CM Punk Recalls Being Mocked in WWE For Icing His Knees, Says It Was a ‘Bully Culture’

Speaking on Cody and Jennifer Decker’s Swing and Mrs. podcast, CM Punk recalled being made fun of for trying to see to his physical well-being in WWE via icing and the like. Punk’s issues with how WWE took care of him physically are of course literally well-documented, having been part of a lawsuit filed against him and Colt Cabana after Punk talked about how WWE Dr. Chris Amann brushed off his concerns. This was a factor in his eventual walking away from the company.

Talking with the Deckers, Punk was asked about how he was able to take time to recuperate on the road and how he protected his own body, which led into a discussion about how the backstage “macho bulls**t” led to him being made fun of. Highlights and the full video are below:

On how he protected himself from injury while on the road: “While I was wrestling? I mean, nothing, I was young and stupid. I had no obligations. I wasn’t married, I didn’t have any kids. I bought a house in Chicago that I could just like, lock and leave and I was on the road 365 days a year. It’s 100% a lifestyle. I would do my best to eat healthy on the road, I would do my best to stretch as much as I could. I would warm up. And I would be made fun of backstage for icing my knees after matches and stuff like that.”

On why he got mocked for the icing: “It’s a bully culture. I remember somebody — every time I would ice my elbow, because I constantly had a chronically bad elbow. And I would ice my knees and that was more of a maintenance thing. After a while I did get a surgery on my knee. But they would always laugh and make fun of me. And they would look and point and say, ‘Oh, look, it’s DDP!’ And I’d be like, ‘Why are we making fun of somebody for icing?’ It was always the stupidest stuff. The bullies backstage, I would always think like — is that a weakness, really? And look at billion dollar NBA teams that are mandatory icing guys after games and stuff like that. But like, the macho bulls**t. I’m not a man because I’m icing my knees? Okay, cool.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Swing and Mrs. with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
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