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Throughout his long and storied career in pro wrestling, CM Punk has experienced many ups and downs that have been well documented. From participating in a career-defining match with John Cena at Money in the Bank to being fired by AEW earlier this year, various events have unfolded that shaped his past two decades.
Punk left AEW because of his infamous backstage incident with Jack Perry at All In. However, there was another, somewhat less serious backstage incident that had occurred in his past.
On his Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker said the Straight Edge Superstar once picked fights with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley backstage. It’s safe to say neither fight worked out in his favor (h/t Fightful for transcription).
We’re drinking, everyone is carrying on. Somehow or another, the discussion comes up. I don’t know if Vince instigated this one or not. Bradshaw was on this flight too. The topic comes up as we’re on the way over. CM Punk, he fashioned himself as a jiu-jitsu practitioner. Someone broached the question, ‘You did jiu-jitsu. How long do you think you could last with one of these two wrestlers?’ It was Bobby Lashley, who wrestled for the Army, and Shelton Benjamin, who wrestled at Minnesota. Two high-level amateur wrestlers. To Phil’s credit, he said, ‘I’ll tap them out.’ That was about all it took. Now, the pot begins to really get stirred. Shelton, at this time, he didn’t drink at all. I remember Vince pouring a styrofoam cup full of wine, and Shelton just gulps it down. I honestly can’t remember who went first. There is not a lot of room. It’s tight, but there’s enough room. I want to say the first match lasted about 47 seconds. The other one was sub-40, where they had taken them down and pinned him. He didn’t back down, but my goodness, it was like blood in the water and two great white sharks circling. They could not wait. They didn’t disappoint. That was another fine case of Vince McMahon shit disturbing.
It seems Punk made the wrong decision — a very wrong one. He couldn’t last a total of two minutes in his fights, which is understandable given that Lashley went on to compete in MMA, although Punk also dabbled in the Octagon, but to negative results.
Nonetheless, this eye-opening experience offered a glimpse into the 45-year-old’s wild career. Surely, this was memorable for Undertaker and others to take in.