13 Things We Learned From CM Punk's Revealing "Art Of Wrestling" Interview

The former WWE superstar, who abruptly left the company in January, reveals why he left professional wrestling.

On Thursday, former WWE superstar CM Punk spoke for the very first time about his abrupt departure from WWE on Colt Cabana's "Art of Wresting" podcast.

Facebook: CMPunk

He left the company in January, just one day after competing in the Royal Rumble, one of WWE's signature pay-per-views. Punk, who was considered extremely popular in the company, never gave an explanation for his departure and remained silent about the topic until Thursday.

This is what we learned:

1. WWE owner Vince McMahon supposedly denied CM Punk sponsorship opportunities, even though fellow wrestler Brock Lesnar was granted permission a year later.

youtube.com

"[I] said I wanted to do this sponsorship thing. I felt I deserved it. I got all these new eyes on the product. People were going bananas about it. And he says, 'Nope, you can't do that. Sponsors for Raw would get mad. Other wrestlers would get mad.' It wasn't my hill to die on so I let it go. Cue a year later, and Brock Lesnar comes back [to the company] and motherfucker has sponsors."

2. WWE superstar Ryback is supposedly dangerous to work with and caused legitimate injuries to CM Punk.

Facebook: 212597172183684

"First night out, [He's supposed to] gorilla press me through a table... Fucking misses the table. Dumps me on the fucking concrete ground. Tilts my fucking pelvis. Fucks me up for weeks... I walk up to him and go, 'You can't tell me you didn't do that on purpose because you've done it so many times now. You're either dumb as fuck and you suck or you did it on purpose.' And he was like, 'I'm dumb as fuck. I'm sorry.'"

WWE

3. The Shield, the highly popular faction involving Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns, was his idea.

Facebook: 293038194109209

"This will probably blow some people's minds and others will say you're full of shit. I don't fucking care either way. The Shield was my idea."

Originally, the heel faction involved Big Show, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins. Punk requested Ambrose, Rollins, and Chris Hero. But Triple H vetoed Chris Hero and instead went with Roman Reigns.

4. CM Punk was not pleased with the idea of working with Triple H at WrestleMania 30.

Facebook: tripleh

Punk reportedly told Triple H, "With all due respect, I do not need to wrestle you. You need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would've been best for business. But you had to come in and squash it... I'm in a position now where I can tell you that I don't have to, nor do I want to wrestle you."

He told Cabana in the interview, "I don't care if I was supposed to win (which I was). I didn't care. I didn't want to give him the fucking privilege."

5. Punk wrestled for three months with a developing staph infection in his lower back that WWE "refused to treat and diagnose."

Facebook: CMPunk

Punk had been wrestling with an odd lump in his lower back that kept increasing in size and pain. WWE doctor Chris Amman called it a "fatty deposit" and issued a Z-Pak (antibiotics). Amman consistently cleared him for action, despite Punk's complaints that the lump was getting bigger and painful and the antibiotics weren't effective.

Punk eventually confronted the doctor after nothing was being done to treat the lump and said, "Let me ask you, Doc: Is that your medical opinion or are you just a lazy piece of shit?"

Another doctor eventually diagnosed Punk with a MRSA staph infection, to which he said to Punk, "You should be dead. You could've died."

6. Punk accidentally "shit his pants" while working a match on SmackDown.

Facebook: CMPunk

According to Punk, "[WWE doctors] Z-Pak (antibiotics) me to death, so much that in December, I shit my pants on SmackDown. Because that's what antibiotics do to you."

This is the match where he supposedly "pooped" his pants:

youtube.com

7. CM Punk sued WWE for wrongful termination. The two parties settled for an undisclosed amount.

Facebook: CMPunk

"We lawyered up... and we got those motherfuckers. The only thing I can't talk about is the terms of the settlement. I don't think I'll get in trouble if I say I got everything I wanted... and then some."

8. He wants to see a union for professional wrestlers.

Facebook: CMPunk

"I want to see them get some sort of a union for the boys and girls {wrestlers}. That way I know they're serious about protecting them from concussions. There should be something like that in place. But there's not. {WWE superstars] are independent contractors but they can't work anywhere else."

9. Punk "flew off the handle" after being told to take a urine test.

Facebook: CMPunk

"I'm like, 'You're going to amend the fucking drug test policy because of people who have two strikes so they can either fail again or work one of those strikes off. [They] continue to do drugs, yet you're going to tell me that I have to take another piss test?"

CM Punk is well-known for his straight-edge lifestyle — he doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs.

10. He walked out on the company just before going live on Monday Night Raw.

Facebook: CMPunk

Punk allegedly talked to both McMahon and Triple H and said, "I do not love this anymore. I'm fucking sick. I'm fucking hurt. I'm fucking confused. I don't know as a business what we're doing anymore... It's not fun. I have zero fucking passion for this. I'm fucking concussed. And all you care about is what segment I'm in and how soon I can get my gear on. I don't want to do it anymore."

11. Punk allegedly received his termination papers via FedEx on his wedding day.

Facebook: CMPunk

"The day of my wedding, I got a FedEx in the mail. It was my termination papers. I was fired... on my wedding day. Very calculated. Very deliberate... Here's Vince McMahon, who wants to hug me good-bye and has tears in his eyes, and he's like, 'We're family.' And he fucking fires me on my wedding day."

12. CM Punk will never work for WWE ever again.

Facebook: CMPunk

"There's no working relationship with [WWE], and there never will be ever again."

13. Punk is happy with life.

Facebook: CMPunk

"I'm super stoked. I focus on shit that makes me happy. I'm writing comic books. I'm training my ass off. And I'm married. That's the important shit."

CM Punk is expected to return to the podcast next Thursday to answer questions from fans. Listen to the two-hour interview here: