10 Wrestlers Who Look Better Now Than In Their Primes
4. CM Punk
The "straight-edge" persona that CM Punk had during his active wrestling career wasn't simply a gimmick. The star was dedicated to a lifestyle that eschewed drugs, alcohol, and smoking, and part of that involved complete abstinence from performance enhancers. As such, while Punk always worked hard to be in good shape, he was never really in the "bodybuilder" mold into which most top stars fit.
When Punk left WWE and joined up with UFC, though, he was required to adapt a training regimen that would ultimately change his body type. No longer was larger simply better - in the world of competitive fighting, participants are encouraged to slim down as much as possible, at least for weigh-ins. As such, Punk - who competed as a welterweight - was forced to weigh in at 170 pounds on the day before his fight with Mickey Gall. Even though Punk was likely much heavier for the fight, he was still leaner than he was during his WWE days.
It's no surprise that different sports have different physical demands, but the sight of a shredded CM Punk at the UFC weigh-in was very much new to his legions of fans.