CM Punk took the stage at Starrcast III for a special stage show in Chicago.
Full highlights are below.
- Punk says no matter where he goes, he's in front of a pro wrestling crowd.
- "When are you coming back is a better question than, when are you going the fuck away? People ask me that as well." Punk says he's not going to be anywhere. Says he'll be hanging out with his wife tonight.
- Punk says the biggest difference between what he's doing now and wrestling the all time is being able to sleep in his own bed. Says he's fortunate to be able to do what he wants, which is hanging out with his wife, writing comics, and making movies.
- Punk says he's played jerks in both of his movies. "That tells you what my friends think of me." Punk says he's proud of the movies he's done. Called it a challenge, but still had fun on the set. Punk, who is his own harshest critic, says he "didn't hate" his performance in Girl on the Third Floor. Says the movie is "85% my face."
- Punk is not a method actor.
- Punk says he doesn't miss wrestling because he was fortunate enough to do it all. "I think I had a pretty good career." Says he's out of the loop when it comes to the wrestling landscape.
- Punk once asked Austin to give him a Stunner during a dark segment after Raw. Says no one had asked Austin to do that before even though Austin had always showed up to television. That's when Punk started to dream about working a match with Austin.
- Punk knows who Will Ospreay is, but has only seen clips on Twitter. Isn't sure he'd be able to keep up with a guy like Omega right now, even though he's in shape. Doesn't have one name he would like to wrestle.
- Punk is stunned that people are allowed to vacation now in WWE. "I don't know if I have anything to do with that. If I do, it's because I always asked for time off. Good for them. Maybe they won't get burnt out and peace out."
- "Nobody talked to me," says Punk when asked what WWE could have done to get him to stay. References Ambrose/Moxley not showing up because of MRSA, which is what Punk was dealing with. They wanted him back after four days off and then he was suspended for two months. "I was suspended and then nobody called me." I got married and then I got married.
- Punk says he would come back just to say, "I need time off." Punk says he wouldn't "not talk to" WWE if they talked to him. Says he is over how they handled his departure. "I used to be confrontational when there was no need to be confrontational." Punk says he'll have a conversation with any company, but he's not calling them. "I'll see what they have to say, but it better be good." Says he has nothing left to accomplish.
- Punk discusses the pressure to be tough in wrestling. "I think it gets people hurt and killed. But apparently, you can ask for time off now." Thinks WWE needs to do other things, like have an offseason. Also thinks there should be a professional neurologist on hand of concussions. "They should have better doctors."
- Punk says he should have been asking for more money instead of the WrestleMania main event, which he thinks was "a mechanism in his head." Punk was mad at how his match with Undertaker was presented. Didn't want to be "just another guy who Undertaker beats." Wanted to be presented as a threat and didn't feel like he was.
- Punk says the last few years weren't kind to Harley Race. Punk tells a story about Race throwing up in his car. Didn't want Punk to pull over because it would alert the authorities. They got to the hotel and Harley hugged him with puke all over his chest. Talks about Harley always carrying a taser but can't go into details about the story.
- Punk discusses TNA not wanting him to work for ROH. Gabe Sapolsky was afraid Punk would leave but Punk didn't. Says he pitched the idea to work Joe in a 60-minute draw in order to extend the feud. Punk won't take credit for anything in ROH but says you could see his fingerprints on certain aspects. Says it was easy to work with Joe and hopes he is happy.
- Says he never thought about WWE as he always wanted to go to Japan. But Hashimoto told him he was too small to be a heavyweight and too big to be a junior. Went back to ROH after canceling Japan bookings. Says he is super proud of ROH at that time because it felt like a destination.
- Punk tells the story of Tony Atlas telling him he would never get called up if he didn't listen to his coaches when he was down in OVW. Punk was already the ECW Champion. In the post-show meeting, Atlas kept calling Punk "an asshole." Punk got up and said, "Fuck you" before going on a rant against him. Says he's buried the hatchet with Atlas. Atlas said "You'll never make it to TV." Punk said, "I'M ON TV!" Says it was the last time he was in OVW. Says those who didn't like him, love that story because they could go tell Vince. Punk was told to go talk to Taker to clear things up. Says Nova/Simon Dean stooged him and Ryder/Hawkins off over wrist tape. Somebody told Taker about the incident. Won't give a name but it's someone who tried to get him fired more than once. Taker laughed about it.
