CM Punk never reached the pinnacle of WWE by performing in the main event of WrestleMania, but he is about to achieve a dream that few MMA fighters can say they’ve done. Punk is less than two weeks away from fighting in his UFC debut. He will co-main event UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio against newcomer Mickey Gall. Punk, himself, is a rookie to the sport of mixed martial arts. This is his first career fight.
For over a decade. Punk was a professional wrestler. That’s common knowledge by now, but not many wrestlers go to the world of MMA. Usually, it’s the other way around. Dan Severn was the first to do so. He was a very accomplished MMA fighter and competed in one of the original UFC events. Then, the UFC legend attempted to wrestle in the WWE. Rampage Jackson followed Severn’s footsteps years later. Only Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar, and Batista were the other WWE superstars to go to the UFC.
CM Punk’s departure from the WWE wasn’t smooth. In fact, he left without finishing his contractual duties. Followed by his absence was a termination letter from WWE and a defamation lawsuit from Dr. Chris Amann to Punk and his long-time friend, Colt Cabana. Both former wrestlers talked about Amann’s supposed complacency and lack of medical skills when diagnosing Punk during his WWE tenure. That’s where the situation gets intriguing.
Punk has continued to push his UFC 203 fight against Gall like a fighter normally does. However, his past in WWE will never leave him. In CM Punk’s latest interview, he was asked if Vince McMahon reached out to him before his fight.
“Do me and Vince text? No, he’s currently bankrolling a lawsuit against me, so I don’t think he’s going to be reaching out. ‘Hey pal, how ya doing? I’m suing you, LOL!’”
DailyWrestlingNews.com believes that another lawsuit could be pending after that comment was made public by the Voices of the Voiceless.
The former WWE Champion may have indicated that his former boss is funding WWE Dr. Chris Amann’s lawsuit against Punk and Colt Cabana over comments made during their infamous podcast that was done shortly after Punk left the company.
It’s always possible there’s some other lawsuit that we don’t know about but it appears Punk was referencing the lawsuit from Dr. Amann, which doesn’t go to trial until 2018.
The story gets even crazier. Cabana and Punk were friends for 15-plus years until this past Monday night happened. Cabana attended the WWE Raw show and went backstage. According to MMA writer Front Row Brian, this seemed to cause a rift in their relationship. To be specific, Punk thinks that hurt their chances of winning the lawsuit against the WWE.
I’m told Punk thinks Colt did something that allegedly hurts his defense against the lawsuit filed by WWE’s Doctor. https://t.co/fUvgZzClvg
— FrontRowBrian (@FrontRowBrian) September 1, 2016
Hopeful WWE fans still think CM Punk will make his return to the company in due time. However, actions like this make it very hard to believe that. Punk is set on winning the lawsuit that the WWE served to the duo. His words recently don’t make it easy for the WWE Universe to think the former-WWE champion will return.
In a recent article by The Inquisitr, Punk said the WWE treats their wrestlers like indentured servants. That quote further clarifies the case against the optimistic group. For now, Punk is focused on his UFC debut in less than 14 days against Gall at UFC 203. If it’s anything like his WWE debut in ECW, Punk will succeed and go on to have a good fighting career.
[Image via WWE]