WWE TV, Rumours and Discussion
- Thread starter DarkPhoenix
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TooUglyForFugly
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I do approve of this.
* he's a legend
Quivorir
"Unhinged"
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Seriously are you campaigners taking the piss? 90% of the "spoilers" arent even spoilers and ffs we are in a spoilers thread.
pantskyle
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Smartys Power
Brownlow Medallist
JBL pretty much just says/does what everyone is thinking about this company.
I do approve of this.
Quivorir
"Unhinged"
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Too obvious Pants.
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K.
That was totally worth the notification.
Would really enjoy hearing your opinion on who else, if there is anyone, on the current roster would be a better fit to have a match with a dude who predates even 2004 for relevance....
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From all that it's been a pretty underwhelming and terrible year. The end of the streak was ofcourse unbelievable at the time but in retrospect quite underwhelming in terms of the story of the match itself and Undertaker's lack of farewell. The Shield break up was very good at the time but was only followed up with Ambrose chasing Rollins around with tomato sauce. Bryan's win was very cartoonish and his whole title reign was underwhelming. Again Lesnar destroying Cena at Summerslam was great but was followed up with a terribly overbooked match where Cena closed the gap on Lesnar within a month, not to mention Lesnar disappearing from screen for months despite the "30 day title defense" ruling being used in the very same year. And finally Sting's return and stare down was very cool albiet wasted on Ziggler. Once again it's just a let down that there will be no follow up to it for months.
Overall it's been a year that has teased us all year and never really delivered on any of its promise. There hasn't been a decent PPV since Summerslam and only a few have lived up to PPV standards.
TooUglyForFugly
Brownlow Medallist
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Bryan was injured. What do you want from him? Taking painkiller meds until he's doped to the gills and doing an Eddie?
I want to listen to CM Punk on Colt Cabana's podcast but ITunes can go to hell and the link on CC's website aint working. Go figure.
Punk apparently has some major health concerns with staph infections or something like that, though. Had to read from another website.
I want to listen to CM Punk on Colt Cabana's podcast but ITunes can go to hell and the link on CC's website aint working. Go figure.
Punk apparently has some major health concerns with staph infections or something like that, though. Had to read from another website.
Cleavy
Hall of Famer
I just d/l'ed it from sendspace
TooUglyForFugly
Brownlow Medallist
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Noice.
E92_
Premium Platinum
Is there a streaming option or can you only DL it?
Cleavy
Hall of Famer
usually there's streaming, but their servers are probably getting hammered. sometimes the downloads drop out at the best of times
E92_
Premium Platinum
From what I've read it sounds like an interesting interview, looking forward to it.
timtamWB
Resident Biscuit
Ambrose/Rollins has been the best feud of the year.
Bryan's win was amazing and one of the best WM moments in recent history, and I would honestly say up there with the best of all time.
Sting's return "wasted on Ziggler"? What are you on?
Both Hell in a Cell and Night of Champions were good. Survivor Series I enjoyed but was mostly a one match PPV, although I liked the tag team championship match and the Ambrose/Wyatt match.
Seriously if you hate the product this much, do us a favour and stop watching.
JordanWCE
Norm Smith Medallist
E92_
Premium Platinum
Colt/Punk podcast:
- Aug 2, 2007
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heres a summary of the punk podcast that i stole from another forum
Part 2 with e-mail questions next week.
Notes some positive results from his departure.
Punk wanted to have sponsors on his shorts, and they turned it down. Then Brock did it.
Punk wanted to escort Chael Sonnen to the Octagon, and they didn't let him do it
Punk wants to do movies but they keep giving his roles to other guys. Then when they gave him 12 Rounds II, he hedged because they filmed during a European tour.
"Pro Wrestling was awesome when it was me and you (...) going down to Ian's (...) pissing in a community bucket"
Punk thinks he should have made 10s of millions.
Punk thinks the WWE's concussion tests are bullshit
Punk talks about wanting to have a 3-way with Rock/Cena, or face Undertaker at WM29 for the title.
Punk got cleared to wrestle without talking to a doctor (because a WWE doc called James Andrews)
Some Nexus guy poked Punk in the eyes post-laser eye surgery during the Nexus debut
"It seemed like there wasn't a place for me in the WWE" said the guy who was WWE champ for 434 days.
Bagging on Writers.
Lack of long term planning, except for Cena.
Punk didn't want to turn heel on Rock. If Punk didn't turn heel, he drops the title to Daniel Bryan.
Punk suggested losing his WM29 main event quick to just be in the main event.
The Shield was CM Punk's idea. He declined being paired with Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins.
His first Shield idea was Rollins, Ambrose and Chris Hero.
Then they stole the Shield idea from CM Punk.
Working with Ryback took 20 years off of Punk's life.
Vince booked Punk with Ryback 2-3 weeks after Punk had a surgery.
"Explain to me how losing to a 45yo man who wrestles once a year is gonna make me the hottest heel"
He didn't wanna re-watch Punk/Taker despite Vince's insistence.
Punk is mad that he missed the final Stanley Cup game to return to the WWE.
Punk doesn't think that Rollins/Ambrose have a philosophy like his.
Ranting about losing to part-timers.
Mad about losing to Brock at Summerslam
Mad about working with Ryback. Wanted to work with Curtis Axel.
Ryback hurt Punk again. He thought Ryback did it on purpose.
He went to Europe post-concussion
Punk s**t his pants on the air on Smackdown due to antibiotics.
He blocked the WWE Twitter too.
Complaints about pay and WM Pay. Wanted Taker/Brock/HHH/Rock/Cena money for WM29.
Cites buyrates.
Punk had a lump on his back. A "fatty deposit". Benoit used to pop zits. Doc didn't wanna remove deposit. It was on the back of the waistband of his tights.
Rusev was scared of Punk at RR14. His first idea was stomping Punk.
Kofi gave Punk a concussion at RR14.
He was really mad the night after RR14.
Retelling of his meeting with Vince/HHH post-RR14.
Resents losing to HHH at NOC in 2011.
Hugged Vince, who had tears in his eyes.
Visited AJ's Patrick Bateman-looking Doctor.
Turns out that fatty deposit was a staph infection/MRSA. Whoops. Turns out Punk should have died from that.
Punk was suspended for 2 months by Vince post-walkout. Vince called it a sabbatical. Punk doesn't get his royalty check. Found an uncashed royalty check. Found an uncashed $10K check at Harley Race's check once. Called Tom about his check. Nobody talks to him to send him royalties. People butt-dialing CM Punk from the office.
Triple H texted Punk in June. 2 days before his wedding. He demanded royalties. Punk got fired on his wedding day. He was found in breach of contract, which he says can't be done retroactively. UFC is in his no-compete. Called a lawyer. Got a settlement from the WWE for everything he wanted (including those 2 royalty checks!). Got a video game check too. No non-disparagement clause.
"There's no working relationship and there never will be again"
Speaks about being illegally listed as an independent contractor and mentions a union.
Punk's writing comic books now.
He didn't quit, he got fired. After he quit showing up.
Not talking to guys with agendas.
Talked about not taking picture with a guy at intermission at a Blackhawks game because the guy was rude.
He paid for a guy's pancakes once.
Notes some positive results from his departure.
Punk wanted to have sponsors on his shorts, and they turned it down. Then Brock did it.
Punk wanted to escort Chael Sonnen to the Octagon, and they didn't let him do it
Punk wants to do movies but they keep giving his roles to other guys. Then when they gave him 12 Rounds II, he hedged because they filmed during a European tour.
"Pro Wrestling was awesome when it was me and you (...) going down to Ian's (...) pissing in a community bucket"
Punk thinks he should have made 10s of millions.
