When news broke that CM Punk was going to be a guest on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, it added another must-watch viewing for wrestling fans in the week leading up to WrestleMania 40.
Suddenly, the man who got some very interesting quotes about Vince McMahon and Ronda Rousey out of Becky Lynch was going to get a front row, uncensored shot at the “Best in the World,” and, considering his fiery history of cutting incredible promos in media availabilities – the 2023 All Out media scrum anyone? – it would certainly be rife with interesting interactions and conversation-drawing quotes, right?
Well, considering the headline, with Punker comparing Mr. McMahon to Chris Benoit, it's safe to say things got very interesting indeed.
“No, and the closest thing I can make a comparison to is Chris Benoit doing a murder-suicide, right? I was friends with Chris Benoit, and I didn't know if it's just how I process things, but I'm famously like on camera weeping, you know, saying goodbye to Chris because, at the time, we didn't know, right?” CM Punk told Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour.
“We didn't know that he had murdered his wife and his son, and the week prior, we're in Dothan, Alamaba, and I'm traveling with him, and we're on the road, and he grabs me, and he runs me into the trainer's room, and he points at his little son is in the corner, and he's taped up his hands, and he's got little Xs on his hands, you know, and coming to terms with, that's my friend, and he's done this horrible thing, you know, obviously f**k him, f**k that, but then I don't have memories of Chris Benoit while traveling with me murdering people in the gym, you know? So there were never any instances where I'd, you know, be in a room with Vince, and he's s**ting on somebody or sexually assulting somebody, you know, just like it wasn't like Caligula in Rome, we just didn't see it.”
Goodness gracious, now that is a headline-worthy quote, right? Well wait, it gets even better, as Punk had plenty more to say on the subject, noting that he understands where people like Lynch have been coming from in their own interview answers.
CM Punk makes comparisons between Vince McMahon and Chris Benoit, and claims he was unaware of his actions.
"They both did terrible things"@arielhelwani pic.twitter.com/aTaLQkDb1R
— Boris "#HBKBookeroftheYear" (@borisluchas) April 1, 2024
CM Punk understands why Mr. McMahon's actions hit some differently.
Continuing his comparison of Vince McMahon and Chris Benoit, CM Punk explained that he understands why some wrestlers are taking the news of the former Chairman of the Board's actions harder than others, as he went out of his way to try to make his wrestlers feel like they could trust him as a father figure.
“But, you know, there's that part of me that goes, ‘Just like Benoit, okay, okay, I can see that,' and that's the thing, I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer's mother wasn't like, ‘I can see my boy doing that,' no, like, people are shocked that their friend or mentor or whatever is responsible for doing these horrible things and I'm just more of a, I guess I'm pragmatic where I just go, ‘Oh, okay, I can see that. Kind of nutty. Chris is kind of intense, he's quiet,' and then you just build that in your head, you know?” CM Punk asked rhetorically. “But it's very, very hard to reconcile that, and I heard what Becky said where, you know, Vince was like a father figure to a lot of people, Vince, I think liked to develop the father relationship, and I think, that's why he was always fascinated with me because I was always like ‘F*ck you, I've got a Dad. You're my boss, let's just keep it that way.' But it's just been wild all of that s**t, and it's sad. He's ruined his life and he's ruined his life ruining other people's lives, you know? So there's very much a part of me that's just like, ‘Okay, we got him, good. Shuffle him into the basement.'”
In professional wrestling, workers have to be able to trust their promoters. Sure, some may take things in a more professional manner than others, but unlike in, well, every other sport, if a promoter doesn't push a wrestler, they simply don't work matches, win matches, or get the sort of career opportunities that everyone wants. If a performer like Lynch did enjoy spending time with the man who made her career, made her a World Champion, and facilitated her entire lifestyle, coming to terms with his actions may take longer than someone like Punk, who hasn't liked him from seemingly the jump.
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