WWE Rumors: CM Punk's Podcast Paints Company in Whole New Light

When news broke Wednesday night that CM Punk would break his silence on his departure from WWE in January, fans counted the minutes until the audio became available. Punk told the entire, detailed story on his dear friend Colt Cabana's podcast, The Art of Wrestling, and the tale is disturbing in numerous ways.

Before we dive into this, go listen to the podcast if you have not yet done so. It's an incredibly detailed story from Punk's perspective and he hardly holds back, if at all, in describing what happened not just in January, but in the years building up to his exit. The podcast soared to number two on the charts, and even The Washington Post has picked up on the story.

Ever since the Chris Benoit murder/suicide several years ago, concussions have been a major point of focus in WWE. Analysis showed Benoit had a severely damaged brain from his years in the business, so the company understandably wanted to take care of its talent. But the WWE that Punk describes in the nearly two-hour long podcast is one that simply put a Band-Aid over a bullet wound.

Punk starts his story back in 2011, when he famously was about to leave WWE until an eleventh hour negotiation brought him back to the company. But in the three years since, dozens of factors snowballed until Punk reached his breaking point and decided to leave.

Punk suffered from broken ribs, two damaged knees, a full-blown MRSA staph infection with which he wrestled for months, an elbow problem and surgically repaired eyes. And those were just the physical maladies. Throughout the podcast, he describes a toxic work environment in which he had to constantly fight an uphill battle just to win the smallest victories.

But perhaps the most damning part of the entire story involves Punk's concussion and his staph infection. Back in November 2013, Punk suffered a concussion and claims WWE doctor Chris Amann did not treat him properly because the company was about to go on a European tour.

He further claims negligence on Amann's part when Punk showed him a lump that had appeared on his back. The doctor called it a fatty deposit and did not treat it. The lump eventually grew and turned purple and painful, but Punk said Amann still did not treat it. After Punk left WWE, he went to a doctor that told him he had a full-blown staph infection that should have killed him while he was wrestling with it for months.

This quote from Punk on the day he left the company pretty much says it all:

"Right now. Me. Right now in Cleveland, Ohio, take f*cking care of me right f*cking now. Don't worry about where I'm supposed to be tomorrow. Don't worry about what segment I'm supposed to be on. F*cking fix me. My f*cking ribs are broken. My knee is f*cking torn up. I'm f*cking sick. F*cking help me." 

The scariest thing is it seems WWE has learned little to nothing from the Benoit case if Punk's story is completely true. (And to be fair, it might not be. As my great-grandmother used to say: "There are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth.") If the company is truly burning out its employees and caring for them so poorly, then it deserves whatever fate befalls it. Punk said in the story that he felt he needed to essentially kill himself just to get where he needed to be. We've heard stories about WWE's work atmosphere before, but Punk's story crystallizes it all.

The most important takeaway from this entire story is Punk got out before the situation deteriorated to a point from which he could not come back. He's happy and healthy now. He's not lying awake at night in agony. He's not living a miserable existence anymore. He's free. Forget about his comments about Ryback or Triple H or whomever else.

The man is alive again. Good for him.