It has been years since CM Punk parted ways with WWE and he has been doing well for himself. He now looks at the company from a clearer perspective and understands the absurdities that WWE superstars are told in the company.
During his time speaking at Starrcast III, CM Punk discussed wrestling culture when it came to getting time off. He said that the idea to work when someone is injured can be traced back to an old mindset in professional wrestling, but that lifestyle is no longer needed.
“I think in wrestling culture, there’s a lot of toxic garbage. I think it’s like that with sports across the board. There’s always that push to be the ‘tough’ guy, ‘oh I’ve got to work hurt.’ Obviously, in pro wrestling, it’s more so because back in the day if you didn’t work, you didn’t get paid. It was still very much like that when I was on the road full time. If I missed a house show loop, which I never did, I wouldn’t get a f*cking paycheck that week.
“It’s 2019, and I think that these sports organizations need to address that. Yes, there’s always going to be people who will abuse the system and be like ‘oh, I’m hurt.’ But in pro wrestling, there’s always this pressure, and it’s very real from the office about how you have to make these shots. They make it that this massive toxic masculinity thing about you have to do this and look how tough I am. I think that it’s really, really stupid, and I think that it gets people hurt, it gets people killed, and it’s a dangerous thing.”
Things have changed quite a bit since Punk left the company a few years ago. However, that was the last thing that made him decide that he did not want to remain in the company anymore.
h/t to Wrestling Inc for the quote.
