CM Punk had a very negative reputation in AEW and even after he came back to WWE, many people were skeptical about whether he had changed his behavior. As it turns out, WWE Unreal Director Chris Weaver has made it clear that Punk is different from how he’s perceived online.
While speaking to Wrestling Republic, Chris Weaver talked about his experience with CM Punk. He said Punk seemed very real and full of energy in the series, which was surprising because he had only heard negative things about him from past wrestling companies.
Before working on the show, Punk was the only wrestler Weaver even knew by name, but after meeting him, he quickly became one of the people Weaver enjoyed seeing the most. At events, they often chatted about sports like the Cubs or Bears.
Weaver noticed a big difference between how Punk was described online and how he actually was in person. Instead of being difficult, Punk was friendly, fun, and easy to be around.
“I mean, yes to both of those things—which is to say, I did actually. So, I mentioned I didn’t know the roster at all. Like, I don’t think I knew a single one of the characters in our series except for CM Punk. I knew the name CM Punk, you know, just enough to know the name. I don’t even know if I knew what he looked like, but I knew the name. And I knew that he’d taken a lot of heat for past promotions, and I would read these stories about all this negativity about him. And I never had a single negative encounter with him.
He’s one of those guys that I look forward to seeing when we go to these events. He’s near the top of the list. I just look forward to meeting him, and every time we get there, you know, we talk sports. I always ask him what he thinks of the Cubs at the moment or the Bears—whatever season we’re in. When I would read the stories—all the negativity—I’d be like, ‘That’s amazing how different what he’s being portrayed as online and in the press is relative to what I witnessed.’ It was striking to me.”
Weaver also said Punk now sees himself as more of a mentor to younger wrestlers. Punk compared himself to Reg Dunlop from the movie Slapshot who was both a player and a coach. They even joked about the movie together. Weaver said this showed how warm and down-to-earth Punk is, and he considers him someone he really likes spending time with.
“Then yes, the mentorship part. He says that in the show—it made the cut—where he says, you know, ‘I’m on the back end,’ or Hunter says it maybe, that he’s on the back end of his career, just defined by age, but he’s more of a player’s coach now. He likes to coach.
It’s funny, he used the analogy—we didn’t put it in the series because we didn’t want to have to explain it—of Reg Dunlop from the movie Slapshot. Reg Dunlop, if you’re not familiar, is a coach who also plays on the ice for the team. That was the analogy he used. We veered off for like five minutes talking about Slapshot, just goofing about it.
And that’s what I mean about how warm he is—we just hit it off, man. He’s my guy.”
While many people online still argue about whether CM Punk has really changed, Weaver says the Punk he knows is friendly, funny, and enjoyable to be around. This shows that the real CM Punk is very different from the image people often have of him on the internet.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Do you believe CM Punk has truly changed his reputation in WWE, or will his past always overshadow him? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
