CM Punk says becoming successful changed more than his bank account—it changed who suddenly wanted to be part of his life again.
Speaking with Stephanie McMahon on What’s Your Story?, Punk reflected on his difficult upbringing and explained that after finding success in wrestling, people who hadn’t been there for him suddenly started coming back around. According to Punk, that led to him paying for far more mortgages and funerals than he ever expected.
“I tried to—I don’t know if ‘fix things’ is the word—but you find out real fast when you become famous and you have money.”
Stephanie immediately knew where he was going. As Punk described it, money has a way of changing relationships, especially with people who weren’t there before success arrived.
Stephanie McMahon: “Right.”
CM Punk: “People kind of crawling back changes everything. I’ve paid for more mortgages and funerals in my time than I care to count.”
Stephanie pointed out that Punk was fortunate enough to be able to help, but Punk said that wasn’t really the point. For him, the money was never the hard part. What stuck with him was remembering how some of those same people treated him long before he became one of wrestling’s biggest stars.
Stephanie McMahon: “You can afford to do it.
CM Punk: “It’s money. I’ll make more. And you showed me who you were.”
The conversation began with Punk explaining that he found the sense of family he was missing at home through the punk rock scene and professional wrestling. He said those communities accepted him without caring what he looked like, where he came from or what he believed, something he never felt growing up.
“Nobody cared what color you were or what your religion was. It was just like, ‘We’re all wrestlers,’ and it was us versus them. These people treated me better than Mom and Dad, and it didn’t make any sense to me. At a very early age, I didn’t cry about it. I was just like, ‘Oh, I’m not getting it here. I’ll get it here.'”
Stephanie summed it up by saying the key was finding the right community, and Punk agreed before ending the conversation with a piece of advice that’s stayed with him through the toughest moments of his life.
“CM Punk: One hundred percent. To me, a great quote that I always like, and I like to tell people, is: ‘If you feel like you’re going through hell, keep going.’ Chances are you’re going to get to the other side a lot faster than if you stop, turn around and go back.
Stephanie McMahon: “Or if you just stop.”
CM Punk: “Well, then you’re stuck in hell. Keep moving. Keep moving.”
Punk didn’t name the people he helped or say whether they were friends, relatives or others from his past. His point was simpler than that: success has a way of bringing people back into your life, but it doesn’t erase how they treated you before you had something they wanted.
Do you think CM Punk is right that success often changes the way people treat you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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