WWE icon CM Punk has one question he wants you to stop asking

WWE 2K26 cover star CM Punk is hoping to get the Rey Mysterio treatment as he approaches 30 years in wrestling.

The current World Heavyweight Champion made his pro wrestling debut back in 1997 and has remained one of the biggest names in the business, even after stepping away in 2014.

Speaking exclusively to Metro at WWE HQ in Stamford, Connecticut, during WWE 2K26 Creatorfest, Punk said: ‘[Rey’s] a guy that inspires me, because I feel like nobody’s asking him, “Oh, hey, when you’re gonna retire?”

‘And I get it every other question, “Hey, when are you gonna retire?” It’s like, well, slow down!

‘Like I look at a guy like Rey and he’s timeless, and he inspires me to put my boots on and keep going.’

Punk first worked with the masked luchador, 51, on the independent scene in 2002 when they had a Triple Threat Match involving the late, great Eddie Guerrero, who died three years later, aged 38.

‘Losing Eddie when we did, I think that strengthened a lot of other bonds I had with other people, especially Rey,’ the 47-year-old star said, noting such relationships are ‘few and far between’.

He added: ‘Every time I see him, we always have a moment where it’s just like, “Man, look at us. Can you believe we’re still here, still doing it?”

‘We share feelings, and we share moments, and it’s important to do that, everybody. You need to grab the people that you love, and you need to tell them.’

In WWE 2K26’s Showcase mode, which stars Punk himself, fans can play out his greatest matches, including others that never happened in WWE, including a singles match with Eddie.

‘He probably would have whipped my *ss,’ the champ laughed. ‘Eddie was always Eddie. I think that’s one of the cool things about the video game this year, the big “What Ifs?” You get to have a little Fantasy Warfare. I think that’s a lot of fun. It’s fun gameplay for the fans.’

Does Punk ever wonder how a match with Eddie would’ve looked in WWE?

‘It’s a fun thought, it’s comforting,’ he pondered. ‘But I mean, if Eddie was still here, the last thing I would want to do is work with him. I’d just want to get a meal with him, something a little more heartfelt.

‘But I don’t normally dwell on stuff like that. I’m more a look ahead to the future kinda guy.’

In the near future, that involves a WrestleMania main event showdown against Roman Reigns, who had some scathing remarks about Punk’s long hiatus, which saw him eventually return to WWE in 2023, having only made his wrestling comeback two years earlier.

‘At this stage, if you have thin skin, I don’t think you would have made it to this stage,’ he said of his reaction to Roman’s more personal remarks, blurring the lines between storyline and reality.

He added: ‘You gotta realise that to entertain people, you gotta say and do things that would sometimes just entertain yourself.’

Punk explained that if the superstars themselves think ‘there’s meat on the bone with certain things’, the audience likely agrees, and in this case, it means his feud with Roman ‘supersedes the title’.

‘[The championship is] important to me and it’s important to him, but there’s so much more when it’s personal,’ he smiled. ‘This is very personal. I’m sure it’s probably going to get more wildly personal whenever he decides to show up to work.’

Elsewhere in Punk’s Showcase mode, fans can explore ‘What If?’ matches from an alternate reality if he’d never left WWE, but how does the man himself think that would’ve gone?

‘Oh, I’d be dead,’ he said with a genuine laugh. ‘We don’t gotta get into the particulars, but I won’t mince words about that. I needed to get off the hamster wheel.’

Now, though, he’s glad to be back and has no signs of stopping any time soon.

‘I love the fact that I’m back and looking forward to the future,’ he added. ‘Gordie Howe played in the NHL until he was 52, and he’s Mr Hockey, you know?

‘I try not to put a time limit. I try to never say never anymore, until I’m known as Mr Wrestling.’

WWE 2K26 drops on March 13 with CM Punk on the cover. The Attitude Era, Monday Night War and King of Kings editions all release a week early on March 6.

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