Punk thinks the WWE's concussion tests are bullshit
Punk talks about wanting to have a 3-way with Rock/Cena, or face Undertaker at WM29 for the title.
Punk got cleared to wrestle without talking to a doctor (because a WWE doc called James Andrews)
Some Nexus guy poked Punk in the eyes post-laser eye surgery during the Nexus debut
"It seemed like there wasn't a place for me in the WWE" said the guy who was WWE champ for 434 days.
Bagging on Writers.
Lack of long term planning, except for Cena.
Punk didn't want to turn heel on Rock. If Punk didn't turn heel, he drops the title to Daniel Bryan.
Punk suggested losing his WM29 main event quick to just be in the main event.
The Shield was CM Punk's idea. He declined being paired with Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins.
His first Shield idea was Rollins, Ambrose and Chris Hero.
Then they stole the Shield idea from CM Punk.
Working with Ryback took 20 years off of Punk's life.
Vince booked Punk with Ryback 2-3 weeks after Punk had a surgery.
"Explain to me how losing to a 45yo man who wrestles once a year is gonna make me the hottest heel"
He didn't wanna re-watch Punk/Taker despite Vince's insistence.
Punk is mad that he missed the final Stanley Cup game to return to the WWE.
Punk doesn't think that Rollins/Ambrose have a philosophy like his.
Ranting about losing to part-timers.
Mad about losing to Brock at Summerslam
Mad about working with Ryback. Wanted to work with Curtis Axel.
Ryback hurt Punk again. He thought Ryback did it on purpose.
He went to Europe post-concussion
Punk s**t his pants on the air on Smackdown due to antibiotics.
He blocked the WWE Twitter too.
Complaints about pay and WM Pay. Wanted Taker/Brock/HHH/Rock/Cena money for WM29.
Cites buyrates.
Punk had a lump on his back. A "fatty deposit". Benoit used to pop zits. Doc didn't wanna remove deposit. It was on the back of the waistband of his tights.
Rusev was scared of Punk at RR14. His first idea was stomping Punk.
Kofi gave Punk a concussion at RR14.
He was really mad the night after RR14.
Retelling of his meeting with Vince/HHH post-RR14.
Resents losing to HHH at NOC in 2011.
Hugged Vince, who had tears in his eyes.
Visited AJ's Patrick Bateman-looking Doctor.
Turns out that fatty deposit was a staph infection/MRSA. Whoops. Turns out Punk should have died from that.
Punk was suspended for 2 months by Vince post-walkout. Vince called it a sabbatical. Punk doesn't get his royalty check. Found an uncashed royalty check. Found an uncashed $10K check at Harley Race's check once. Called Tom about his check. Nobody talks to him to send him royalties. People butt-dialing CM Punk from the office.
Triple H texted Punk in June. 2 days before his wedding. He demanded royalties. Punk got fired on his wedding day. He was found in breach of contract, which he says can't be done retroactively. UFC is in his no-compete. Called a lawyer. Got a settlement from the WWE for everything he wanted (including those 2 royalty checks!). Got a video game check too. No non-disparagement clause.
"There's no working relationship and there never will be again"
Speaks about being illegally listed as an independent contractor and mentions a union.
Punk's writing comic books now.
He didn't quit, he got fired. After he quit showing up.
Not talking to guys with agendas.
Talked about not taking picture with a guy at intermission at a Blackhawks game because the guy was rude.
He paid for a guy's pancakes once.
Cleavy
Hall of Famer
it was an interesting show
PVF
Call Me?
There are multiple stories in the interview where Punk calls Vince McMahon “out of touch”, and gave some great examples of how the company would take his creative ideas and give them away to other top stars. Prior to the Royal Rumble he wanted to walk UFC star Chael Sonnen to the ring for his fight in Chicago, but McMahon nixed the idea because he thought the sport was “barbaric”. Then several weeks later, Triple H ended up walking Floyd Mayweather to the ring for his fight.
