Seth Rollins talks about the reality of his tense relationship with CM Punk.
CM Punk and Seth Rollins recently clashed in the main event of the first-ever episode of WWE Raw on Netflix. In the build-up to the match, Rollins and Punk's relationship with one another was portrayed as one with a very visceral and real sense of disdain.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet that was recorded before the January 6 debut of WWE Raw on Netflix, Seth Rollins discussed the reality behind their tense verbal spars leading up to the match and how that reality helped the audience connect with their story.
"They’ve been interesting. These are things that I’ve thought about saying, publicly, for a long time, and things that I’ve wanted to say to his face for a long time, and haven’t been able to, or have said privately. Occasionally, I would get asked about him over the years and you’d see some of it slip out, but most of the time, I just never wanted to acknowledge the existence. He really was such a cancer to my career for many years while he was gone. An intentional one. He was a parasite. It seemed like every time he could take a potshot at me or the company, he was trying to. I never wanted to give that credence because I kind of look at him as a troll and I didn’t want to acknowledge these things because then it looks like they matter, and they don’t. It did bother me, internally, because that roster....he leaves in 2014. We were hustling and trying our damnedest and we were given garbage a lot of the time. We were making the best of it. He was in a position where he made a bunch of money and could dip and go.
"There wasn’t an alternative. AEW didn’t exist at the time," Rollins continued. "There was nowhere else to go. What are we going to do just pack up and leave because CM Punk’s feelings were hurt? That’s what he wanted from guys. He didn’t want people who were his friends to stay and work for the company because he felt like it was some sort of betrayal to him. This is my dream job and this is how I earn a living. I’m trying to set up and get to your level. I don’t have the luxury to just quit. I can’t go anywhere else and get paid this kind of money. I don’t get to work until I’m 60, either. It was one of the most selfish things I’ve seen out of a human, leaving the way he did and expecting other people to follow him and then taking shots at the place from a distance when he wouldn’t even explain to his friends why he was so resistant to continuing that friendship. I never got an answer out of him."
Seth Rollins then peeled the curtain back on their history together and his attempts to reach out to CM Punk during his hiatus from WWE.
"We were friends until he left. We had a mentor-mentee kind of relationship at that point because I was a lot younger. I sent him some texts and called him after he left. I wasn’t comfortable enough with him. We were peers, but he was [up here] and I was [down here]. I didn’t want to push that envelope," he said. "After a while, I just let it go. Even over the years, I reached out to him a couple of times to try to engage and see where he was at and if he was interested in coming back. Nothing. No response, except whenever he would get a chance, he would talk as much crap as he could. I had all this stuff bottled up for ten years. To finally get out there on a microphone and say it, and it’s probably not even articulated the best it can, but there is so much real, hatred is a strong word, but it’s as close to hatred as you can get. Resentment, animosity, just anger. It’s really palatable. The reason people are attached to the promos is they can see real emotion behind them from me. It’s a really cathartic experience for me."
Ultimately, CM Punk won the match between the two of them on January 6. Following the match, he did praise Seth Rollins' abilities. Fans can read his comments here.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rollins gave an update on Becky Lynch and her potential return to WWE. Read more here.
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