CM Punk was recently a guest on the No Sports Report with former WWE writer Jensen Karp, where the two discussed the company and its decision to keep WrestleMania going despite the current situation regarding COVID-19. Punk also touched on the fact that he can’t watch if there’s no crowd involved.
I would be able to watch hockey or UFC, Bellator, any type of mixed martial arts fight where there’s no people in the crowd because it’s a sport, right?,” he said (transcription via Post Wrestling). “With pro wrestling, I find it completely impossible to watch with no crowd.”
“The audience is the 100% driving force behind what wrestlers do in the ring. When I wrestled, that was my boss. You know a lot of people have their favorite wrestlers and or can debate who’s on the Mount Rushmore and who’s the greatest wrestler blah, blah. The thing that separates the greatest wrestlers from the ‘okay guys’ is that when they’re in the ring, they’re the boss but the truth to that is the audience is in charge. The audience cheers and boos who they want. They tell you if they like the moves, if they’re emotionally invested in the match that tells you where to take it.”
Punk went on to say that the fact that wrestling is so hard to watch might actually help lend it the legitimacy that it often has a hard time finding. “It lends credence, in my opinion, to everyone who argues that wrestling is just fake fights, it’s a simulation, it’s pre-determined, acrobatic,” he said. “Without the audience, without the emotion and the adrenaline. I feel like I’m watching a video game.”
While WrestleMania 36 seemingly went off without a hitch and even received some stellar reviews for some of its matches, it seems as if at least one former superstar can’t wait for fans to be allowed back into the arenas.
