CM Punk and Renee Young Describe How WWE Blocks Wrestlers From Opportunities Outside the Company
CM Punk appeared on the latest episode of Renee Paquette's Oral Sessions podcast this week, and [...]
CM Punk appeared on the latest episode of Renee Paquette's Oral Sessions podcast this week, and the pair reflected on their respective runs in WWE. At one point the subject of Xavier Woods becoming a G4 host came up, and Punk wondered aloud about WWE's new rules regarding third parties. He and Young then brought up how WWE would have a habit of taking opportunities presented by outside companies (in his case, acting roles) and handing them off to other stars they specifically want in the spotlight.
"So I don't want to speak out of turn about that, but I just saw he was petitioning to get a job with G4," Punk said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). "Does WWE get money from that? Why is it okay for him to do that, but Zelina Vega can't have a Twitch? That was always my thing, and I think people have labeled me a 'complainer' or 'whiny' because I would always be the guy that would be like, 'wait, why is so-and-so able to do this' because there was always outside interest and not just for me."
"I remember one particular person got a role playing a wrestler because they knew somebody who was producing this television show for this certain channel, and then when it got shuffled to the office, all of a sudden, 'no, you can't do that.' And then the next thing you know, John Cena is doing it," he later added. "They would literally take every single request that came through, and they would funnel it to the one person that they wanted to be the face of the company."
He then recalled a particular incident where 2K Games approached WWE about putting Punk on the cover of WWE 2K13. WWE tried to shoot down the idea in favor of Cena, Sheamus or The Miz, but the gaming publisher stood firm.
Paquette (who went by Renee Young in her WWE tenure) faced similar issues.
"That stuff so infuriating," she said. "I've had so many people say things like that to me since I've left too. 'Oh, we pitched this for you. We wanted you to host a f--king cooking show with wrestlers,' and I'm like, 'yeah, no s--t. That would be great.' Nope, they don't give it to me. They gave it to Bo Dallas. I love Bo Dallas. Go get it. Do what you gotta do, but like f‚. I could never catch a break. I couldn't get anything done! I couldn't get a podcast off the ground, like give me a f—ing podcast."