“I’m talking to Vince, and I tell him that since I cut that promo, we got more mainstream attention. Everyone wanted to interview me, whether it was GQ Magazine, the cover of USA Today … I had legitimate companies approaching me, just wanting to give me money to sponsor me. I had a big money deal on the table, and I went to Vince … I told him my idea, said I wanted to do this sponsorship thing. I deserved it. I got all these new eyes on the product, and he says ‘nope, you can’t do that. Sponsors for Raw would get mad, the other wrestlers would get mad.’ A year later, Brock Lesnar comes back, and the mother-f***** has sponsors.”
Regarding the WWE Network launch and how it effected the wrestlers’ bottom line, Punk stated that Vince had no clue how it would work for months in advance, and would laugh off questions from the roster.
“Shouldn’t you figure that out before I work on that PPV, so you can pay me accordingly? And nobody is asking questions because you’ll get punished. You get left off the PPV, they’ll take you off of Raw and they’ll take you off the house shows, and now you’re not making any money. WWE doesn’t do anything to protect the wrestlers, they do things to protect themselves. They do it so that it looks good to the public.”
“I’m talking to Vince, and I tell him that since I cut that promo, we got more mainstream attention. Everyone wanted to interview me, whether it was GQ Magazine, the cover of USA Today … I had legitimate companies approaching me, just wanting to give me money to sponsor me. I had a big money deal on the table, and I went to Vince … I told him my idea, said I wanted to do this sponsorship thing. I deserved it. I got all these new eyes on the product, and he says ‘nope, you can’t do that. Sponsors for Raw would get mad, the other wrestlers would get mad.’ A year later, Brock Lesnar comes back, and the mother-f***** has sponsors.”
Regarding the WWE Network launch and how it effected the wrestlers’ bottom line, Punk stated that Vince had no clue how it would work for months in advance, and would laugh off questions from the roster.
“Shouldn’t you figure that out before I work on that PPV, so you can pay me accordingly? And nobody is asking questions because you’ll get punished. You get left off the PPV, they’ll take you off of Raw and they’ll take you off the house shows, and now you’re not making any money. WWE doesn’t do anything to protect the wrestlers, they do things to protect themselves. They do it so that it looks good to the public.”
Cleavy
Hall of Famer
the story about the doctor with his staph infection was the really interesting bit
JordanWCE
Norm Smith Medallist
Loved the bit about the piss test, Punk refuses to take it and asks HHH if he's taken it - no response. Reminds me of when they asked Steiner to take it and he said he'd take it if HHH would, which he never did.
PVF
Call Me?
For the people that don't want or have time to listen to the podcast. Not sure if spoiler material or not.
Former WWE star C.M. Punk says he is never returning to WWE, there is no working relationship with WWE following a legal settlement, his health was in jeopardy at the end of his WWE run, and the last straw for him was being fired on his wedding day.
For the first time since leaving WWE after the Royal Rumble in January, Punk gave his account of what led to his decision to leave WWE, what happened after the Rumble, and why he will never return to WWE in a two-hour interview with his close friend Colt Cabana on Cabana's "Art of Wrestling" podcast released HERE on Thanksgiving Thursday.
Punk's story starts at the famous Money in the Bank 2011 PPV in Chicago when "I talked myself into giving it the old college try" returning to WWE when his contract expired. Punk noted he was miserable at the time, but decided to continue pushing forward with the mindset that he could create change, he was going to be a locker room leader, and he was going to main-event WrestleMania.
Punk detailed events leading up to MITB - such as the Nexus Invasion angle sprung on him right after he had multiple surgeries - and all of the major events from MITB 2011 to the Royal Rumble 2014 that built like a fire ready to explode until the final meeting with Vince McMahon and Triple H at Raw following the Rumble.
