By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
CM Punk spoke with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani in a new interview recorded on Wednesday to promote his UFC 225 fight with Mike Jackson. Punk was asked if he expects to fight again whether he wins or loses the fight. “I don’t know, that’s an honest answer,” Punk said. “Off the top of my head, I want to say yes, but the ‘I don’t know’ and the mystery behind it is more from a place that Sunday the sun does not come up in my mind right now. That’s how hyper-focussed I am on Saturday night. I don’t know. I don’t.”
Punk said he tries to remain keel throughout, but he spoke about the stress of “waiting for a judge to utter words that literally decide the course of the rest of your life.” Punk said his wife texted him to let him know that the verdict was in. He said he told his attorneys that the walk back to the courtroom was what it feels like when you walk to the cage to fight another human being.
“They read the verdict and I lost it,” Punk said. “April (f/k/a AJ Lee) came out of nowhere and hugged me. I didn’t know what to do. I knew it was good news, but I didn’t know, ‘Okay, so what happens next.’ I didn’t know what to do. Man, I’m sick of being scared about it. I’m sick of worrying about it. I’m sick of crying about it. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Just pure emotion. And then to hear her cry and sobbing about it and she’s just like, ‘I’m so happy for you.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m happy for us.’ I really feel like I can finally get on and move on and continue with the rest of my life, something I have been trying to do since 2015.”
Punk was also asked whether he will seek to be reimbursed for his legal fees. “I would have to file my own lawsuit,” he said. “I don’t think it’s my style. I don’t know what I’m going to do. This whole experience has taught me a lot. It’s especially taught me that… I’m on the fence. Money is just paper, but that was my life’s work and I do think it was intentionally done just to bleed me of money. That’s neither here nor there. It’s over, so there’s a big part of me that’s just like, ‘It’s over, just leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with it.’ That’s how negative that situation is. I don’t want anything to do with it. I’ll probably just… I just want to be over here and be happy. I’ll probably just stay over here to be happy.” Watch the full interview below or at MMAFighting.com.
Powell’s POV: Punk said it’s easy to speculate that the trial took place when it did following several delays to mess with his fight on Saturday. “If you know them and if you’ve worked there, it makes a lot of sense, but I don’t know,” he said. After reading his comments from his UFC press conference and watching this video, it’s very obvious that his frustration with WWE runs deep and he’s never had a chance to truly get away from it all due to the trial. Punk also spoke about whether the trial has affected him heading into this fight with Mike Jackson at Saturday’s UFC 225 pay-per-view. Punk also noted that he told Dana White after his last fight that he would fight elsewhere if UFC opted to cut him. When it came to the “All In” event, he said it’s not happening. He said no one has straight up asked him to wrestle or made him a real offer. He said he doesn’t think he’s open to an offer, but added that it was tough to answer. He added that the answer would have been a firm no had the same question been asked a week earlier while he was going through the trial. Punk said something might come up and some fun might be had, but his focus is on his fight.
1. Although the conspiracy theorists will of course somehow suggest “they” delayed the trial to mess with his fight, they had no way of knowing when the fight was when the original lawsuit was brought to court…also, the delays had to be approved by a judge, so no, no conspiracy.
2. I find it hilarious Punk said “Money is just paper”….while being the same guy who basically after he got his a$$ kicked at his first UFC fight (which will happen again at his next) that he doesn’t care that he lost because he’s (and this is a quote) “laughing all the way to the bank.”