Jim Ross On His Relationship With CM Punk, Punk’s Initial Issues With Ken Kennedy

On the latest Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed his own relationship with CM Punk as well as that of Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson. Of course, Punk is famous for being very stong-minded backstage and Anderson has discussed how they initially had issues over a promo Punk cut on him that hit too close to home. They eventually got past it and became good friends. JR was asked by co-host Conrad Thompson about Punk’s attitude and took the opportunity to discuss his own relationship with Punk as well as Anderson’s. Highlights and the full podcast are below:

On why Punk rubbed people the wrong way: “He was honest, and he was caustic. He played his character very well, that was his persona. In real life, Phil Brooks has an opinion. In real life, Phil Brooks is a smart guy. And he had no intimidation of anybody else, he’s a fearless son of a gun so he had no issues expressing his true opinion within the storyline confines of pro wrestling. So sometimes CM Punk was maybe, for some guys’ taste, too honest.”

On his own relationship with Punk: “I never had a cross word with him. Never. I’ve always respected him, I still do. And it’s a matter again Conrad, it’s just like life. It’s like you and your mortgage company. You can’t close mortgages if you can’t communicate. If your team can’t communicate, Conrad and family are screwed. They’ve got to be able to communicate, and I always felt like if I could listen to a guy long enough to feel his good things and bad things, his likes and don’t likes, than I could communicate with him. And that’s what I did with Phil.”

On Punk’s initial issues with Kennedy: “He’s outspoken, spoke his opinion. He had very strong beliefs on what pro wrestling should be, and did not mind sharing that even though it might be a contrarian opinion to the establishment. That was not his issue. He was gonna stand by his principles, stand by what he believed in, and share that with anybody that would listen. And I think that he got Kennedy’s attention. Because let’s face it. At that time, CM Punk was far advanced skillset-wise than Mr. Kennedy. Far over. But so he just, far as motivating him, Punk was probably motivating Kennedy, the way I see it. And it worked! So then they end up becoming friends and now, Punk and Kennedy could share information on a positive level out of respect as opposed to, ‘Let’s get your s**t together.'”

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