Punk noted that at the time of the Rumble, he was severely injured, recently concussed, and had an unidentified swollen mass on his back - that turned out to be staph infection - that he was concerned about. At the Rumble, Punk suffered another concussion, prompting WWE to run an angle where Kane eliminated him from the Rumble despite Punk sending a message that he would quit if Kane even touched him. (It was nothing against Kane (Glenn Jacobs), he just happened to be the person called down to eliminate him.)
In-between the Rumble and Raw, Punk said he asked himself, "What am I doing with my life?" as he looked at his future wife, A.J. Lee, in bed next to him. "It was a big moment of clarity," Punk said.
Punk recalled going to Raw TV, where WWE wanted him to take a concussion test, and he had it. This was because Punk called WWE's test "bulls---" the previous year after being concussed. He was also concerned about the mass on his back and the effect of multiple injuries on his health. "I'm f----- sick. Help me," he shouted at management.
WWE also wanted Punk to pee in a cup for a drug test, which set off Punk because he felt like the Wellness Policy was amended to allow wrestlers with two strikes to "work off a strike" in order to avoid termination.
As for the actual Raw TV, Punk said WWE kept changing what he was going to be doing on the show. This captured one of the big themes of the interview that WWE continually changed plans on him from MITB 2011 to this point at the Rumble; he felt like Vince McMahon had no long-term plans for wrestlers other than John Cena.
All of this came to a head, leading to Punk pulling aside Vince McMahon and Triple H for a meeting that led to his exit from WWE. Punk recalled to Cabana the Final Meeting at the post-Rumble Raw:
"I looked Vince in the eye and I said, 'I do not love this anymore. I'm f----- sick, I'm f------ hurt, I'm f------ confused, I don't know as a business what we're doing anymore. Every day you tell me it's a team effort, but every day it's an individual effort by me to find what's necessary to even f-n come here. It's not fun. I have zero passion for this. I'm concussed, I'm hurt, and alls you care about is what segment I'm in and how soon I can get my gear on and how soon I can pee in this cup and I don't want to do it anymore.'
"I mentioned something about the piss test and Hunter said, 'Well, you know, Dave (Batista) just took the same piss test you did.' And I just looked at Hunter and went, 'Well, did you?' And he had nothing to say. I said (to McMahon), 'Look, I thought when I re-signed three years ago I told you if I couldn't be all that I said I could be, you could f----- fire me. And, if I was a fraud and anything less and fell short of the f------ mark - I said, 'I sold more shirts than John Cena until I turned heel for you. You said you owed me one. I worked guys that were dangerous and you said you owed me one. I did all these things and alls I wanted was the main event of WrestleMania. And it's fine if you don't think that is me and I'm not the caliber of that Superstar, but then you need to f------ fire me. Because I do not want to be here and I do not want to be anything else.' And then I will go somewhere else and get over because I can.
"You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment, I no longer want to be here. It boggles my mind how Daniel Bryan has not figured into your plans to be in the main event of WrestleMania because this is his year. Just like two years ago when it was my year and I was white f----- hot, just like he is now, and what did you do? You fed me to this guy.' And I pointed to right at Hunter. Vince was like, 'This is the concussion talking. I can't believe you're saying any of this. It is a main event - you're wrestling Triple H."
"I politely turned to Hunter and I said, 'With all due respect, I do not need to wrestle you. You need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would have been best for business. But, you had to come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to Truth and Miz. It didn't make any business sense and now I'm in the position where I can tell you I don't have to nor do I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. I don't care if I was supposed to win - which I was - I didn't want to give him the f------ privilege.
"I said a lot of s--- in there. I told them again - and Hunter was gritting his teeth, and he never liked me. Me and him in a room together - it was always negative vibes." Punk recalled Hunter saying that Punk was in a WrestleMania "main event" last year, but Punk said there is only one main event, no matter how WWE tries to market it to the public.
