C.M. Punk reveals when he decided to stay with WWE, Vince McMahon's thoughts on the angle, More

WWE star C.M. Punk was interviewed by ESPN's Bill Simmons on the new Grantland.com in a podcast interview. Punk acknowledged that he used "The Cult of Personality" in Ring of Honor and thought it would be a fun throwback. He said no other songs were considered.

Punk said his big promo that started the angle "was 100 percent real because it came from the heart." He said he knows where the line is and while he may have went too far in a couple of areas, he knows that things like saying hello to Colt Cabana isn't going to hurt the company.



"I think there's a lot of people out there who are very jaded and think the product hasn't been as good as it should be for a very long time," Punk said. "No matter what you give them, no matter how good it is, they're always going to be like, 'Well, they'll just ruin it next week or they're pushing this guy and he'll be in the doghouse next week.' I really just want to mess with everybody.

"I wish everybody would just sit back, shut up, and watch it unfold. I'm telling stories, and since about 2005, that's all I've said, I'm a storyteller. I think we're doing a great job so far. You can pick it apart and be an armchair booker and say what would be better and this and that, but until the tell-all book comes out, trust me, I'm dodging bullets and doing a very good job."

Punk said he was sincerely planning to leave WWE and was asked when that changed: "Sunday, at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view," Punk said. "The funny thing is that I wasn't trying to hold out for a better deal. I wasn't playing my cards close to the vest. I had a gigantic life decision to make and it wasn't easy. It took me a very long time, a lot of sleepless nights, and I still wasn't sure. It's kind of a big deal."

Punk said he hasn't watched his match with John Cena from Money in the Bank: "I definitely feel it was something special," Punk said. "I'm not going to watch it because maybe I'll think it was not good." Punk also said he heard from a lot of WWE legends, and he said nobody had anything negative to say.

Punk on why it took this long to get this type of a push. "I think it has a lot to do with I've been the same guy since I came into this company. I've always been critical. I've always opened my mouth, certainly when I never should have and it's gotten me in trouble. I've never kissed ass. I don't wear suits. I don't wear dress shoes.

A lot of times they like the guys or girls who are more media friendly. Let's face it, I'm not very media friendly. Chances are if you put a guy like Miz, I'll use him as an example because he's very good at what he does... In my opinion, he gives very rehearsed, corporate answers to everything. It's almost like he's been coached on what to say. I don't work that way. I can't. My answers are honest and they're organic whether somebody likes it or not. I'm not safe in that regard. Putting me on Jay Leno or whatever, I'm going to ask why he screwed Conan O'Brien."

Punk on whether he has a good relationship with Vince McMahon: "Yeah, I'd like to think so... I think everybody is happy, you know, for now. I think this business is also very what have you done for me lately. The hardest thing wasn't getting on top, the hardest thing is staying on top. I think a lot of people would agree with that. As far as I know, he's ecstatic with it. It feels fresh. It's something new, and there generally seems to be like something in the air.

"I'm not saying it's 100 percent me. I feel like a lot of people have wanted a lot of change for a very long time. If I was a guy who was a catalyst for it, that's great, but there's a ton of people who are misused and upset. I'm not just talking about the wrestlers, I'm talking about the fans too. There's a lot of people who are invested in what we do. They really want to love everything. Sometimes it gets hard when you're letdown constantly."

Punk on dumbing down the in-ring product: "For a while it was like every match had some sort of furniture and chairs... What do you do to top that? Let's throw somebody off a building. Let's put somebody through something that's on fire. After a while, the crowd gets so desensitized and they want to see something bigger, and that's a dangerous spot to put yourself in. I certainly never want to do another Money in the Bank match, I'll tell you that much. Those things are dangerous, legit."

Punk on Money in the Bank being the most dangerous in WWE: "Especially with that many bodies in it. Watch one of those matches. You've got somebody who is 240 pounds standing on the ladder and somebody else is jumping on the ladder. Those things twist and they bend and they break. The next thing you know you have some sharp implement sticking out of the ladder. There were a few times in those matches that if somebody bumped six inches to the right or the left and they would have been impaled by like some part of the ladder that was sticking up. Yeah, those are very dangerous matches."

Punk on Comic Con: "It was a lot of fun. To my point, see what happens when you just kind of do stuff? I think it's very hard to get a billionaire owner and say, 'Hey, just trust me, I'm not going to go out there and drop my pants and go streaking, just let me have a little free reign with this, and I will do everything within certain guidelines, but you have to push the envelope a little bit.

"Nobody in this business who made it to the top did it by just doing everything they were told and not taking chances. I think I have the best guts in this business and sometimes my gut tells me to do something and I do it. That whole Comic Con thing is a perfect example of it. It's unscripted. It was fun. I'm not trying to work all the boys and stuff like that, but I think it's better when they don't know stuff."

Punk on Steve Austin comparisons: "Everyone says it's a new Attitude Era and you're the second coming of Steve Austin. That's completely false. I'm C.M. Punk. If I can call the new era anything, I'd call it The Reality Era. I think we have a very talented roster. I think times change so much and certain people are out of touch with stuff and I don't know if a lot of the talent, if people know how to present them in the right light.

"Guys like Kofi (Kingston) and Dolph Ziggler, I think these guys are awesome, but I think people need to step back and things need to be done differently. I don't think ratings matter as much as everyone thinks they do anymore. When Nitro and Raw were going head-to-head, the combined ratings were like a nine, sometimes a ten, so like where did these millions of people go and why are we still living and dying based on those ratings when we don't have competition?"

Punk on his favorite current wrestling character: "It's very, very hard. Rey Mysterio, hands down. Absolutely. Rey is amazing. Rey knows who he is. Rey knows what he is. He's amazing at everything he does. Rey has the ability he gets in the ring with look ten times better than they really are... He works hard and you just can't teach experience."

source:  prowrestling.net