CM Punk and Vince McMahon are apparently not on speaking terms lately, and Phil Brooks’ recent comments about the WWE healthy policy and UFC President Dana White probably just put up yet another barrier.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , at first it was just a rumor that AJ Lee was leaving the WWE like CM Punk , but then she said, “You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.” Seth Rollins also claims CM Punk is missed in the WWE locker room, and believes he would be welcomed back should Punk ever choose to return, assuming McMahon or Triple H ever allows it.
Corey Graves of WWE NXT apparently took a cheap shot at CM Punk during a segment where he discussed health issues such as having a concussion, a complaint that was made directly by CM Punk during Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. CM Punk is not letting Vince McMahon forget it, either. When CM Punk spoke to CBS Sports recently, he explained that the WWE health and wellness policy was one of the reasons he left the business.
“Maybe because [wrestling] gets the rap of being, oh, well it’s fake and it’s theater and it’s this and it’s that, people sweep it under the rug,” CM Punk said. “Across the board, we don’t know the long-term ramifications of all the concussion stuff. As new as it is to the NFL, it’s as new to WWE – and wrestling as a whole.”
CM Punk admits that the WWE had become mentally “taxing” for him, and he lost his passion a “long time ago.” In previous interviews, Punk said he had stopped watching any of the recorded WWE segments several years back, but only started watching again this year in order to support his wife, AJ Lee.
In a recent interview on ESPN Sports Center , Phil Brooks also explained the difference between the WWE and the UFC by comparing Vince McMahon and Dana White.
“There’s more of a warmth on the UFC side than I’ve experienced,” CM Punk claims. “Both are driven. Both are set in their ways. Both have an idea of what’s best for their company. The difference is in the generation. Vince is very old-school. Dana is more open-minded.”
WWE superstar Seth Rollins spoke about CM Punk and Vince McMahon in a recent interview on This Is Awesome Wrestling Show . According to a transcript from the Wrestling Observer , the former member of The Shield believes the issues related to the alleged WWE medical negligence and Punk’s departure could have been handled better.
“I think it could have been handled better, probably, on both sides. And I think down the road, people involved will say the same thing. But as much as I don’t necessary agree with the way he left, I think I understand, mentally, where he was. This business can take a toll on you. You travel a lot. You get beat up a lot. There’s a lot of frustration that’s involved and mentally, over time, that can wear on you. It can put you in place where you’re a different person. And when you’re not happy with who you are and the person you want to be, you gotta take a step back. You gotta look at things outside the bubble a little bit. I think that’s what he did and I think he realized that he needed to take a step back and see what was going on. And if he didn’t like it, then he can move on. I think they agreed to disagree. Like I said, could have been handled differently from a public relations standpoint on both sides. I think once the dust settles, everything will feel itself out and it should be alright.”
What do you think about CM Punk’s allegations regarding Vince McMahon’s health policies for the WWE?