CM Punk is one of the major names seen in the upcoming Netflix’s WWE: Unreal documentary trailer. The Straight Edge Superstar has been a consistent draw for the company since making his shocking return at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023. He’s constantly been a part of the highest-rated segments, some of which have gone past their time.
Timing is key for WWE superstars when it comes to working the crowd. As a 28-year veteran, Punk has had more experience of what takes place behind the curtain than most can claim. And he’s using his experience to peel back a bit to explain how superstars of today can avoid getting an earful backstage even if they go over time in segments.
“It’s one of the secret rules,” Punk told SPORTbible in an exclusive interview. “As long as it’s really, really good, you can get away with it. Going 20 minutes over and you suck, that’s no good. I don’t want to cut into anyone else’s segment and there’s a lot of times I have X amount of time for something and I don’t think I need all that time, I’ll just go out there and go short. I would rather go short than long. If Rhea [Ripley] is in the next segment, I can nudge here and be like, ‘Hey, you guys need two minutes? I can give you two minutes.’”
CM Punk explains why The Bloodline segments work even if they get past their time
“That’s the way a lot of the talent work together. I know there is a lot of Bloodline segments or stuff with The Rock, when it’s really good and the crowd’s going absolutely banana for it – you can’t really rush through it. The overseas crowds, they love to sing and they love their soccer chants. You want the fans to react and don’t want to step on that because that makes the moment special.”
CM Punk is set to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2025. Fans will have to wait to see if the Second City Saint gets to lift a world title in WWE in more than a decade.