- Punk isn't sure WWE ever trusted him. But he loved wrestling when he was in the ring because he didn't have a boss. Punk circles back to the Undertaker-WrestleMania storyline. Thought it was weird that a fatal four-way decided who wrestled Undertaker. Then thought it was weird Kane beat him four weeks before Mania. Vince told him he would be "more over" after he lost. Punk just agreed and walked away. The ashes Punk poured during the Taker feud was actually cat litter. Punk doesn't think Vince ever "got" who Punk was. Same with Triple H. Doesn't think it was a bad thing.
- Punk says Triple H tried to get the finish to their match changed, which Punk doesn't seem to believe. Still calls it garbage. "Vince has been doing it a lot longer than me."
- Punk was always pitching to do Iron Man matches in WWE but they couldn't figure out how to put the clock on the titantron. Working/traveling with Kofi and Bryan is some of his favorite WWE memories.
- Punk liked working with John Cena. Says Cena was relieved when Punk would call matches. "Working with him was great because he wasn't worried about his spot. Everyone else was worried." Says JBL was the same way, not worried about his spot.
- Punk didn't sign a new contract with WWE until the day of Money in the Bank 2011. Vince needed an answer that day to come up with the finish.
- Punk says he was happier when got to help someone else have a happy moment. Like when AJ Lee and Eve got to main event Raw with him and Bryan. Says he always wants to help his friends and raise them.
- "I couldn't beat anyone up, have fun with that Internet. But I could talk shit and when they got tired of punching me in the face, I'd still be there to talk shit." Discusses his promo ability. Isn't sure how wrestling and acting tie together with characters and promos because he hasn't been in acting long enough.
- Punk never thought of Batista when he was writing the Drax comic because his knowledge of Drax dates further back. But thought it was funny how the universe tied them together.
- Punk has thought about writing a book, but is tired of getting sued. Also says it would take three books to tell his story.
- Punk didn't pick up when The Rock called during a WWE dark segment while filming Fighting With My Family because he was in the elevator. Had 83 messages when he got out of the elevator and thought someone was dead. Punk says he started texting with Rock immediately after. Calls Rock "brilliant" for making the call while fans were chanting for him. Says there were broken headsets backstage. Says he and Rock were able to bury the hatchet from that moment because Punk thought he was a dick to him when they worked together.
- Talks about working with Rock and how they do things differently. Rock has a whole team around him and they were writing stuff for Punk, which Punk didn't understand. They ended up coming to an understanding and he thinks Rock respected him. "It's water under the bridge."
- Punk says he pitched an Expendables-like movie to WWE. Says he pitched a lot of things to WWE that they're doing now, including giving people time off.
- Punk is working on developing his own show for Stadium. Punk thought Kofi should have won the WWE Title 10 years ago but thinks it's cool that his kids got to see it. Says "Bless your heart, Kofi," when it's mentioned to him that Kofi is wrestling Orton.
- Punk says Kraven The Hunter is a dream Marvel role for him. Wants to do something that's fun and makes sense. Calls Batista as Drax "a perfect fit." Isn't sure that exists for him in the Marvel universe. Hopes that once they see his performances, more jobs will come his way.
- Punk says wrestling fans can watch "all the shit out there. Don't let either company trick you into it's us vs. them. Just enjoy the wrestling. You don't have to choose."
- Punk discusses various potential movie roles in the DC and Hasbro Universe.
- Punk talks about race. Tells the story of a lady yelling at AJ Lee to "go home." Punk thought it was funny because of his privilege. AJ didn't think it was so funny. Punk thinks everyone should be held accountable.
- Punk says Twitter has become better place now that he's filtered his timeline. "Twitter is not real life."
- Punk says he was nervous to do the show. Hopes no one is disappointed that he didn't make a big announcement. Punk is now going on vacation.
You can order Starrcast III through FITE TV.