John Cena Gives His Thoughts
Cena was inside of the ring when Punk was cutting his infamous promo. He was also the victim of many of Punk’s comments in the promo (even though Punk says that he does actually like him).
Punk said Cena was better at him than only one thing and that was ‘kissing Vince McMahon’s ass’.
From a (2012) interview with WWE.com, Cena spoke about the promo. As expected, Cena took the high road and praised Punk for his breakout performance. Here is what he said:
“When you see someone come into his own like that, it’s inspirational. If you go back and watch that, even though Punk directed a lot of those comments toward me, it was almost like an opposing coach watching an all-star player have the game of his life. Like, man, you know you’re getting whipped and you know you’re going to lose, but you’re seeing something great, and something that is going to stand the test of time”
He continued:
“When a guy like that has a night like that – a breakout night like that – I knew that, regardless of how many days CM Punk had been in WWE, now CM Punk is a household name. That very day. And since then, he has totally taken the ball and ran with it, and that was his whole original concept behind why he was saying what he was saying. ‘Listen, I have talent. You guys are overlooking me. This is what I’m upset about. Could somebody please give me a shot?’ And when he gets his shot, he becomes the WWE Champion – and keeps the WWE Championship. I was motivated, excited, and it’s certainly a piece of the WWE timeline that nobody will ever forget”
He is right, it certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
The WWE Locker Room’s Perspective On The Promo
So what was the WWE locker room thinking backstage when Punk was cutting the infamous promo? Here is a look at 2 WWE stars and their perspectives from an interview with WWE.com.
Zack Ryder couldn’t believe that it was live on TV:
“I remember I was watching the backstage monitor and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this live on TV?’ He was just saying these things about the company that seemed pretty unbelievable. They even cut the mic out from under him. You knew it was one of those moments that created controversy, and people were tuning in the next week to see what would happen. I definitely approved and agreed with what he was saying. I was saying similar things on my YouTube show, so when a Superstar like Punk voiced his opinion, maybe it made people realize a change was necessary”
Former WWE star: Justin Gabriel says that Punk hit the nail on the head with some of his promos but also ruffled some feathers backstage:
“I was a huge fan of Punk before, and I think that day made me an even bigger fan. Just the way he walks and talks is so different. Everything he says, you want to believe him. For the guys in the WWE locker room, he definitely hit the right notes, but he obviously ruffled a lot of feathers. But that’s cool. That’s what we need. I think that’s what we needed at the time and we need more of that going forward, too.”
I can imagine that a lot of people backstage were not thrilled with his comments but like Gabriel implies, he was probably saying what a lot of talent were thinking at the time.
Use the buttons for more items on our list of wrestlers shooting on CM Punk’s infamous: WWE Pipe Bomb.
I am of the opinion that Punk’s pipe bomb was a mixture of both worlds. This is not the first time something like this happened. What made this stand out was Punk himself. He clearly showed how passionate and driven he was at the time about wrestling. He spoke for all the Wrestling fans who respect the industry and were finally being fed up with having”their intelligence insulted” about the product’s direction. HHH and Vince knew this would draw, and added the same follow up narrative.
Yeah it was legit. It also brought $$$. To add to it Punk still not being featured in the same manner as Cena afterward further proof of the pipebomb being set off.