Add as a preferred source on Google CM Punk says the connection he has with the crowd comes down to authenticity, reps, and time.
Speaking with Dave LaGreca on Busted Open, the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion was asked whether that connection is something he built over the years or just a matter of being himself.
Punk said it’s both:
“It’s a combination of both of those things. I think initially it’s the authenticity that I bring. It’s being myself, but it’s also the job. I’m in the job of manipulating the emotions of the audience based on where I want them to go. When you’ve done it for this long, you develop a currency with the audience.
So even if I thought it would be a great idea to try to get these people to hate me, I think that’s going to be a tough ask. We saw it recently with John Cena. I don’t think people really want to boo Randy [Orton]. I think the situation’s got to be right.
But I’m fortunate to have that currency with the audience. It’s just being around; it’s being in their living rooms every Monday and Friday for X amount of years. It’s going away and coming back. How do they miss me if I don’t go away? It’s just a career that was crafted by a lot of those brilliant legends that we just previously talked about. I don’t get here by myself, I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”
The comments came the same week Punk goes one-on-one with Cody Rhodes for the first time since 2008. The two closed Friday’s go-home SmackDown with a pull-apart brawl that never actually got pulled apart, trading shots in the ring and at ringside while referees, producers, and security failed to separate them as the show went off the air.
Punk defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes in the main event of SummerSlam Night One on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.