Part 2
As they continued their discussion, Colt Cabana said there is an underlying theme is that everyone needs to be happy in your life. He said that for all the money in the world, if you aren't happy, it's not worth being there because of frustrations and of things being taken away despite being the biggest thing in wrestling.
CM Punk said that WWE should be the happiest place to work but they use it as "this bizarre mindf***" He said they tell him to go out to have fun and his reaction is, "F*** you, this place f***ing sucks and on top of that, you aren't paying me nearly enough to do this f***ing sh**." For people who say, you made millions, Punk responded, "Yeah, I should have made ten. That's just the f***ing way it is." He said for as hard as he worked and for never being home, it was not enough.
Punk said his health was an issue but there was also the debut of the WWE Network. Punk said he would ask for months how the Network pricing of PPVs (as opposed to the usual $70 for Wrestlemania) would change the pay scale for his working the show. He said the Network was going to change the pay scale and he was the only one asking questions. He said even Randy Orton was asking him how things were going to change and Punk didn't know. When he would ask Vince McMahon, Vince would laugh to Punk and say, "We haven't figured this out yet", to which Punk responded, "Don't you think you should be figuring this out?" Punk that they didn't know, but they should have figured it out they know how they are going to pay him for the PPVs he was about to work.
Cabana said no one else is asking WWE management questions because they don't want to rock the boat. Punk said that if you do, they take you off house shows, Raw, PPVs so you don't make money and "that's the way they do it."
Punk said WWE doesn't do anything to "protect the wrestlers. They do things to protect WWE." Punk said that again, he doesn't want to come off harsh and as if he's bashing WWE, but, "They don't let everyone know they're doing all these fantastic things for concussions for the boys, they are letting everyone know so it looks good in the public."
Punk said the NFL is getting, "F****ed in the as**" because of the NFL Players' Union telling them they need to pay up for medical issues and past injuries and concussions and the NFL "is paying out the a**" because of it. Punk said Vince McMahon doesn't want to do that ,which is why they are making all the moves now regarding concussions.
Punk said he suffered a concussion in the Royal Rumble match [Note from Mike Johnson: January 2014, the night before he walked out]. Punk said it was obvious he got a concussion and everyone knew he had a concussion. WWE told him they wanted him to take a test and he said, "Your test is bulls***." Punk said he took it while texting Cabana and listening to his headphones, "and I quote on quote, passed with flying colors."
Punk stated that WWE doctors then asked him to run the ropes in the ring. Punk responded that he just passed the concussion test and they said, "But we still think you have a concussion" so his response was, "So, your test is worthless." Punk said he wasn't going out to the ring like a "two week rookie" in front of everyone, so let's just "call it now", meaning diagnose him as concussed. Punk said he was doing the stubborn thing where he said he was fine, because that's the way he's always been and that's what WWE instills in you. "If I didn't work, I'd get punished. I never had a break."
The discussion floats back to "12 Rounds 2", Punk said he would have done the movie as a way to have a break. Since he was the WWE champion at the time, he realized would have only had weekends off but it would have been a break. He said he needed knee surgery at that point, but was still working and was looking forward to the break. He felt that as champion, he needed to keep going and was telling Vince McMahon he would have knee surgery after he dropped the WWE title to The Rock. He said, as soon as he dropped the belt, he would "be a ghost" and be gone. Vince responded that he needed Punk to do the rematch with Rock.
Punk admitted he was pushing not to drop the belt to The Rock and pitched him vs. Rock vs. Cena at Mania or even defending the belt against Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29 as when they counted it out, the show fell on Day 500 of his title reign. He had a bunch of cool different scenarios, but, "I digress, I don't want this to be a shoot interview."
Punk said he didn't take a lot of breaks and was at the point that he became excited when during a European tour, his elbow was locked in a 45 degree angle and not able to move it more then a few inches. He said the excitement was getting surgery and time off, but every night WWE's medical staff would have him do all these exercises where he would have to hold a heavy object up and then relax his arm and they they would straighten it and tape it up so he could go. Punk said he got elbow surgery on a Wednesday or Thursday, then had laser surgery on his eyes right after. Then, Vince McMahon called Friday and said that since it was, "Just your elbow that's hurt, I can have you cut promos." So, Punk was back on the road after just five days.
Punk admitted there was pressure from himself to deliver because he wanted to show WWE that no matter what, he was the best and could deliver. He said that the entire time he was back on the road, he was scared he was going to get a blood clot and die from the travel because that's what happened to Chris Candido.
