wrestling / Columns

CM Punk: The Art of Forgiveness

June 8, 2018 | Posted by Steve Cook
CM Punk WWE AEW Image Credit: WWE

Most Thanksgivings don’t have a lot of online activity, at least when it comes to wrestling news. Wrestlers are at home with their families. Wrestling fans are at home with their families. Some of us are still surfing the web because we don’t want to deal with our families, but we still act like we enjoy being with our families by not posting much. It’s what we do to keep up appearances.

Thanksgiving 2014 was different. That was the day that CM Punk’s appearance on The Art of Wrestling dropped onto the interwebs. We hadn’t heard from the Chick Magnet (he testified that “CM” stood for that in court so I’m using it) all that much since his departure from WWE in January of that year. Everybody wanted to know what he had to say. It became the most downloaded wrestling podcast in history at the time.

It didn’t disappoint. Punk told his friend Colt Cabana everything people wanted to know about why he left WWE. He left no details out. It was a classic shoot interview from somebody that never ceased to be interesting on the microphone. Wrestling shoot interviews are at their best when people are being thrown under the bus, and Punk had several targets for his rage.

Triple H, Vince McMahon & The Ryback certainly got their share of verbal abuse, but one person took special offense to Punk’s assessment of his abilities. Dr. Chris Amann, WWE’s Senior Ringside Physician, bore much of Punk’s wrath for his medical condition during his last days with the company. Well, we didn’t know his name at the time. It wasn’t said on the podcast. People had to do some digging in order to figure it out.

Once Punk’s on-screen encounter with a doctor during the 2014 Royal Rumble was spotted, Amann’s name was sullied to the point where he had to file a lawsuit. This was somewhat a breach of the unwritten rules of wrestling. You can talk all the crap you want in shoot interviews with no fear of legal liability. At least, I assume this is an unwritten rule, because otherwise guys like Jim Cornette & New Jack would constantly be in court. Amann can be forgiven here because he’s not actually a wrestler, and therefore isn’t under the bounds of the rules.

The problem with Amann’s argument, and the problem that his legal team wasn’t able to cover up during the trial: He hasn’t really been damaged. He still has his job with WWE. He still works all the major shows as the top physician. WWE management still trusts him, as do their employees. Yeah, he got some mean stuff tweeted at him. Maybe there was a sign or two alluding to Punk’s criticisms. But let’s be honest. It’s not anything that the majority of WWE employees don’t face on a regular basis. Wrestling fans rip everybody in the business. Wrestlers. Referees. Ring Announcers. Promoters. Writers. Who in WWE hasn’t faced some sort of public criticism?

Some may say that Amann isn’t a public figure, so he shouldn’t be subject to the same ridicule as WWE employees regularly featured on television.. Honestly, in 2018, everybody is a public figure whether they like it or not. Privacy is pretty much non-existent. I would prefer privacy as well, but you’re on social media you’re a public figure. Amann has a <a href=https://twitter.com/WWEDocAmann>Twitter account</a>. He might also be on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat & Tout for all I know. Either way, he’s a public figure by 2018 standards.

Punk & Cabana didn’t have to pay Amann anything, but they’ll still have to pay their lawyers & lost out on time taken up by this case. Cabana had to cancel a booking last week due to the trial, and also could have better spent his time doing other things. Punk’s time would probably have been better spent preparing for his UFC fight on Saturday.

That’s right. CM Punk has a UFC fight on Saturday. Weird, isn’t it? After all these years it still doesn’t sound right to me.

CM Punk

One thing that’s struck me as interesting throughout all of this is public opinion. When CM Punk was an active performer, he was always popular with most of the Internet. He had his share of detractors just like anybody else, but he also had some of the most dedicated fans of anybody in the business. People either loved Punk or hated him. These days, it seems like everybody hates him.

My best friend is a great example. Back when we started going to Ring of Honor shows in the mid-2000s, he was a huge Punk fan. He stayed that way throughout Punk’s run in WWE. Once it ended, CM Punk was useless. He doesn’t have much good to say about the guy he followed from ROH to WWE.

I don’t have the hatred in my heart for CM Punk that a lot of you do. I think this is because I never had the amount of love for CM Punk that a lot of you did. His leaving pro wrestling behind hurt a lot of feelings out there. People get sensitive.

There’s only one way that CM Punk can make a majority of these lapsed fans happy: Go back to pro wrestling. If he re-embraces his wrestling roots, most of the people that have turned against him will re-accept him as their savior. They’ll deny it, but it’s true. The second CM Punk appears on WWE television, or at the All In show in Chicago, or wherever else pro wrestling is being held, the Internet will explode & people will be running to their closets to dig out their old Best in the World t-shirts.

You know it’ll happen. Remember when we thought Bret Hart wouldn’t make up with WWE? Or Bruno Sammartino? Or the Ultimate Warrior? Punk & WWE are obviously hot at each other right now, but there will come a time where they won’t be. Not anytime soon, mind you. I wouldn’t be putting money down on Punk showing up at WrestleMania next year.

He’ll come back though. It’s as obvious as the result of this case was. And when he does, you will love him again. You will forgive his transgression of leaving your favorite television show. You’ll allow him to entertain you again, and you’ll act like things were always ok. It’s what fans do when their hero returns home. It’s perfectly natural.

With this decision in court, CM Punk is one step closer to salvation in the eyes of wrestling fans. It’s coming..

article topics :

CM Punk, Steve Cook