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Why CM Punk Has Conflicted Emotions About WWE: Unreal

By Monika Thapa • Published Jul 17, 2025 07:33 EDT
CM Punk WWE Jacket

CM Punk Shares Mixed Feelings on WWE’s Netflix Docuseries.

WWE: Unreal is a new behind-the-scenes docuseries that aims to pull the curtain back on the larger-than-life world of professional wrestling. Debuting on Netflix on July 29, Season 1 will follow WWE Superstars and staff from Monday Night Raw to WrestleMania 41.

The series offers fans a rare look at the real-life chaos, camaraderie, and creativity that fuel the company’s biggest moments. While the premise has many fans excited, not every WWE name is fully on board, especially CM Punk.

CM Punk Comments On Breaking The Fourth Wall

Appearing on Unsportsmanlike with Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, and Michelle Smallmon, CM Punk expressed his conflicted feelings about WWE: Unreal and reflected on how the industry has long wrestled with balancing transparency and illusion.

He said, “I’m probably the wrong guy to put on this show to try and talk it up. It’s not that I’m so much against it. It’s that my entire existence in my profession, professional wrestling, you’re taught and you’re brought up, and you’re old school, you protect the business.”

“It’s always been that way. Since the 1920s or 1930s, everyone knew that wrestling was predetermined. They talk about how they didn’t know, and how in the 1980s we just kind of blew it wide open, and now we’re exposing the business. If you’re living under a rock, you don’t know, but most people do know.”

While The Second City Saint acknowledged the appeal of sports docuseries like Hard Knocks, he still finds it “strange” to let fans peek so far behind the curtain.

“What this show is going to do is just show us backstage in our environment, interacting with each other and that’s really for the fans. You see it all the time with football shows like Hard Knocks. That’s a big one.”

“You’re in the room, you’re seeing the special teams, Xs and Os, and the relationships between the coaches and players and families. That’s sort of what we’re doing. We’re following suit in a way. It’s just really strange, for me at least, because I’ve always been taught you protect the business, you don’t let the insiders in,” Punk added. [H/T: Fightful]

Despite his hesitations, CM Punk will be featured on the show, which includes footage from his return at the Royal Rumble and key backstage moments leading into WrestleMania 41.

The series also heavily focuses on other stars like Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and John Cena. Triple H emerges as the show’s central figure, guiding viewers through pivotal events like the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 41.