CM Punk Issues Bold Statement On WWE Retirement
Days before WrestleMania 42, CM Punk was again forced to discuss his imminent retirement from wrestling.
The 47-year-old currently serves as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and will defend his title against Roman Reigns, who is 7 years his junior, on Sunday.
Three of wrestling’s top names—Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles—retired from the Stamford promotion in the last several months.
The pattern obviously got fans to look at aging wrestlers and speculate about their respective retirements on the web. Over time, CM Punk has pushed back on the topic of retirement, claiming that he was not ready yet.
While speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast a couple of months ago, he said that he did not discuss the topic enough because he did not believe the time was there yet.
With me, I really don’t know. I almost don’t like talking about it because I don’t think it’s going to be anytime soon. The way our business is, I like to keep some things shrouded in secrecy and mystery.
We’ll have to wait and see. I’m trying to keep myself in one piece because I think I’m on the run of my life and doing the best work I’ve ever done. Why would I want to step away now?
CM Punk Willing To Go The Distance With Retirement
Like other top wrestlers on the WrestleMania 42 card, CM Punk is busy on a media tour to promote the event and his match against Roman Reigns on Sunday.
During an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, The Second City Saint was asked how much longer he saw himself going in the world of wrestling.
In response, Punk spoke about the unpredictability of timelines due to the nature of the business as he reflected on his tricep injury in 2024, which kept him out of action for an extended duration.
No, I don’t put a timetable on it because I know it could end like that any day… I don’t want to say, like, ‘Hey, I’m really pushing for XYZ and that I’m going to make it.’ I remember the heartbreak I felt when I came back and there were all these great plans ahead, and I tore my tricep… It just felt like I let a lot of people down. I let myself down. It was just a freak accident… the thing was probably hanging on by a thread from years of wear and tear.
CM Punk claimed that the injury reshaped the way he set goals, forcing him to take one day at a time rather than aiming for long-term objectives, vowing to go on for as long as he could.
Now it’s just about greeting every day with a smile, and every situation is going to be different. I’ve done everything—every Christmas Loop show, I did a full European tour… everyone keeps telling me, ‘Hey man, you don’t got to do this.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I get it, I don’t have to do it, but I have to do it.’
Especially with this around my waist, I feel like there’s a responsibility… I still feel very much inclined to work harder. If something’s aching, not to cry about it because we’re all aching.
I don’t know how many of these I have left in me… it is an honor. To me, I’m going until the wheels fall off.