When CM Punk eventually retires, he will go down as a legend of the business given what he has achieved since his debut back in 1997. The stars of today already turn to him for advice on how to improve their own abilities, a situation Punk himself knows very well as he was fortunate enough to work with a number of performers who have since gone on to be WWE Hall of Famers early in his career. It’s these moments that Punk talked about in a recent interview with “Inside The Ropes,” stating that he has always tried to elevate himself to the level of the people he worked with, even if they were far superior in their abilities.
“I’ve always tried to rise to the level of the legends that I’ve worked with, you know, and early in my career, when I got to work with a guy like Eddie Guerrero, like, you know, I realized, like, real fast there was such a talent and experience disparity that any time, any chance I got to work with a legend, whether it was doing something dark with Stone Cold or doing something with Bret [Hart], I would always try to work with them as much as I could. Like, ‘Hey Bret you want to put me in the Sharpshooter?’ you know? Getting to work with Legends like Rey [Mysterio] and all that.”
Punk has been very open about how he thought he was a very good wrestler until he got in the ring with Guerrero for the first time, something that motivated him to improve and potentially reach Guerrero’s level for the next time they fought. However, by the time Punk made it to the WWE main roster in 2006, Guerrero had tragically passed away less than a year earlier.
CM Punk Wants Everyone To Be Motivated
Now that Punk is in the position Guerrero was in when they first crossed paths back in 2002, he is determined to bring greatness out of everyone he works with in order to deliver a great show, while also wanting the next generation to step up so that they can surpass Punk and his generation with ideas he could only dream of.
“I always tried to step up. So it’s not so much I’m trying to force other people to step up, I just think we all recognize that, you know, this is fleeting; I could step outside, get hit by a bus, so we all want everything we’re doing to be at a very high level, you know, we set the bar pretty high for ourselves. So I think we’re all chasing that; we’re all trying to… I’m trying to rise to other people’s levels; if they’re trying to rise to whatever they perceive mine to be, great. Then we just have a bunch of motivated people that want to put out the best possible product.”
Punk has been a regular face at the WWE Performance Center since his return to the company, helping the stars of tomorrow perfect their craft. So much so that Shawn Michaels was even asked about the possibility of Punk running the “WWE NXT” brand when “The Heartbreak Kid” chooses to step aside. Michaels stated that he can absolutely see why Punk would want to step into such a role, explaining that he never envisioned himself running a brand like “NXT,” but being at the WWE Performance Center and seeing everyone develop is too exciting to turn down.
Please credit “Inside The Ropes” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.