The defiant, anti-authority CM Punk who once fought relentlessly for creative control appears to have given way to a different version of the man. In his place stands a more collaborative veteran, one who is willing to let others steer the direction—an evolution he outlined during Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s Pardon My Take.
While promoting WWE’s upcoming WrestlePalooza event, Punk explained that he no longer pitches ideas for himself. Instead, he embraces a philosophy he credits to John Cena.
“I think there’s a little bit of magic that can happen, because, to me, there’s a lot of great minds that I work with,” Punk said. “There’s a lot of people who have more experience than me, and maybe back in the day I would say, ‘No, I know what to do.’ Now I’m more—I guess I’m just kind of chill now. Whereas before it was more rebellious. And now, to me there’s a magic about maybe taking something that you didn’t see or you didn’t think of—somebody else’s idea—and going, ‘Oh, you know what, yeah, okay, I can do that with this. And, hey, what if we did this?’ I don’t really pitch things, and I’ve taken a page out of Cena’s book—they deal ’em, I play ’em.”
This shift comes at a pivotal moment. Punk is preparing to team with his wife, AJ Lee, in her first match in nearly a decade. Lee returned on last week’s SmackDown, and Punk has described the chance to share the ring with her again as “a dream come true.” The pair will face Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at WrestlePalooza, adding another chapter to Punk’s ongoing feud with Rollins that has defined much of WWE programming over the past year.
Punk also reflected on his in-ring character. Long considered more effective as a heel, he acknowledged that nostalgia and fan respect have altered that dynamic. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to be a bad guy again, ’cause it seems I’ve kind of leveled up,” he admitted.
Still, his candor remains intact. Asked for his thoughts on WWE branding WrestlePalooza as a flagship event, Punk didn’t hold back. “That might actually be the first time I’ve said it. It’s a ridiculous name.”