, like Tribal Chief says he graciously scaled back for two years. Well, I graciously stepped back for ten. And it took him that long to become the superstar that he is. So I got no regrets.

18:13O'Shea:Is there any, during the ten years, all right, but as far as when you were there, you ever think about things that you could have got back or like if there was a match you could redo, Is there any that stick out to your head?

18:33Not off the top of my head. You know, if I never came back to wrestling, I still think I had a pretty solid career. Solid. You know, solid. Yeah. The stuff I did with Cena, my match with Taker, the Straight Edge Society stuff, matches with Ray.

18:56The Jeff Hardy feud. It was already a Hall of Fame career chock full of moments. Now I'm almost being unfair now. I'm just piling them up, you know? You know, here on the Rich Eisenhower, Rich hates when we describe something as solid. Because of his vocabulary, he's like, there's so many different words you can use than solid. But I will say, yeah, I will take his side on this. solid doesn't really speak to what your career was. It was far beyond. It was legendary, man. It truly was. So, yeah, solid probably isn't the word. And Rich is going to like that fact that I feel that.

19:37O'Shea:Yeah, man, I ain't trying to hear that. But you don't have to work with him every day. You brought up the Jeff Hardy feud. And I just, you know, this isn't a question. I just don't have to tell you this as a fan because I've told you before, I hated you. I still get that today. Bro, I hated you. Because everyone loves Jeff. Yeah, but like, so it's so funny, a full circle moment I had with my hate for CM Punk. Because the cash in on Jeff Hardy, all right, took all, just the spirit left my body. And then later on in life, I meet you, we become pals. It's an aggressive friendship, but we become pals nonetheless.

20:18O'Shea:and I see you beat Gunther for the world heavyweight title. And what happens? Money in the bank stabs me in the heart again. What is that feeling? What is that feeling? We know where things are going to head. But you know how much I was screaming, get the hell out the ring. The whole world. Get out the whole world. Why did he just run away? Run away. Because you did it before. You did it one time. You headed up. I was so angry Woulda shoulda coulda That's old man punk Grizzled Gray in the beard I'm gonna stand my ground You know what I mean That's a dude going out on his shield that night That's all that is That's a good point Can't stand that as a wrestling fan That's awesome TJ I got a little fact about punk that you didn't know Well, you don't know what I know, but go ahead.

21:18O'Shea:No, I know you don't know this. You know, he secretly roots for the Dodgers. I did not know that. Yes. Bite your tongue. Hold on. No. I don't secretly. Hold on. Hold on. Sir, let me finish the question. Please. He's going somewhere. Sir, please. Please. Please. Thank you. Oh, you know what? I know where you're at. Yeah. Please. I know where you're at. Sir. Yeah. So, he secretly roots for the Dodgers to continue their success, all right? winning these World Series the way that they have so that there is a lockout so that the WWE can have him perform in Wrigley. This is a dream of his. So we here at No Contest, since our first episode, we at ESPN now.

22:04O'Shea:I don't know if you know this. We were jabronis before, but now... No, it's true. I'm not rooting for the Dodgers. I'm cheering for their continued overspending for mediocre players. That's really what I'm rooting for. I think there's going to be a lockout because of it all, and I think it's just going to open up the calendar for Wrigley, and it's going to be easier to be able to coordinate a date and wrestle at Wrigley Field. And, man, what a bucket list thing. Yeah, what does that mean? White Sox Stadium, though, would you still feel? Oh, man. guaranteed low rate

22:45O'Shea:what does Wrigley mean to you and to be able to cap off you know being able to perform there there's a little bit of greed involved like as a kid born and raised in Chicago to have sold out every building in Chicago that has a roof well what's the next thing he sold out Pequod's pizza one night A whole lot of people realize this. That is true. And many of Malnati's locations. That's true. Wrigley to me is church. I am not a spiritual person. I am not a religious person. Something about walking into Wrigley Field. Like I remember it for the first time. I remember walking up the stairs and your eyes adjusting to the sunlight as it hits you.

23:34and walking out and just seeing the scope of the place and seeing the ivy and it just has this aura it has this feeling and it's it's it's deep rooted and it's such a special place i would love to be able to say that save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn out wiper blades at o'reilly auto parks right now save ten dollars on a pair of rain x latitude wiper blades they feature beam blade technology to improve windshield contact for maximum visibility the professional parts people will even install your new wiper blades for free choose rain x latitude wiper blades at your local o'reilly auto parts store or online at o'reillyauto.com so good so good so good new markdowns up to 70 off are at nordstrom rack stores now.

24:27And that means so

24:28O'Shea:many new reasons to rack. Because I always find something amazing. Just so many good brands. Because there's always something new. Join the Nordic Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. I wrestled there. That's important to me. You know, I was looking at Instagram the other day and they had a list of, you know, top wrestling themes. And of course, yours was on there. And I know the last time we spoke with you, you said how Living Color redid the song called Impulsionality for you.

25:09But one thing I didn't know or want to ask you about is I remember being in college and a guy named Michael Hawley, who is a pretty well-known sports journalist, he introduced me to two things in college, which was a tribe called Quest and Living Color. So that's where my love for Living Color came. I was like, wait, a black rock band? And the dudes got, what? Where did your love for Living Color come from? I think it was 1989. I think that's when Cult of Personality was a single. I was on a, I was playing baseball. And the team song was Cult of Personality. Oh, nice. Yeah, like it's just it's it's been it's been with me my entire life.