"Hunter told me I was in the main event because I wrestled The Undertaker," Punk continued. "I turned to him and said, 'Tell me I got paid the same amount of money as you, Brock, Cena, Rock, or whoever.' And once again, he had nothing to say. I was like, 'I'm out of here.' Vince, with tears in his eyes, went in for a hug, and it was like a reluctant patting on the back, then I looked at Hunter and he stuck his hand out and I shook his hand. I said, 'Goodbye,' and I walked out."
Punk noted he did not officially quit when he walked out, which factored into "when the story got really good."
First, Vince McMahon texted him one week later asking if he was ready to return, which was a sign of McMahon not getting the message. Punk then recalled visiting a doctor recommended by A.J. Lee. The doctor determined the mass on his back was "a full-blown staph infection." Punk said the doctor cut it, squeezed the puss out, patched it up, and gave him three months of antibiotics. Asked why antibiotics given to him by WWE's doctors did not work, Punk recalled the doctor saying that staph requires a different type of antibiotic to kill the infection. (WWE's doctors refused to identity what was on Punk's back, according to Punk.)
When Punk told the doctor that he worked with the mass on his back for three months, Punk said the doctor told him: "You should be dead. You could have died."
Punk then noted McMahon contacted him to tell him he's suspended for two months, which would have been until the day after WrestleMania. Then, once the two months came up, no one contacted him from WWE's office, but McMahon said on an investor call that he was "on a sabbatical." Then, the royalty checks stopped coming.
The royalty checks became a big part of the "final straw," as Punk recalled finding a royalty check from last year that he forgot to cash. This led to a back-and-forth with WWE's talent relations and legal department on getting last year's check re-issued and royalty checks for 2014. After it appeared both sides were going to have a stalemate until his contract expired, Punk recalled getting a text from Triple H on June 11 - two days before his wedding with A.J.
Punk said he told Hunter his situation - he was getting married, he was going on his honeymoon, and they could talk out the situation when he returned home from the honeymoon. Then, on the day of his wedding, Punk said he received a FedEx with termination papers.
"I was fired on my wedding day," Punk said. Punk said that pushed him over the edge, especially clauses in the letter saying he forfeits all royalties and WWE claims a breach of contract retro-active to January. After that, Punk said he found a lawyer in Los Angeles who helped him contend WWE's claims.
Punk said he cannot talk about the terms of the settlement, but he "got everything I wanted and more." He added that WWE wanted a joint statement and non-disparagement clause, but Punk said he did not say a word about WWE after leaving the company, and WWE called him a quitter in his hometown of Chicago, so he felt like WWE owed him an apology.
Punk added that WWE kept telling his lawyer that his client, Punk, was going to TNA, but his lawyer noted Punk "absolutely despises pro wrestling" and he's "never going to wrestle again."
Punk described WWE as "bullies" who want to feel like they've won something, so WWE has a line of Punk merchandise on their Shop website because they already produced the merchandise that Punk is allowing them to sell as part of the settlement.
"There is no working relationship, and there never will be ever again. That wedding day thing was pretty ridiculous," Punk said.
Punk also claimed that WWE was "terrified" of him taking the company to court over the independent contract label for wrestlers and "ruining the way they do business."
Punk added, "I would like to see them get some sort of union for the boys and girls, that way I know they're serious about protecting them from concussions and other things. There should be something like that in place, but there's not... I don't like it, and I don't have to like it. I'm out and I'm focused on s--- that makes me happy."
For the first time since leaving WWE after the Royal Rumble in January, Punk gave his account of what led to his decision to leave WWE, what happened after the Rumble, and why he will never return to WWE in a two-hour interview with his close friend Colt Cabana on Cabana's "Art of Wrestling" podcast released HERE on Thanksgiving Thursday.
Punk's story starts at the famous Money in the Bank 2011 PPV in Chicago when "I talked myself into giving it the old college try" returning to WWE when his contract expired. Punk noted he was miserable at the time, but decided to continue pushing forward with the mindset that he could create change, he was going to be a locker room leader, and he was going to main-event WrestleMania.
