As WWE prepares to pull back the curtain with its new “WWE: Unreal” docuseries, CM Punk has revealed one of the business’s “secret rules” in a new interview. He explained the unwritten rule about going over an allotted segment time on live television.
While WWE shows are strictly timed, Punk told Josh Lawless of SportBible that there’s an unwritten rule that allows for flexibility, as long as the segment is delivering.
“It’s one of the secret rules. As long as it’s really, really good, you can get away with it. Going 20 minutes over and you suck, that’s no good,” Punk explained. “I know there is a lot of Bloodline segments or stuff with The Rock, when it’s really good and the crowd’s going absolutely banana for it – you can’t really rush through it.”
Punk also shared his personal philosophy on segment timing, noting that he prefers to give time to others rather than take it. He explained how talent often works together backstage to ensure the best overall show.
“I don’t want to cut into anyone else’s segment and there’s a lot of times I have X amount of time for something and I don’t think I need all that time, I’ll just go out there and go short,” he said. “I would rather go short than long. If Rhea [Ripley] is in the next segment, I can nudge here and be like, ‘Hey, you guys need two minutes? I can give you two minutes’.”
CM Punk will have the opportunity to put this philosophy into practice tonight, as he is scheduled to kick off Monday Night Raw. He will be in the ring to address his upcoming World Heavyweight Championship match against GUNTHER at SummerSlam.