CM Punk Says WWE Wrestlers Were ‘Hurt’ By Conor McGregor’s Trash Talk
Shortly before his UFC 202 contest with Nate Diaz last month, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor fired shots at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) competitors, during a conference call to promote the bout, calling the WWE’s wrestlers a bunch of ‘messed up pu**ies”.
One former WWE champion who has found a new home inside the UFC’s Octagon is none other than CM Punk, who will make his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut against young welterweight prospect Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203 next week.
During the UFC 203 media conference call, courtesy of MMA Fighting, Punk admitted that a lot of feelings were hurt due to the brash Irishman’s comments but also admitted his former colleagues should have left emotion out of the whole affair:
“A lot of feelings were hurt, though, I can tell you that much, which I thought was a little strange,” Punk said. “You’ve gotta leave the emotion out of it. These guys still don’t know.”
McGregor’s comments sparked much controversy throughout the professional wrestling industry, with legends such as Ric Flair responding the ‘The Notorious One’s’ comments:
“I don’t know what to say to Ric Flair,” McGregor said at his pre-UFC 202 media day in Las Vegas. “This ain’t no gimmick. This is the real sh*t. I’ve gotta get in and fight a man for real.
With no script, with no nothing. He was talking about bringing some other wrestler guys out to challenge me. Come bring it, then. This is the real shit over here. You know want to come over, we can fight no problem.
A few of them are talking about the street and all. If they want to do that, come at me and see what happens.”
“What’s the main guy? John Cena,” McGregor said. “He’s 40. He’s 40 years of age. He’s walking around in a luminous orange t-shirt and a headband talking about nobody can see him.
We can see him right there. He’s a big fat, 40-year-old failed Mr. Olympia mother f*cker.”
While McGregor’s unrivaled talent on the mic makes him a perfect fit for the WWE’s platform, Punk wonders if those who responded to the 145-pound champ were told to do so by their higher-ups:
“It’s a hard thing to comment on, because the amount of people who responded to him made me feel like they were told to respond to him,” Punk said.
“[McGregor is] the biggest name in sports at the moment. There’s always grey areas when you involve that whole scene and you’re wondering, is this a work, is this not a work?”
Punk will meet Gall on the main card of UFC 203 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on September 10, 2016.
