10 Wrestlers That Couldn't Hide How Much They Hated Their Jobs

3. CM Punk (The Original NXT)

Bret Hart And Hulk Hogan
WWE

As usual, CM Punk was right to feel like he was having the piss taken out of him. As usual, the consequences of this brought dark comedy into an increasingly flavourless product.

Mirroring the views of several of the established roster stars that were asked to take up a coaching role on the original iteration of NXT, Punk was pretty p*ssed off that he had to work an extra show, and decided to exhibit that anger through his odd couple pairing with Darren Young.

It's so easy to visualise how the two were paired that it borders on pathetic. Young's character was that of an easy-going party animal. Vince McMahon and his cronies must have been howling with laughter at the prospect of him having to "learn" from the sardonic 'Straight Edge Superstar'.

Punk's visible anger in the first few weeks was so pronounced that it felt as though an angle was eventually forthcoming, but this was the original NXT, not the one eventually patterned in the style of the 'Voice Of The Voiceless'. His visible fury was just that, and not even transferrable - the affable Young wasn't believable as a scowling Nexus member a few months later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett