CM Punk discusses challenges of playing a heel character in WWE

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TAMPA, FLORIDA - MAY 26: CM Punk celebrates ion the crowd during Monday Night RAW at Yuengling Center on May 26, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images) While the wrestling world’s mostly focused on Cody Rhodes’ possibly, finally, officially turning heel as soon as… well, tonight (July 31) on the SummerSlam eve SmackDown, I suppose — I’m in the camp who’d rather see the man he’s feuding with, Undisputed WWE champ CM Punk, break bad during his feud with Rhodes. Fans who missed the start of Punk’s career may not even think of the Straight-Edge Chicagoan as a villain, but anyone who’s seen his Ring of Honor and independent work and/or the first half of his first WWE run know he can do evil as well as he can good. Hell, for most of his pro wrestling career, conventional wisdom was that Punk was a better heel than a face. The reigning WWE champ knows it too, but Punk told Dave LaGreca on WWE Radio’s Busted Open he can’t play rudo these days: “The good guy, bad guy thing is decided by the audience. It’s their perspective. I think I’m an incredible black hat that people love so much. It wouldn’t work. I’d still get cheered. It would defeat the purpose. It’s a real double-edged sword at this point.” I still think he could, but I understand what he’s saying. To get the kind of heat he got, say, serenading future NXT Superstar Aalyah Mysterio with “Happy Birthday” while leading the Straight Edge Society, Punk would probably have to lean into a perception of himself I’m not sure he wants to. The easiest route would probably be to fully embrace the “Corporate Man Punk” view that he’s sold out, hang out on-screen with Triple H, and start doing worked-shoot promos defending creative. Honestly, I’m a little surprised Punk doesn’t view a heel turn as a challenge. Maybe he does. Maybe he even already has an idea or two in mind, and wants to throw us off the scent with answers like this. Can’t rule it out with him… although I also won’t be surprised if a Punk heel turn wasn’t followed by a season of WWE Unreal about Punk’s heel turn. What do you think of Punk’s answer? Do you think he could get a heel reaction, or is he right? Let us know in the comments below.