Punk detailed events leading up to MITB - such as the Nexus Invasion angle sprung on him right after he had multiple surgeries - and all of the major events from MITB 2011 to the Royal Rumble 2014 that built like a fire ready to explode until the final meeting with Vince McMahon and Triple H at Raw following the Rumble.
Punk noted that at the time of the Rumble, he was severely injured, recently concussed, and had an unidentified swollen mass on his back - that turned out to be staph infection - that he was concerned about. At the Rumble, Punk suffered another concussion, prompting WWE to run an angle where Kane eliminated him from the Rumble despite Punk sending a message that he would quit if Kane even touched him. (It was nothing against Kane (Glenn Jacobs), he just happened to be the person called down to eliminate him.)
In-between the Rumble and Raw, Punk said he asked himself, "What am I doing with my life?" as he looked at his future wife, A.J. Lee, in bed next to him. "It was a big moment of clarity," Punk said.
Punk recalled going to Raw TV, where WWE wanted him to take a concussion test, and he had it. This was because Punk called WWE's test "bulls---" the previous year after being concussed. He was also concerned about the mass on his back and the effect of multiple injuries on his health. "I'm f----- sick. Help me," he shouted at management.
WWE also wanted Punk to pee in a cup for a drug test, which set off Punk because he felt like the Wellness Policy was amended to allow wrestlers with two strikes to "work off a strike" in order to avoid termination.
As for the actual Raw TV, Punk said WWE kept changing what he was going to be doing on the show. This captured one of the big themes of the interview that WWE continually changed plans on him from MITB 2011 to this point at the Rumble; he felt like Vince McMahon had no long-term plans for wrestlers other than John Cena.
All of this came to a head, leading to Punk pulling aside Vince McMahon and Triple H for a meeting that led to his exit from WWE. Punk recalled to Cabana the Final Meeting at the post-Rumble Raw:
"I looked Vince in the eye and I said, 'I do not love this anymore. I'm f----- sick, I'm f------ hurt, I'm f------ confused, I don't know as a business what we're doing anymore. Every day you tell me it's a team effort, but every day it's an individual effort by me to find what's necessary to even f-n come here. It's not fun. I have zero passion for this. I'm concussed, I'm hurt, and alls you care about is what segment I'm in and how soon I can get my gear on and how soon I can pee in this cup and I don't want to do it anymore.'
"I mentioned something about the piss test and Hunter said, 'Well, you know, Dave (Batista) just took the same piss test you did.' And I just looked at Hunter and went, 'Well, did you?' And he had nothing to say. I said (to McMahon), 'Look, I thought when I re-signed three years ago I told you if I couldn't be all that I said I could be, you could f----- fire me. And, if I was a fraud and anything less and fell short of the f------ mark - I said, 'I sold more shirts than John Cena until I turned heel for you. You said you owed me one. I worked guys that were dangerous and you said you owed me one. I did all these things and alls I wanted was the main event of WrestleMania. And it's fine if you don't think that is me and I'm not the caliber of that Superstar, but then you need to f------ fire me. Because I do not want to be here and I do not want to be anything else.' And then I will go somewhere else and get over because I can.
"You have shackled me, you have creatively stifled me, you have made this a very toxic environment, I no longer want to be here. It boggles my mind how Daniel Bryan has not figured into your plans to be in the main event of WrestleMania because this is his year. Just like two years ago when it was my year and I was white f----- hot, just like he is now, and what did you do? You fed me to this guy.' And I pointed to right at Hunter. Vince was like, 'This is the concussion talking. I can't believe you're saying any of this. It is a main event - you're wrestling Triple H."
"I politely turned to Hunter and I said, 'With all due respect, I do not need to wrestle you. You need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would have been best for business. But, you had to come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to Truth and Miz. It didn't make any business sense and now I'm in the position where I can tell you I don't have to nor do I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. I don't care if I was supposed to win - which I was - I didn't want to give him the f------ privilege.
