CM Punk Admits He’s ‘Riddled’ With Anxiety Before Big Matches

The new “WWE: Unreal” docuseries is providing a deep look into the minds of top stars, with CM Punk opening up in the first episode about his struggles with what he calls “anticipatory anxiety” before major matches.

The docuseries followed Punk in the lead-up to his main event match against Seth Rollins on the January 6th debut episode of Raw on Netflix. In the footage, Punk described the intense anxiety he feels before a big performance.

“I’m looking at that RAW debut like, ‘holy shit’. I constantly have what I call anticipatory anxiety now. Like, right now, I’m just riddled with it,” Punk said. “In a way, I’m almost waiting for it to all to be over and the only time I’m not gonna feel that way is when the red light’s on and the bell rings.”

Punk explained that the anxiety disappears the moment he steps through the ropes, as that is the one place where he feels completely in command of the situation. “I have no boss. I’m 100% in control. I can do whatever the fuck I want,” he stated. Punk was ultimately victorious in that main event match against Rollins.

Punk will likely be dealing with those same feelings of anticipatory anxiety this weekend as he prepares for another high-stakes encounter. At the two-night SummerSlam premium live event, he is scheduled to challenge GUNTHER for the World Heavyweight Championship in what is expected to be one of the main events.