CM Punk: Latest News and Buzz Surrounding Former WWE Star for Week of Nov. 17

CM Punk is nailing this being-retired-from-WWE thing.

While some wrestlers don't seem to know what to do once they unlace their boots, Punk is staying busy. He is working with Marvel Comics, demonstrating MMA moves and talking about zombies on TV. As if him being married to AJ Lee wasn't reason enough to be jealous of him.

The more he finds new avenues for his creativity, the more he settles into post-wrestling life, it becomes clearer that he's actually retired and not just on hiatus, not just a phone call away from coming back to the squared circle.

WWE, meanwhile, continues to take an eraser to his name. 

The company announced back in 2012 that Punk was set to make a cameo in a comedy entitled Queens of the Ring. The movie is now out on DVD. Punk is still a part of it, but WWE doesn't want to call attention to that fact.

The description of the movie on the WWE YouTube channel notes that Queens of the Ring features "cameos by The Miz and Eve Torres." Punk is not listed. 

He's a little too busy to be worried about the snub, though. His retirement sounds like a teenage boy's fantasy.

He's Writing a Comic Book

Punk is set to pen a story for Thor Annual No. 1 due out in February. A longtime fan of comics, Punk is getting a chance to try out a new medium and craft a tale starring The God of Thunder.

In an interview with Ryan Penagos on Marvel.com, Punk shared his thoughts about the experience. He talks about the uncertainty of how his writing will be received.

He said, "I'm definitely prepared to fall flat on my face, I think. If anything, [wrestling] got me used to understanding that failure is part of a process, and the only real failure is if you don't try." 

For his first gig at writing comics, he's getting a major opportunity. Thor is one of Marvel's big names. 

He Grappled with the Gracies

The closest thing we're going to get to seeing Punk in a ring right now is watching him mix it up with a famous fighting family, the Gracies, on the mat.

In a recent video, Punk helped Rener Gracie demonstrate the one-handed guillotine. He was the one who got to do the choking.

That's definitive proof that Punk's MMA repertoire goes beyond the Anaconda Vise. It also looks like plenty of fun.

He Ran into Bill Simmons

Now free from WWE's grueling schedule, Punk is free to catch up on his hockey. He recently took in a Los Angeles Kings game.

ESPN personality and WWE fan Simmons ran into him, sharing the meeting on Instagram:

They make quite the outspoken pair. Both men have built a reputation on speaking their minds and pushing back against authority. Add an affinity for comic book T-shirts to the things they have in common.

He's Becoming a Regular on Talking Dead

The only way to see Punk on TV right now appears to be when he pops in as a guest on Talking Dead.

As PWInsider reported, The Best in the World appeared on the Nov. 16 edition of of the show. Yvette Nicole Brown of Community joined him, marking the third time the two paired up to discuss Walking Dead happenings.

Punk's passion for the show is clear on these appearances as is the fact that he looks rejuvenated. Not taking a pounding the majority of every week of every year has had quite the positive effect on him.

He's Happy

Punk is not sitting at home pining to be thrown around the ring again. According to one of his longtime friends, Colt Cabana, Punk is content with the current state of his career.

In an interview with Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald, Cabana said, "I enjoy seeing him being happy right now. So that's where I'll leave it. I know he is very happy. Things are going well for him. When he wants to talk, I'm sure he will do it."

With the varied ventures he's been a part of since leaving WWE behind, it's not surprising that he's in a good place. Long burnt out with the grind of wrestling, he's now getting a chance to heal, rest and enjoy a less transient life.

He has every right to do that after giving so much of himself over his career. That hasn't stopped some fans from demanding that he come back, saying that he let them down.

Punk summed up how crazy that sounds in a bull's-eye of a tweet:

As much as we wish he was back to delivering roundhouse kicks, he's done plenty of that for our entertainment for nearly 15 years. Until the hunger for the mat returns, fans will either have to rewatch his old work or settle for flashes of him on these new stages.