10 Most Infamous Wrestling Shoot Interviews

2. CM Punk Goes OFF, Gets Sued

Punk Joe Shoot
Twitter, @CMPunk

“I don’t want to come off as like “bash WWE””. 

- CM Punk, before bashing WWE's brains in

It’s a fascinating thing, CM Punk’s mind; in the introduction to that Art of Wrestling podcast appearance, he specifically states that he did not want to do a shoot interview - before effectively doing a shoot interview only without the RF Video backdrop. 

And in that glorified shoot interview, he shot harder than any shoot interviewee ever. He essentially said “I’m not here to fire a pistol. Instead, I’m going to spray a machine gun”. 

He - unwittingly drawing himself into an infamous legal battle - accused WWE of medical negligence, claiming they persuaded him to work a tour of Europe despite showing signs of a suspected concussion (the testing protocol for which, incidentally, Punk deemed “bullsh*t”).

Punk basically portrayed WWE as a negligent meat grinder run by inept, unconscionable buffoons who had no clue what they were doing. To Punk, in 2014, Vince was a gaslighting prick, and Triple H really was the man dreamt up on message boards: a defensive, self-serving egomaniac. 

This podcast changed the very trajectory of the Punk and Colt Cabana relationship, which, indirectly, doomed CM Punk’s All Elite Wrestling run. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!