CM Punk Focused On Having Fun And Giving Back In AEW, Wants To Help In Front Of The Camera On ‘Heels’
CM Punk is focused on having fun and contributing to his craft in a meaningful way.
CM Punk recently spoke with WrestleZone about his role as “Ricky Rabies” on the STARZ series Heels. Punk’s character makes his debut in the third episode of the new series, and while he was brought on as an actor, many of his castmates have praised the intangibles he brings to the show behind the scenes as well.
During a recent interview with WrestleZone, Heels star Stephen Amell praised Punk’s presence on the show and said he “brought all his attention to that and he really created a really cool character.” Asked what it meant to hear feedback like that and be asked to contribute to the show, Punk says it started as just being an actor. He added that he was hesitant to try and make suggestions, but the production team really wanted his feedback because they wanted it to be as authentic as possible.
“Well, it started small and I didn’t want anything to do with it [behind-the-scenes] because my job was to be there to be an actor. But I’ve known Luke Hawx for decades and Stephen Amell being a big wrestling fan, and me having a high level of respect for his acting ability, he had the same high level of respect for what I did in the wrestling business. So me being brought on, he was like, ‘This is great! We got ‘the guy’ here, we should pick his brain’ and I was very [reluctant], ‘No, no, no…’ I didn’t write these words, I didn’t build these scenes and I’m not behind the camera, not the director or showrunner, but then the showrunner [Mike O’Malley] stepped in and he’s like, ‘Listen man, you’re the guy. This is your world. If you see anything, if somebody’s dialogue doesn’t seem right, please let us know. We want this to be as authentic as possible. We need it to be real and we would be fools to not use you because you were here on set.’ And then I was like, alright! But there wasn’t even much that I had to suggest to do differently, you know? But everybody just helped everybody else out and I thought that was pretty cool. They didn’t need to ask me what I thought of anything, but they did,” Punk noted, “and it’s not because anyone was trying to blow smoke up my ass, it’s because they cared about this project and they wanted it to be the best it could be.”
Asked if he could see himself taking on a similar role in the future or working as an advisor on television shows, Punk said “yes and no.” He explained that he’s not looking to take anyone’s job and he’s very much looking to stay in a role that keeps him on camera in the acting realm, as long as it makes sense.
“I’m not trying to take anybody’s job. I thought Luke was the right guy for the job and we shared a brain. If there was anything he would ask me, I would normally agree with what his first assessment was. Luke is a guy that’s been a wrestler for decades, he has the same instincts [as me]. He just didn’t make it as far as I did in pro wrestling, and that’s not for lack of trying. The guy is as knowledgeable as I am and he’s the one that was there to put together all of the matches for all of the actors and he did an impeccable job. I’m not trying to take his job,” Punk stated. “I’m very much more interested in doing more with Ricky Rabies. We’re all obviously crossing our fingers, knocking on wood, praying for Jebus that we get picked up for a season two because I think there’s more stories to tell. I would love to help out in front of the camera more so than behind it, but if they ask me, as long as Luke’s back, I’d be back.”
Heels is currently airing on STARZ; check out our full interview with CM Punk at the top of this post.
🚨The moment we’ve all been waiting for! 🚨@CMPunk is back and we’re happy he made the announcement here at home with @AEW! #AEWRampage #AEW pic.twitter.com/TWyW6tPA1S
— United Center (@UnitedCenter) August 21, 2021
Punk also took part in a media call after he debuted with All Elite Wrestling on August 20, and was asked about his role with the company moving forward. Following up on his comments about staying in front of the camera, Punk was asked by WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard if he would be a wrestler only in AEW, or if he’d entertain doing commentary or other roles. Punk said that he’ll probably do a little bit of everything in AEW and doesn’t need a certain title to help out, but he’s focused on having fun and giving back, however that may be.
“I’m sure I’m going to do absolutely everything. It depends on the situation, like if it calls for me to sit in and do commentary, I’ll gleefully do that. But again, I don’t need to be called a producer to help somebody with a match or give somebody an opinion or advice,” he pointed out. “I just feel like that’s the right thing to do. I’m not saying I’m going to be wearing multiple hats, you know what I mean? But everything I do is going to be—needs to be—about giving back. I’ve wasted some of the best years of my life doing this… I wouldn’t say ‘waste’, I wasn’t in the right place to be doing it.
“Everything works out and I don’t regret anything, but this isn’t about me trying to worry about my wins and losses and junk like that,” Punk said. “This is about me trying to have fun and work with the right people that I can have fun with.”
If you use this transcript, credit WrestleZone and link back to this post.