CM Punk discusses unionizing in wrestling.
For the longest time, some fans and wrestlers have talked about the possibility of unionizing the wrestling business. Other major entertainment industries such as the film & television industry have been led by unions for decades at this point.
The topic of unions are very relevant in today’s world, as the Screen Actors Guild is currently on strike as they fight for fair pay and working conditions for the actors. Recently, the Writers Guild Of America was on strike as well, but a new deal between that guild and the studios was reached in late September. Furthermore, many major sporting leagues also have unions.
While speaking to 670 The Score for a new interview,
“For professional wrestling, yeah, wrestlers should 100% have a union. I’ll always say this, and I mean it in the most loving way; wrestlers will never unionize because wrestlers are stupid and selfish. That’s just the way it is. There is always going to be somebody else around the corner that wants what you have or possibly doesn’t want you to have what you have and they will do whatever the promoter wants you to do for less money. That’s unfortunate. The boys never stick together.”
Punk went on to say that he likes Hockey because the players stick together, due to the fact that they have a player’s union.
Punk also went on to note that stars in wrestling will often avoid rocking the boat in order to not get in trouble, as they can’t afford to lose their job.
“I think it’s a lack of places to work. It’s really a wage gap disparity, it’s a class war. When your boss is a billionaire and you don’t want to rock the boat — this isn’t in wrestling, this applies to anything. More often than not, people will want to keep their head down, not get in trouble, and just go about their day. For better or worse, people have mouths to feed. There are people with kids, families, taking care of other people, and they can’t afford to lose their job. Fortunately, for me, I’ve never been that guy. I’m always like, ‘I don’t need the money. This is wrong and I get to tell people it’s wrong.’ I don’t think the platform I have is worth anything if I don’t speak from the heart about issues that I feel are important.”
The former AEW World Champion went on to state that he has researched about striking and that it really boils down to having strength in numbers.
“I have researched. Probably not as extensively as I should if I was going to act on this. I’m just me. There is strength in numbers. If it were to ever happen, just like it happened any other time people have risen up and created a union or strived for better working conditions for workers, it has to be a group of people. People have to stick together, and wrestlers are just never going to stick together. It’s sad.”
The SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood is currently allowing John Cena to appear regularly on episodes of WWE SmackDown.
Elsewhere in the interview, CM Punk was asked if he’ll be at Survivor Series. Fans can see Punk’s full comments by clicking here.
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