CHICAGO — MMAFighting.com caught up with WWE champion CM Punk Thursday evening to discuss his relationship with Chael Sonnen, his thoughts on UFC on FOX 2, his take on Brock Lesnar’s potential return to WWE, whether he would ever fight in an MMA fight, and the connection between MMA and pro wrestling.

Source: mmafighting.com

Super Snake sits down with WWE Champion CM Punk! Luck is for losers, at least according to CM Punk. Even though his arm is literally tattooed with good-luck charms, Punk believes you make your own good fortune through hard work and intense preparation. CM Punk is the only WWE superstar to win the Money in the Bank two consecutive years. WWE RAW SUPER SHOW, Monday, January 23rd (tonight) at US Airways.

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A man with 11 championships under his belt, CM Punk is a major star to World Wrestling Entertainment fans. Still, it’s not easy being famous: The public isn’t always polite, just like the man who interrupted his conversation to take pictures of him on the treadmill.

Punk follows the straight-edge lifestyle, meaning he stays away from alcohol and recreational drugs. He talks about being straight edge and the WWE life in a phone call from a Texas gym.

Question: What is it like being a WWE star?

Answer: You know, I really can’t compare it to anything else. It’s probably the busiest job in the world.

Q: Do you get much down time?

A: I was home for six days a week before Christmas. That was like the first time in 10 years that happened. I kind of went crazy after three days. It’s a bit of a culture shock.

Q: WWE has a huge international following. Do you have a favorite place to visit?

A: I love going to Japan. They treat pro wrestling like it’s baseball over there. They have amazing fans. They’re very respectful.

Q: Are American fans not respectful?

A: It’s just a lack of "excuse me" and "please" and "thank you." I’m a pretty approachable guy, but I’ve had my headphones taken off my head in the gym, people poking me in the back like I’m a farm animal. It’s a part of the game.

Q: With so many young fans, you must find yourself being a role model.

A: Absolutely. I’m the straight-edge guy. I’m a damn good guy to look up to. But I approach it the way Charles Barkley approached it. I’m not a role model. Everybody should choose their own path in life. I don’t get preachy with the straight-edge stuff.

Q: Do people put you on a pedestal because of it?

A: I find myself being a target as opposed to being put on a pedestal. I get criticized a lot. There are people who are skeptical about it or scared by it or intimidated by it.

Q: Do you mind that a personal choice like that has become part of your public persona?

A: No, because it’s who I am. People say, "When did you decide to be straight edge?" I was born this way. It’s nothing I really decided (pause) and, right now, while I’m talking, on the treadmill and doing an interview, there’s a guy standing over here, taking pictures … (He politely asks the guy to stop, which doesn’t seem to go well). All right, and now he just flipped me off, and I’m the (expletive). See what I mean? (sighing) … Anyway, I don’t think I have a persona per se. I’m not trying to be something I’m not.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception about sports entertainers?

A: That we’re not athletes. That goes hand in hand with it. That’s what we do. I don’t know anybody who works harder than we do. We don’t have time off. We don’t have a season off. These are some of the toughest people I’ve known in my entire life.

Q: Can you ever skip training?

A: I always feel better if I get in the gym and do something. I do various things: Weights, running, jiu-jitsu, kick-boxing, yoga. I’m in underwear every night; you have to go the gym.

Q: Because of the physical aspect, it’s a job with a definite window. Does that worry you?

A: Sure. I don’t want to be broke. But they always say it’s not about how much money you make. It’s about how much money you save.

Q: What about acting? So many WWE people go into the movies.

A: That’s not up to me, but it’s nothing I’m actively pursuing. I never say never to anything, but it’s nothing I’m looking to actively do.

Q: You are really active on social media. Do you enjoy it?

A: Twitter is hilarious. It’s like the whole world having your phone number. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. You get to chat with people that you normally don’t get to chat with, maybe touch some of the fans who interact with you.

Q: Your real name is Philip. Does anyone still call you that?

A: Well, you just did.

Source: azcentral.com

"It’s clobberin’ time."

With those famous words before every wrestling match, Chicagoan and current WWE heavyweight champ CM Punk makes his entrance. Punk’s not only at the top of his game, but he put a spark in professional wrestling this summer with his seemingly off-script rant about WWE owner Vince McMahon and his ascension to the championship—in Chicago, no less.

He talked with RedEye recently about a variety of topics, including his fondness for MMA, as he prepares to return to Allstate Arena on Monday for "Raw."

Going back to July, how was that feeling of winning the WWE Championship in your hometown?

I don’t think it could have gone any better. It’s an awesome feeling and it was a very hostile environment, and I deal well with those kinds of situations. What better place to win the WWE Championship than in Chicago where I grew up and started my wrestling career.

Before that match you had a contract that was expiring and many didn’t know what was going to happen or where your career would continue. Was that situation on your mind while wrestling in the that match?

