CM Punk has worked with a variety of legends in his wrestling career, but perhaps, the biggest confidence booster came when Punk was paired to work with “The GOAT” — John Cena.
Recently, Punk joined Elite Comics11 for a live stream on Instagram, in which he was asked to recount a match that helped fit the pieces together for him as a wrestler. In response, Punk referenced a three-way bout he had with WWE Hall of Famers Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero in 2002 at IWA Mid-South.
In addition to learning some valuable performance elements from his two opponents, Punk also believes this match put his name on the map, setting the stage for him to eventually sign with WWE a few years later.
After joining WWE in 2005, Punk steadily raised his stock, later earning himself an opportunity to work with the arguable face of the company, John Cena. While their feud was rather intense on-screen, Punk’s work with Cena actually came with a refreshing sense of ease. It also further motivated him to step up his game.
CM Punk on working with John Cena
During the Instagram live stream, Punk spoke about working so closely with WWE’s top attraction and felt it was a sign the company trusted him to be in that coveted spot. Here’s what Punk said, transcribed by Post Wrestling:
“Now I’m here [in WWE] and then being trusted enough to work with John Cena pretty much every day, every night for quite some time,” said Punk. “We were married to each other and it was always a night off and it was always easy.
When you’re tasked with working with the guy who pretty much is the engine that makes the company go at that point, it’s kind of just like, ‘Okay, I figured it out then.’ I was like, “Alright, I know. They trust me enough and I’m not gonna do anything stupid, I’m not gonna hurt the guy.’
It’s always good and it’s quality and it was fun and it was different and they trusted me to keep it different and it wasn’t the same thing all the time.”
Watch: CM Punk vs. John Cena WWE Championship match:
