CM Punk explains why wrestlers will never unionize, says Dana White treats people better than Vince McMahon does
CM Punk was on Renee Paquette’s “Oral Sessions” podcast today and he had a lot to say about his time in UFC, his WWE run and plenty of opinions on the current wrestling landscape.
CM Punk was asked what he thinks of the current state of wrestling and the way it has changed since he left: “For ego purposes, while I do have one, it’s not as big as people like to imagine it is. I don’t take credit for anything that happened. I do think there are probably a lot of people that wouldn’t currently have jobs if it wasn’t for me. But, I’m more along the lines that if I ever helped you get a job, I was happy to do that. I’ve always done stuff for the right reasons. If I’m no longer friends with people that I helped to get there, I’m not like, I wish I never helped you. I know what the truth is. They know what the truth is. Like with the Kevin Steens and Sami Zayns, I don’t take credit for any of their success. I don’t take credit for Daniel Bryan getting a main event at WrestleMania, but the truth is, a lot of that sh*t probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for me or at least for the vacuum that I created when I left.”
Punk was asked: “What are the parallels between Dana (White) and Vince (McMahon) and are they cut from the same cloth?” Punk responded: “I think there are levels to it. Obviously, they are both right wing, the word I will use is weirdo because obviously they will vote based on what is good for their pocketbook. If I had to compare and contrast, I would say Dana is more generous. I think Dana does a lot of stuff for the fighters behind the scenes. I think there is a lot of locker room money thrown around that people don’t know about.”
Punk was asked if he thinks wrestlers will unionize: “No. It’s because there is no such thing as the boys. It’s a trope. You know, (they say), we are on the road and these people are our family. But, once you’re out of the bubble, you don’t hear from anybody anymore. Those people don’t pay your bills. There are always going to be a handful of people that will undercut everybody else just to get ahead a little bit. There seems to be a lot of people who not only by nature are boot lickers, but they love the taste. You’re supposed to lick the boot, not eat the entire thing.”
You can listen to the entire interview on every major podcast app, including Google Play and Apple Podcasts.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit “Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette “ with a h/t to PWrestling.com for the transcription.