"I said a lot of s--- in there. I told them again - and Hunter was gritting his teeth, and he never liked me. Me and him in a room together - it was always negative vibes." Punk recalled Hunter saying that Punk was in a WrestleMania "main event" last year, but Punk said there is only one main event, no matter how WWE tries to market it to the public.
"Hunter told me I was in the main event because I wrestled The Undertaker," Punk continued. "I turned to him and said, 'Tell me I got paid the same amount of money as you, Brock, Cena, Rock, or whoever.' And once again, he had nothing to say. I was like, 'I'm out of here.' Vince, with tears in his eyes, went in for a hug, and it was like a reluctant patting on the back, then I looked at Hunter and he stuck his hand out and I shook his hand. I said, 'Goodbye,' and I walked out."
Punk noted he did not officially quit when he walked out, which factored into "when the story got really good."
First, Vince McMahon texted him one week later asking if he was ready to return, which was a sign of McMahon not getting the message. Punk then recalled visiting a doctor recommended by A.J. Lee. The doctor determined the mass on his back was "a full-blown staph infection." Punk said the doctor cut it, squeezed the puss out, patched it up, and gave him three months of antibiotics. Asked why antibiotics given to him by WWE's doctors did not work, Punk recalled the doctor saying that staph requires a different type of antibiotic to kill the infection. (WWE's doctors refused to identity what was on Punk's back, according to Punk.)
When Punk told the doctor that he worked with the mass on his back for three months, Punk said the doctor told him: "You should be dead. You could have died."
Punk then noted McMahon contacted him to tell him he's suspended for two months, which would have been until the day after WrestleMania. Then, once the two months came up, no one contacted him from WWE's office, but McMahon said on an investor call that he was "on a sabbatical." Then, the royalty checks stopped coming.
The royalty checks became a big part of the "final straw," as Punk recalled finding a royalty check from last year that he forgot to cash. This led to a back-and-forth with WWE's talent relations and legal department on getting last year's check re-issued and royalty checks for 2014. After it appeared both sides were going to have a stalemate until his contract expired, Punk recalled getting a text from Triple H on June 11 - two days before his wedding with A.J.
Punk said he told Hunter his situation - he was getting married, he was going on his honeymoon, and they could talk out the situation when he returned home from the honeymoon. Then, on the day of his wedding, Punk said he received a FedEx with termination papers.
"I was fired on my wedding day," Punk said. Punk said that pushed him over the edge, especially clauses in the letter saying he forfeits all royalties and WWE claims a breach of contract retro-active to January. After that, Punk said he found a lawyer in Los Angeles who helped him contend WWE's claims.
Punk said he cannot talk about the terms of the settlement, but he "got everything I wanted and more." He added that WWE wanted a joint statement and non-disparagement clause, but Punk said he did not say a word about WWE after leaving the company, and WWE called him a quitter in his hometown of Chicago, so he felt like WWE owed him an apology.
Punk added that WWE kept telling his lawyer that his client, Punk, was going to TNA, but his lawyer noted Punk "absolutely despises pro wrestling" and he's "never going to wrestle again."
Punk described WWE as "bullies" who want to feel like they've won something, so WWE has a line of Punk merchandise on their Shop website because they already produced the merchandise that Punk is allowing them to sell as part of the settlement.
"There is no working relationship, and there never will be ever again. That wedding day thing was pretty ridiculous," Punk said.
Punk also claimed that WWE was "terrified" of him taking the company to court over the independent contract label for wrestlers and "ruining the way they do business."
Punk added, "I would like to see them get some sort of union for the boys and girls, that way I know they're serious about protecting them from concussions and other things. There should be something like that in place, but there's not... I don't like it, and I don't have to like it. I'm out and I'm focused on s--- that makes me happy."
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