Lee Moriarty says he is straight edge because of CM Punk and reflects on wrestling Punk in his eighth match since his 2014 hiatus from wrestling.
CM Punk has reflected on and off television how many times wrestlers have told him that they look up to him or became wrestlers because of him since he's returned to AEW.
CM Punk has also shared how some wrestlers are straight edge because of him. One of those wrestlers is Lee Moriarty. Speaking on AEW Unrestricted, Lee reflected on wrestling CM Punk in only his eighth match since taking a seven-year hiatus from wrestling.
“I think maybe that Monday night leading into that week, I got a message from one of the trainees at the same wrestling school as me. He was like, ‘Congratulations on the match with Punk.’ I'm like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Because I didn't see any graphics, it wasn't in the advertisement yet. I think it got leaked earlier someone found out because apparently, somebody posted it on Facebook I didn't see it. I don't use Facebook anymore. Then I think it was that Tuesday morning, I woke up, and then like all my mentions are blowing up because Lee Moriarty is facing CM Punk on Dynamite, live Wednesday. I had to take a step back that time last year, even this time last year, CM Punk was not wrestling, he was gone. So the idea that I wrestled his eighth match back professional wrestling is very surreal. It was very cool,” said Lee.
Furthermore, Lee spoke about getting into the straight edge lifestyle because of CM Punk and how that made it easier for his parents to accept his choice to become a professional wrestler.
"It's important for me because not just for my lifestyle personally, but it's also for peace of mind for my family. So, my mom and dad were wrestling fans. They knew about wrestling and when I told them I wanted to be a professional wrestler, they were very against it because around the time I made the decision, it was almost kind of my teenage years, the wrestlers from back in their day, unfortunately, passed away because of the drugs and alcohol and all that stuff catching up to. So that was a big concern for them. Originally, I knew I didn't want to do drugs and alcohol and stuff just because, Bruce Lee's 'remove the non-essentials from your life.' Stuff like that. I didn't know it was called 'straight edge.' I didn't know that there was this thing until I found CM Punk when I was watching TV one day, and I looked more into it for, why the Xs are there, from lots of the concerts and stuff, people underage not being able to drink. I just thought it was really cool what that lifestyle meant. So, I took that pledge, and then from then on, I've just always been straightedge and I feel like that's made my family a little more comfortable with me living the lifestyle I live," said Lee.
Most recently, Lee Moriarty had the chance to wrestle Bryan Danielson, Danielson has been open about wanting to mentor Lee Moriarty, but currently, Bryan Danielson is paired with his own mentor, William Regal. Learn more here.
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