Punk then told a story that about being at "TV" one day, assuming he would just cut a promo when Michael Hayes informed him he was wrestling. Punk said he wasn't because of the surgery on his eyes and Hayes said, "Well, you could have told someone." Punk said that he shouldn't be working anyway because of his elbow and Hayes tells him he's been cleared to return to the ring. Punk said he hadn't even gone to Birmingham, Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews and Hayes told him to go talk to WWE medical doctor Chris Amann. Amann told him he spoke with Andrews via the phone about Punk and Andrews was clearing him. "What sort of witch doctory bullsh** is that?", Punk said, "I'm going to go see Dr. Andrews before I f***ing wrestle. Book that sh**. I'm not going to wrestle tonight."
Punk said that when the Nexus debuted, WWE hid the entire angle from him and Luke Gallows, so he couldn't warn any of them to not go near his eyes. Then, one of them stuck their fingers in his eyes and he started smacking people. He said Gallows asked him what to do and Punk said to start attacking people and when they did, Ryan Reeves (Ryback) started saying, "But we're going over!" Punk said he was very mad about getting a finger in their eye at the time and joked it was karma for a time when he mocked Cabana when Cabana was poked in the eye accidentally by Ricky Reyes.
Punk said he never felt there was a place for him in WWE. Cabana said that Punk can be an a**hole and asked if maybe how he acted backstage is why he had that feeling. Cabana said that he loves Punk, but he can see how people would react to him negatively, based on how Punk can speak to people. Punk said there are 26 writers who have never been in a fight and if they don't like him, they don't want to write him. He said the Straight Edge Society was the best thing ever but they squandered it away and said, "Shouldn't they be trying to make money with everyone, not just one guy?"
They go into Punk being the champion and going into the pressures of the champion and trying to make everyone he worked. He said he would think, "What would Harley Race do?" He said he was an old school guy and would tape things up and just go. Punk said when he was trying to not drop the title to Rock or make it a three-way, Punk's entire way of looking at things was, "What do you have for me next?"
Punk stated that he felt that Vince went into meetings asking what was next for John Cena and that was really all that mattered to him. Punk noted that he didn't want to turn heel at the end of 2012 but was told The Rock's coming back and wanted to work a bad guy and Punk was the champion. Punk was told he could turn heel or drop the belt to Daniel Bryan. Punk said he would rather be a heel, but this meant they were going to cut his checks in half because he was losing his merchandise checks and at this point was the only person who was moving more merchandise then John Cena. Vince told him that if you turn heel, he will own Punk one.
Punk finally said he would turn heel and then asked Vince what the plan for Wrestlemania. When Vince told him it was going to be Cena vs. Rock II. Punk said, "That's awful" and began pitching other ideas. Punk said that if people say he was trying to be a politician, maybe he was, it wasn't that he was just trying to politic himself into the main event saying, "Let me beat everyone." He suggested WWE do a Three-Way for the title, do an elimination, let him get pinned in five minutes and move on to Rock vs. Cena one on one.
Punk said, "Then I would have done the main event of Wrestlemania and it won't be such a hang-up for me anymore. It won't be such a mindf***."
Vince told him that The Undertaker needed someone for Wrestlemania 29 and he felt Punk was the guy. Punk said, "OK but what's after that?" Vince responded, "What do you want to do? I don't know." Punk said when they turned him heel, they decided they wanted to put a heater [someone to be an obstacle babyfaces have to get past to get to him that also helps get a ton of heat for the dominant heel in the act] with him.
WWE suggested Big Show, which Punk shot down and then Daniel Bryan. Punk said no about Bryan, feeling they should be kept apart "like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart" and that the company could come back to them when they needed a great match.
Punk then said some people are going to think he's full of sh** about this but he doesn't care. He noted for the first time (that I know of) that The Shield was his idea. Eric Pankowski, who was head of creative, wanted to give him two guys who were his lackies. Punk suggested they take three guys and make a stable. He went to Triple H about it and they took it to Vince - Punk suggested Seth Rollins, Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) and Dean Ambrose. They didn't want Ohno and suggested Roman Reigns. Punk said that was fine because they wanted their guy in the act and then he could learn under Punk.
The original idea was that The Shield would be Punk's group but "things f***ing change" and "they" [WWE creative?] take other people's ideas, then take credit for it. He said it "turned" into Hunter's idea. All the way to their debut on PPV, The Shield had no idea whether they were with Punk or not. Punk's original idea was they were with him until Wrestlemania and The Undertaker match and then that left him with three new guys to work with, because it was all about "what am I doing next?"
He said the way WWE had it go, it left him "dead in the water" after losing to Taker at Mania 29. He said The Shield is doing great and he's thrilled for them but at the time, it pissed him off because he didn't have anyone to work with.
lol:
