In January, Vince McMahon resigned from his position at TKO Group after a lawsuit from former WWE employee Janel Grant accused him of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and more. WWE and John Laurinaitis are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
During his recent appearance on “The MMA Hour” podcast, CM Punk shared his critical opinion of McMahon and the sex scandal.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On if he spoke with McMahon when he returned: “I saw him at the towers. Monday before Thanksgiving, get a phone call, we realized we could do this. Nick Khan, ‘If it doesn’t happen by Saturday. Royal Rumble.’ I was like, ‘Nick, I don’t want to give away any leverage in negotiations, but Saturday is the business. It has to happen.’ Hammering out a deal. Saturday, debut. Sunday, I’m at home and I’m like, ‘Man, this is strange. I don’t know what we’re doing, where we’re going, but it feels right.’ I get a call, ‘We should get you travel to TV.’ I fly to Nashville. I went home and I can’t remember where I flew from there, but it was SmackDown. That night they were like, ‘You want to come on the jet and do NXT?’ ‘Yeah, sounds great.’ We’re flying by the seat of our pants and doing this stuff real last minute. I got a tour of the new tours and the gym. I was on the phone, on the treadmill, warming up. Vince’s trainer is like, ‘You have to get off the phone. Vince doesn’t like it when people are on the phone in the gym.’ I was on the phone with Nick. I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I saw him walking down and into the gym. He came in for his daily workout. He gave me a big hug. He said, ‘Welcome home, good to see you. Let’s connect after I work out.’ Haven’t seen him since.”
Helwani asked to clarify that Punk did not connect with McMahon, and he replied, “No, I think some stuff came up.”
On the allegations against McMahon: “There is no positivity there. I didn’t read all the allegations. I read text messages. I went, ‘Oh, f**k this.’ It’s indefensible. The easiest thing for people to do is ignore it or avoid it. It’s there. My initial, first thing out of my mouth was, ‘I’m kind of shocked at how dumb he was writing stuff down and leaving that paper trail.’ It’s horrific. At this point, all the energy should be used to, I don’t know if you can, but make reparations or amends. There are victims here. What CM Punk thinks about Vince and the CM Punk-Vince relationship doesn’t f**king mean anything. All that stuff takes a backseat. I’m more concerned about going forward, how do those people survive after suffering all of that trauma? That’s my biggest concern.”
On if the business is better off without him: “At this point, how do you say anything but yes, the business is better without him.”
On if he ever had any idea of this behavior from Vince: “No. The biggest thing I can draw a comparison to is when Chris Benoit did a murder-suicide. I was friends with Chris Benoit. I don’t know if it’s just how I process things, but I’m famously on camera weeping, saying goodbye to Chris because, at the time, we didn’t know. We didn’t know he had murdered his wife and son. The week prior, we’re in Alabama, I’m traveling with him, we’re on the road, and he grabs me and runs me into the trainer’s room, he points and his son is in the corner taping up his hands and drawing Xs on his hands. Coming to terms with, that’s my friend, he did this horrible thing. Obviously, f**k him, f**k that. I don’t have memories of Chris Benoit traveling with me and murdering people at the gym. There was never any instances where I was in a room with Vince and he’s sh**ting on somebody or sexually assaulting somebody. We just didn’t see it. There is that part of me that goes, just like Benoit, ‘Okay, I can see that.’ People are shocked their friend or mentor is responsible for doing these horrible things. I guess I’m pragmatic and I looked at it like, ‘I can see that.’ It’s very hard to reconcile. I heard what Becky said. Vince is a father figure to a lot of people. Vince liked and developed those father relationships. That’s why he was always fascinated with me because I was like, ‘F**k you, I have a dad. You’re my boss. Let’s keep it that way.’ It’s been wild, all that s**t. It’s sad. He ruined his life ruining other people’s lives. There is very much a part of me, ‘You got him. Good. Shuffle him into the basement.’”
In January, Vince McMahon, the former CEO of TKO Group, resigned from his position following a lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant. The lawsuit accused McMahon of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and other misconduct. WWE and John Laurinaitis were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Recently, CM Punk, a former WWE wrestler, shared his critical opinion of McMahon and the ongoing sex scandal during an appearance on “The MMA Hour” podcast. Punk discussed various aspects of his relationship with McMahon and his thoughts on the allegations against him.
When asked if he had spoken with McMahon upon his return to WWE, Punk revealed that he saw him at the towers and had a brief interaction. He mentioned that negotiations for his return were happening right up until the Saturday before his debut at the Royal Rumble. Punk expressed that he felt uncertain about the direction they were going in but decided to go along with it. He mentioned that he had a chance encounter with McMahon at the gym, where they exchanged pleasantries and planned to connect later, but it never happened.
Regarding the allegations against McMahon, Punk expressed his shock and disappointment. He admitted that he hadn’t read all the allegations but had seen some text messages that disturbed him. He criticized McMahon for leaving a paper trail and emphasized the importance of acknowledging the victims and working towards reparations or amends. Punk stated that his personal opinion about McMahon and their relationship was irrelevant in light of the seriousness of the allegations.
When asked if the wrestling business was better off without McMahon, Punk responded affirmatively. He suggested that given the gravity of the situation, it was difficult to argue otherwise.
Punk also addressed whether he had any inkling of McMahon’s alleged behavior. He drew a comparison to the Chris Benoit murder-suicide case, where he was friends with Benoit and had no knowledge of his actions. Punk explained that sometimes people are shocked to discover that their friends or mentors are capable of such horrific acts. He mentioned that he never witnessed any instances of McMahon mistreating or assaulting anyone, but acknowledged that it was challenging to reconcile the allegations with his personal experiences.
In conclusion, CM Punk’s recent comments shed light on his perspective regarding Vince McMahon and the ongoing sex scandal. He expressed his shock and disappointment at the allegations and emphasized the importance of focusing on the victims and their recovery. Punk also acknowledged the difficulty in reconciling the allegations with his personal experiences and relationships within the wrestling industry.