WWE Champion CM Punk spoke with ESPN.com this week to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania pay-per-view and his title defense against Chris Jericho. Punk talks about how far he’s come since this time last year, when he was frustrated with WWE and expected he was on his way out of the company. Here are some highlights of what CM Punk said about:
Did He Think He’d Be WWE Champion A Year Ago?
“No, because I was leaving. At Wrestlemania last year — and I always say I thrive in high-pressure situations — my job was to steal the show and prove to everybody how awesome I was and what an amazing talent they were losing. I went out there with Randy [Orton] and we put on, in my opinion, the best match on the show of pure wrestling. I wasn’t concerned about what I was doing next year. I was leaving in my mind. I didn’t think I would still be here or holding the title.”
Has MMA Influenced His Ring Style?
“Yes and no. It’s hard to try to translate a lot of stuff. I prefer to throw kicks and elbows instead of punches, but that was always a part of me. But I’ve always been a fan, so I don’t know if that stems from MMA. But I try to keep my pro wrestling, pro wrestling.
Elaborating On Chris Jericho Not Being “The Man”
Punk: Sure, but there’s always, I think, somebody that has overshadowed him. I guess an argument can be made that John Cena is still “The Man.” But the numbers don’t lie with merchandising, ratings and everything else. We’re not trying to hotshot the title around or play hot potato with it. We’re giving people a champion they can believe in. And Jericho was never really that guy. He was never really, I guess, the ambassador John Cena has been and that I’ve been lately. That’s what I meant by that.
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