CM Punk: Latest News and Buzz Surrounding Former WWE Star for Week of Feb. 16

Even with as immersed as former WWE champion CM Punk is in his new world, he still causes rumblings in his old one.

It's been over a year since Punk jettisoned himself from the company and pro wrestling in general. That exit and its aftermath, though, are still being felt today.

His name still pops up in other wrestlers' interviews. Rumors of him returning to the squared circle refuse to finally die.

Most significantly, a lawsuit has stemmed from Punk's controversial comments last November, an aftereffect of the last pipebomb he aimed at WWE.

That's the latest distraction Punk has to block out as he tries to learn a new violent craft. His UFC debut sits on the horizon somewhere. And he has a lot of paddling to do to get there.

It won't be a quiet trip, though. A possible side trip to court looms. 

Podcast Fallout

WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann is firing back at Punk.

When Punk finally broke his silence last year and spoke with Colt Cabana (contains NSFW language) on The Art of Wrestling podcast, he aimed some of his stiffest verbal jabs for the WWE medical staff. Amann took many of those blows as Punk painted him as negligent and having put his life in danger.

Amann clearly didn't agree with that portrayal of him. He filed a defamation lawsuit against both Punk and Cabana on Feb. 19 as reported by Bethany Krajelis of The Cook County Record.  

Chris Harrington shares a link to the court case:

According to Krajelis, "Amann is seeking more than $1 million in compensatory damages, as well as an undetermined amount of punitive damages." The amount may actually be higher, though. For the Chicago Sun-Times, George Slefo writes that Amann "seeks more than $2 million in damages."

Regardless of the amount, this is one sizable headache for Punk.

He said a number of inflammatory things about Amann. Even if Punk's claims were true, he certainly didn't have "addressing a lawsuit" on his to-do list for preparing for his UFC debut. And things appear to be getting increasingly messy going forward.

WWE sent PWInsider a statement regarding Punk's allegations. In it, the company states, "WWE continues to have the utmost confidence in the ability and expertise of our world-class team of physicians, including Dr. Amann."  

Credit: WWE.com

The statement also adds, "There is clear video evidence from the 2014 Royal Rumble, which allows all to decide whether there is any appearance of a baseball-sized growth on CM Punk's back." 

A rumble of another kind is imminent. 

Pro Wrestling Buzz

Who knows how long it will before the question "What are your feelings on how CM Punk left WWE?" stops coming up? It's clear that we haven't yet reached that point.

The topic arose again when former WWE Diva (and current Ring of Honor star) Maria Kanellis recently talked with Joe Cronin of the Joe Cronin Show. He asked Kanellis if she had any inkling that Punk would leave the company the way he did.

She said that she "had a hunch" that he would, partly because of his personality. She added, "When you beat someone up for that long, without a break, without some humanity, I think it takes a toll."

The subject of Punk's departure can easily become the jumping-off point for a larger discussion on WWE's schedule and its treatment of its wrestlers. The conversation often turns to issues of backstage politics as well, something Punk brought up in his interview Cabana.

When Shawn Michaels did his media tour to promote his latest book, that exact topic came up.

In an interview with TapouT Radio (h/t WrestlingInc), Michaels answered a question about whether he "buried" Punk backstage. The Heartbreak Kid quickly squashed that idea.

Micheals said, "Dave Lagana will tell you, as Punk will, that I was one of his biggest fans. The reason [WWE] didn't like him is because he had a bad attitude."

Anyone with any connection to Punk is bound to get these types of questions for the foreseeable future. His exit and the controversy surrounding it remain one of the juiciest stories in pro wrestling history.

Some fans are still hoping for another kind of story to emerge, one surrounding Punk's triumphant return. Even with all the negative things Punk spouted about the company and how much he clearly hated working there at the end, this pipe dream is still alive for some folks.

That's fuel for hollow rumors.

As the Feb. 16 edition of Raw approached, word of Punk quitting UFC spread around the Internet. It wasn't based on fact but instead a picture supposedly posted on WWE's Instagram.

Fan Bryan Huerta provides a shot of the image in question:

As one would expect, the photo wasn't real.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson cleared things up. He wrote, "WWE sources indicate it's just a photoshopped thing that is being passed around on social media and not something WWE posted and deleted, as the story online claims."

No surprise there. 

Punk-to-WWE rumors will continue to circulate. That's the nature of rumors, especially when they involve someone with so many potential years in the ring left.

He will be busy, though, trying his hand at morphing from pro wrestler to cage fighter.

Training Updates

It's unclear how much progress Punk has made in his MMA training, but he definitely has the right attitude. In an interview with WTMJ4 in Milwaukee, Punk said about learning the craft inside the cage, "It's hard, but it's fun."

He talked about entering training with a clean slate and focusing on learning despite having some previous experience with jiu-jitsu. Punk compared picking up what his trainers show him learning a new language, saying he is slowly picking things up.

Punk called himself a "white belt for life," or in other words, a student of the game.

MMA fighter Ben Askren initially bristled at the idea of UFC signing Punk. In December, he took some jabs at him online:

Askren has since softened. That's great for Punk as the two now train in the same gym.

When he spoke with MMAFighting.com about Punk more recently, Askren said, "He's been outstanding in the gym. He's been in there every day. It's not like he came in here and said, 'I'm a superstar, I'm going to get preferential treatment.' He just acts like one of the guys, just working out. It's outstanding."

Winning over his Askren and his coaches appears to be going well. His next step is to win over his critics with a successful run once he debuts and to work through an ongoing legal squabble with WWE's doctor.