That wasn’t something that weighed heavily on my mind during the match because I had all my friends and family watching ringside. That was the real big pressure, trying to impress the fans, and I opened my mouth weeks prior with doing promos. I had a lot to prove.

A lot of past fans who have stopped watching the product since the PG rating are calling for the TV-14 rating to return. You toe the line really well with your promos, but do you think the "Attitude Era" needs to return?

I don’t think the WWE is going to go anything but PG. I don’t see the need for the TV-14 rating because that was the past and we are opening new doors to fans across the world. Swearing to just swear isn’t entertaining to me whatever you’re watching. There are some things I get away with, but at the same time I have to remember it is a family-orientated show. I think the product in general is a lot better when we have to police ourselves, knowing that families are out there watching and listening to every word. The so-called "Attitude Era" is not needed in this day in age of sports entertainment.

How did you become a Cubs fan and whom did you idolize throughout the years.

I think you have to root for whatever sports team your father rooted for, isn’t that the rules? My father would watch every game, and even if he fell asleep, the TV would still be blaring. Good or bad he couldn’t change the channel.

I don’t think I had a favorite player or one I wanted to be, but I was really fond of the catchers. I grew up playing catcher with my friends and in leagues, so they always drew me in. Jody Davis was a great catcher back in the day and was somebody I always enjoyed watching. But you can’t go wrong with Ryne Sandberg either.

You’ve been very vocal about your fondness for MMA and particularly the UFC. When did you first starting getting into MMA and who are some fighters that impress you.

I remember watching the first UFC. A couple of my friends got together and we heard that it was "no-holds-barred and anything went." So we ordered the PPV and then later I got to train with Dan Severn in Chautauqua, Ill., and that’s how I fell in love with jiujitsu. I was never the biggest, but I was fast, and look at Royce Gracie, who had the same mold and he was taking out guys who were 150 pounds heavier than him.

Right now I think Frank Mir is an excellent all-around MMA fighter. Right now the heavyweight division is jammed pack and a lot of fighters who will be waiting for that next shot at the champion. With Frank Mir, though, he has evolved so much over the years—not only his body, but his skills have been sharpened. He is a tremendous boxer and has brought up his grappling skills beyond recognition over the years. With his jiujitsu being sharp as ever I think he can really make another run at the title.

But I have to give a shout out to Dan Henderson as well. For his age and the years of fighting he has gone through, he is amazing.

Back in the early 2000s there were these popular ice-cream bars that had WWE wrestlers on them. You recently brought the idea back into play and there has been a lot of demand for them to make a return. Will we see them reintroduced by next summer?

I really am hoping that does happen. A lot of people don’t realize that when I mouthed off about the ice-cream bars they wanted them the next day. It’s a licensing issue, and we are working with the proper people to bring them back. We want them back by the "ice-cream season," as you can say, so next summer is a good possibility. Although I don’t think there is a day where I wouldn’t go without eating ice-cream.

Currently the broadcasters for the majority of your matches are Michael Cole on play-by-play while Jerry Lawler is the color commentator. With Cole’s heel persona being used during matches, do you feel former broadcaster Jim Ross should be brought back?

The thing with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler is that they are missing exactly that, the straight play-by-play guy. Lawler is there for color, and Michael Cole is there to be the antagonist. So basically you have two color guys there and nobody really calling the match. With Jim Ross, he focuses on the play-by-play and brings that game-day feel when he begins to explain the action in the ring. I would love to have Jim Ross call all my matches, but that’s not a slight at Michael Cole, more of personal preference.

I think Michael Cole would be a great manager but at the same time he’s awesome at what does. But that’s what is so good about it; he does something that hasn’t been done before. It’s different, and things are changing, and he’s pushing the envelope. He gets people to talk about his antics, and that’s always a good thing. He knows how to get the most of the situation without being physical.

Where do you see the wrestling product in 10 years?

Hopefully in a better place than it is now. I would like to see younger talent introduced to the fans and they get chances to show they have what it takes. I’ve been very vocal about the things that are wrong with the sport and hopefully they are being looked at to be changed.

As for what I’m doing in 10 years? I don’t know what I’m doing in the next 10 minutes but surely I don’t want to be in the ring 10 years for now. I know guys that have done it and I’ve done so much already in the sport. I would like to be one of those guys that doesn’t need surgeries to continue to try to get that extra payday. Hopefully I can just disappear.

Source: redeyechicago.com

What was C.M. Punk doing just hours before winning the WWE Championship this November at Survivor Series? Chatting with Marvel.com of course!

We dispatched James Viscardi to catch up with the Straight Edge Superstar at historic Madison Square Garden and speak with the noted Marvel fan about his favorite characters, which writers he follows and which Marvel hero could be considered the best in the world as well as much more! Enjoy!

Source: marvel.com