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CM Punk Says He Begged For Time Off In WWE, Would’ve Died If He Hadn’t Left

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• On This Day In Pro Wrestling History (October 3, 2017) – Legendary Old School Announcer Passed Away

On this day in 2017, we lost legendary Old School Announcer Lance Russell at the age of 91.

Lance Russel is well remembered as the voice of the Memphis Wrestling territory that during his career changed it’s name from NWA Mid-America to CWA Continental Wrestling Association and later on to USWA United States Wrestling Association.

Russel also worked for Ted Turner’s WCW World Championship Wrestling from 1989 till 1993, as well as for Jim Cornette’s SMW Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1995.

† REST IN PEACE

March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017

• CM Punk Says He Begged For Time Off In WWE, Would’ve Died If He Hadn’t Left

During a recent appearance on Collider Live, former WWE wrestler CM Punk talked about his time in wrestling, possibly coming back to help young wrestlers & more.

Below are the highlights:

On what jaded him about backstage wrestling culture:

“No, I always try to help everybody as much as I could. What got me jaded on it, I think the culture backstage was always, I was always trying to figure out, are they asking me for advice because they genuinely want advice or are they asking me for advice because they think have to ask for advice.

I’m very much a don’t waste my time guy. There was one guy at the tail end right when I was on hanging on by a thread, but I was still on every match. Somebody would be like, ‘Hey, can you watch my match?’ And I’d like, ‘Sure.’ And I’d watch the match, and I’d give him critiques, and I would be, ‘Maybe try this. Try something different. Don’t do the same thing. Blah, blah, blah.’

And then the next night, he’d be like, ‘Hey, watch my match.’ I watch the match. Didn’t listen to a f***ing thing I said. Did the same exact thing he did the night before. You know what I mean? Then, he’d come back and be like, ‘You watch my match?’ And I’d be like, ‘Nope. Missed it. I was stretching.’”

On if he’d come back to help with booking and working with young talent and how he’d be dead if he hadn’t left WWE:

“I don’t know because there’s a big part of me — I mean, talking about wrestling and me doing anything in the wrestling arena is — it always feels kind of weird and uncomfortable because there’s so many variables.

And the number one thing for me is I would never put myself in a position where I could be harmed ever again, and there’s a lot of trust that goes into that. I gave of myself to a point where I look back on it if I didn’t leave and walk out, I would be dead because nobody was going to do it. Because I was sick and I was hurt and I was messed up. And the people put in place to make sure to help — they’re not helping. You know what I mean.

It is what it is, but I begged for time off I don’t know how long. But I never got it.”

On WWE wrestlers getting time off now:

“People tell me it’s different now. Apparently, you can go home with the sniffles, or you can call in — and I say that, and I’m even mad at myself for saying that because it’s almost like I’m trying to shame somebody, but like, if you’re sick, you’re sick. Go home. If you’re hurt, don’t wrestle. But you know, because of the fugazi lawsuit, like I have mountains of paperwork that they had to send over for discovery, where they’re like discussing all these intensely crazy, private things, but I’m not involved in the conversation.

Like, they’re talking about my mental health. Like, ‘Oh, do you maybe think he’s depressed.’ And everyone’s like, ‘I don’t know, but he’s got to wrestle in Europe, you know, for two weeks.’ And it’s just like, ‘Whoa. Slow down. As a member of the office, shouldn’t you like put a hold on that and take this guy off the road and be like hey, we were talking, maybe you’re depressed?’ You know? But no, it was just like — [Kristian Harloff asks, ‘That conversation never came?’] No, not with me. They had it internally, but they never mentioned it to me.”

On why there won’t be a union in WWE:

“No. No, that’s why I kind of — my stance on when people are like, ‘The boys, the boys, the boys.’ There’s no such thing. There’s absolutely no such thing, and if you think there is, then chances are you’re on a different level, and I don’t mean a higher one. And I don’t mean any disrespect. It’s just that where I was at that time, it’s insane how it’s not a real sport, but it’s more cutthroat than a real sport.”

On how he left WWE:

“I feel I went about it the way I had to go about it because nobody else was going to take me out of that situation. Just concussions, and I had a staph infection, and it’s not getting dealt with. It’s not getting helped. And their concern was just, ‘He’s just gotta go out there and wrestle. He’s gotta go out there and wrestle.’”

Also Read: CM Punk Reportedly Signs Deal For WWE Backstage

        
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