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The most candid parts of Netflix's WWE: Unreal series are the confessions from former Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley and WrestleMania 41 main eventer CM Punk about having anxiety. Ripley has been especially open about the topic after having a panic attack before her WrestleMania 40 match against Becky Lynch.
ClutchPoints spoke to Punk and Ripley ahead of the release of WWE: Unreal on Netflix. They were both coming off busy weekends — Ripley unsuccessfully challenged Iyo Sky for the Women's World Championship at Evolution, while Punk won a gauntlet match to become the No. 1 contender for Gunther's World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam the following night — and they were still feeling the effects of it.
“I'm pretty banged up,” Ripley said. “But I'm doing good. Yesterday was a nice little rest for me — that was much needed.”
Meanwhile, Punk, 46, had to “knock on wood” after revealing that he felt “pretty good right now.” He added, “Don't jinx me, though. I could step off a curb and roll my ankle— it's happened.”
As for anxiety, Ripley finds her entrance song, “Demon in Your Dreams,” the remedy. It gets her going, and she has always had a strong connection to music, saying that it helped with her mental problems growing up. Ripley grew up listening to Motionless in White, so having them perform her entrance music was special.
“I have to have good music,” Ripley explained. “That's why I went to Neil [Lawi], the music guy, and I was like, I really want Motionless in White because they're my favorite band.”
Even still, Ripley gets nervous before her matches. Luckily, anxiety is okay, and being nervous about something you're passionate about shows you care.
“I still get really nervous before matches, and I feel like if I don't get nervous, then I shouldn't be in this profession, because you should be getting nervous before something that you love,” she explained. “You feel so passionate about it, and you don't wanna go out there and screw things up.”
Part of Ripley's anxiety may stem from being a self-proclaimed “perfectionist.” So, in turn, the little mistakes seem massive. And when she isn't feeling nervous, she knows something is up.
“If I'm not nervous, that makes me more nervous in a way, because I'm like, Why am I not feeling any emotion right now? That's not a good sign; something bad is going to happen,” said Ripley.
Ultimately, it all comes together as she walks onto the entrance ramp.
“The Rhea Ripley you guys see, like, I could be having a full mental breakdown, [but] as soon as I hear [my entrance music], most of the time, knock on wood, I am good. I go out there and I just do my thing,” she concluded.
Was CM Punk's return or first match back more anxiety-inducing?
Within the span of a few months, CM Punk had a few moments that would make any WWE fan anxious. First, he returned to the company after nearly a decade at the 2023 Survivor Series: WarGames PLE. Then, he competed in his first televised match at the 2024 Royal Rumble in late January.
So, which was more anxiety-inducing for him? It was his return due to the “unknowns” of it all. In the case of the Royal Rumble, there are 29 other Superstars in the match, so he can fly under the radar as he dusts off the ring rust.
“My first match being a [Royal] Rumble, [the] Rumble's kinda easy — there's a whole bunch of people, there's a lot of stuff to focus on, I knew everyone wasn't just gonna solely be focused on me,” Punk explained. “But the return was the exact opposite. It's all eyes on you. As a performer, you go through these stages of, Are they gonna care? Are they gonna remember me?
“It's strange. I think at this level, all of us have [a] certain degree of imposter syndrome, where I could tell her [Rhea Ripley] all day long what a kickass, larger than life Superstar she is, and it's not gonna help her. She's just gonna be like, ‘No,' and I'm no different,” Punk continued.
In conclusion, “we're all our own worst enemies,” as Punk said. And luckily, he thinks his Survivor Series return went over well — Ripley noted that the crowd's reaction was “very loud” for him.
“I wound up being okay, though — I think we did all right that night,” he concluded.
Why they are “nervous” about WWE: Unreal
Never before has something like Netflix's behind-the-scenes WWE: Unreal series come out, where it pulls the curtain back this much, including giving glimpses of CM Punk and former Rhea Ripley's roads to WrestleMania 41.
The series has so much access to the inner workings of WWE. Punk, who has not seen the series yet, is “nervous” about it. He will continue to be nervous while watching the five episodes on Netflix.
“Brother, I haven't seen this yet, so I'm still nervous,” he revealed. “I'll let you know once I watch it. I am excited to watch it to see exactly how much we're giving away here. And I'm gonna be sweating and nervous while I watch it.”
Ripley clearly agreed, as she smiled and nodded in agreement. It will be interesting to hear both of their reactions to the series. Ripley is especially candid throughout. We will have to wait and see what they think.
WWE: Unreal will premiere on Netflix on July 29.
