CM Punk refers to himself as the voice of the voiceless, a mouthpiece for the unbelievable things that go on unchecked backstage in the wrestling business, many of which he laid out in the open in his 2011 pipe-bomb on RAW.
His infamous interview on Colt Cobana's Art of Wrestling podcast went a step further in revealing what it's really like behind the curtain in WWE and, specifically, what it's like to be CM Punk behind that curtain. Here's a definitive list of the most unbelievable backstage revelations about the Straight Edge Superstar that have come out over the years.
10 He Got Into a Fight With Teddy Hart Backstage At TNA
This is a controversial story. Different superstars have different takes on the incident, but it's a fact that Bret Hart's nephew Teddy and CM Punk had heat at TNA. According to an TNA backstage worker, Bill Behrens, he witnessed an altercation between the two superstars that had to be broken up by Sabu.
Behrens discussed the brawl on Hannibal TV during a discussion of who he thought would do better in MMA. "I could see a healthy Daniel Bryan going into MMA... But Punk was never really that guy, at least not in my impression," Behren claimed.
9 He Accidentally Knocked Out Michael Cole's Tooth
Michael Cole's match against Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII is legendary for all of the wrong reasons. But "the worst match Vince McMahon has ever witnessed," nearly didn't happen at all and not because it was an awful idea that should never have seen the light of day, but because CM Punk knocked Cole's tooth out when they were fooling around backstage a few hours beforehand.
Punk apparently offered to pay for his dental work but Cole was more worried about how he might look during his WrestleMania Moment. Ironically, he had another tooth knocked loose by a missile dropkick during the match itself.
8 He Pooped His Pants On Smackdown
Punk was suffering from a staph infection and had to take an antibiotic called Azithromycin, which has a laxative side-effect. And during a match against Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) on SmackDown he pooped his trunks.
Unbelievably, Punk joined an exclusive club that fateful night, as both Stone Cold and John Cena as well as a few others, have all claimed to have gone doo-doo in-ring in their careers.
7 WWE Reportedly Have No Interest In Him Wrestling For Them Ever Again
Punk's recent signing WWE's Backstage show has seen fans once again speculate over his return to the ring. It was even rumored that he was mentioned for WrestleMania 36. But according to backstage reports both Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman, as well as other superiors at the company have blacklisted Punk as a man "they just can't do business with." So it doesn't sound promising. That said, Punk did say he would never work with WWE in any shape or form ever again and yet here he is. Remember Bret after Montreal? Disgruntled wrestlers have a habit of returning to WWE and it's no secret that Triple H and Vince will always do whatever's best for business.
6 WWE Asked Him To Take Drug Tests
Punk is straight-edge. That's a shoot. WWE worked an entire angle around it, remember The Straight Edge Society? He's vocal about his reasons for being clean and has actively called out other wrestlers for not living the same lifestyle as him. Despite literally having "drug free" tattooed on his knuckles, WWE still asked him to take a mandatory drug test, not once, but twice. He was allegedly asked to retake one so that other stars who had previously failed one could be given a chance to erase their results.
5 He Used Backstage Heat To Get Over With Vince
On his podcast Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard, it was claimed that Punk used heat from other wrestlers backstage at WWE to get over with Vince as someone who was different from all the other superstars. Prichard said he always got along with Punk because of his love for the business, but it wasn't the same for others and that is definitely no longer the case for Vince.
But way before their fallout, Prichard managed to sell the the lonesome star to Vince after interviewing him about his tattoos and his straight-edge lifestyle. Apparently Vince was sold by the video. "All of the sudden people were like, 'well we've got to do something with him'," Prichard said.
4 A Backstage Misdiagnosis Nearly Killed Him
During his interviews on Cabana's podcast Punk stated the main reason for his leaving WWE as the misdiagnosis of a staph infection by one of the company's medical staff. A staph infection is a dangerous type of bacterial infection that can kill you or cause you to go blind if left unchecked. He later got into a legal battle with Cabana and the doctor in question over claims of negligence. But the fact stands that Punk definitely did wrestle with a staph infection for a considerable period of time and only stopped when his wife AJ Lee became concerned and sent him to a private doctor who confirmed the diagnosis.
3 Eddie Let Him Call A Match As A Rookie
Back in 2019, Rey Mysterio shared a memory on Instagram of a triple-threat match he had with Punk and the late Eddie Guerrero in an indie promotion in 2002. Punk commented on the post about their IWA match, saying that Eddie, a veteran and one of the greatest ring generals of all time, allowed Punk (then a relative rookie) to call the match with Rey.
Punk said it was "a pleasure" and "an honor" to be able to do that for Eddie, before finally adding that he missed the cruiserweight legend very much. Viva la raza!
2 He Didn't Practice The Pipe-Bomb
When asked whether he plans the in-jokes and subtle references to backstage politics in his promos, Punk replied, "No. Planning stuff out sucks."
Obviously the pipe-bomb was unscripted, in the sense that it wasn't supposed to happen. But the revelation that Punk wouldn't have rehearsed the legendary promo before performing it is kind of nuts when you consider the level of its depth and creativity.
"Being in a high-pressure situation with a live audience and a TV camera on you, it brings something out. It's very organic," Punk said.
1 He Didn't Want To Face Undertaker at WrestleMania 29
When all is said and done, Undertaker vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania 29 will be remembered as Undertaker's last great wrestling match at the PPV. And that's largely down to CM Punk's role in the build to it, as well as his unbelievable performance in the match itself. But apparently Punk didn't even want to get involved in the feud. On Cobana's podcast he said he felt there was "no future security" in the match because Undertaker only wrestled part-time and the payday for him (Punk) wasn't big enough.