CM Punk, the Second City Saint, the Greatest of All Time, or simply, Mr. Controversial. It seems like Punk was born to bring controversy to pro wrestling. Despite being one of the best on the mics, his controversies backstage and with fellow wrestlers never seem to leave his side. Be it in the WWE or AEW, the locker room is always divided when it comes to this man. Moreover, there are a plethora of backstage stories that fans aren’t aware of. One such story paints Punk in a rather negative light.

Among all the people the Second City Saint has feuded with, Ryback seems to have been the one that Punk really didn’t like. The feud that took place in 2012 left an unpleasant aftertaste for both men. Going on record, both have shared their sides of the story, with the most famous being Punk on the Colt Cobana show. Punk called Ryback an unsafe person to work with and claimed he shaved years off Punk’s life.

Now, Ryback isn’t one to stay quiet when dealing with negativity. His rants regarding Vince McMahon and his mother made him the black sheep of the WWE once he was released. However, in the most recent video, The Big Guy, uploaded to YouTube, the former WWE and AEW World Champion was his main target.

Following a fan question regarding his relationship with Punk, Ryback said, “But like the real life, Phil Brooks is a piece of s**t in a lot of ways.” At the start of the video, Ryback mentioned how his merch sales, which were better than Punk’s, soured their relationship. He went on to talk about Punk’s relationship with Dean Ambros, a.k.a Jon Moxley.

According to Ryback, Punk lied to the Shield, claiming The Big Guy wouldn’t sell for them. Ryback added, “Him going to the shield, Ambrose, and these people speaking up for me, and he’s had his issues with him.” There have been reports that Punk had heat with Ambros before moving to AEW.

CM Punk and his real-life heat in AEW

While Punk and Moxley worked in the WWE, they began disliking each other. The seed for this feud began when Punk claimed he’d beaten him half a dozen times. The two continued their feud while in AEW in 2022. While both feuded in the ring, reports emerged that they also had real-life heat. Punk claimed that Moxley didn’t want to put the former WWE star over.

The real-life heat reached its peak after the Brawl Out PPV. Reports claimed that Chris Jericho sided with Moxley and called Punk a cancer. The Second City Saint isn’t one to not have the final word and called Jericho a liar and a stooge. Punk and Jericho also haven’t had the best of times, with each claiming they were the spearheads of what they do best. While Jericho claimed he helped Tony Khan make AEW what it is, Punk claimed his popularity did it.

Who do you think is at fault here? And is Ryback telling the truth? Who do you side with? Tell us in the comments.