10 Things We Learned From CM Punk On UFC Unfiltered
1. His Promo Ability
Norton said he's always been amazed at pro wrestlers and their ability to communicate in front of large crowds, crediting Punk as one of the best and asks if it's mostly all improv.
Punk answers that the good ones, the ones people remember are improv, but that now wrestling is scripted to death. He says it's almost like they have a chokehold on it.
He acknowledges that some people do need to operate that way but other guys need to be cut loose and allowed to be themselves. When you have three other guys writing for you who don't know or understand your character and you're out there being disingenuous the crowd can tell and will respond in kind.
Jim asks if he ever fell apart in the middle of a promo and he says that he wrestled for so long, even prior to WWE that he relished those failures because it's how you learn. He equates it to a comedian letting a heckler get the best of them, and says you have to fight your way through it.
The hosts wrap it up by plugging the fight and congratulating Punk on his career and say that anyone questioning his intent is ridiculous. Punk replies by saying "Ah, f**k 'em. They're still going to question it. I just worry about what's in front of me and worry about myself and everything else will fall into place".
This was a good appearance for Punk. He was relaxed, candid and not nearly as cantankerous or defensive as he normally is when dealing with the media, and didn't try to deflect from the few WWE questions he was asked. It's going to be quite interesting to see what goes down when he steps into the octagon at UFC 203.