Are CM Punk and Brock Lesnar friends in real life?
CM Punk and Brock Lesnar only had one match together in WWE. It was at SummerSlam 2013 in what is now considered one of the greatest matches in the pay-per-view's history.
There usually isn't much known about Brock Lesnar's friendships and relationships outside the ring. However, CM Punk has divulged his backstage relationship with Lesnar in the years since their SummerSlam match at Su. While Punk and The Beast aren't necessarily close friends, they seem to greatly respect one another.
CM Punk revealed (via ESPN) that Brock Lesnar even contacted him when he started MMA and offered help if needed:
"I don't want to ruin his image. I think he's a f---in' sweetheart. This is a guy, when I got into MMA and I left wrestling, he was texting me, 'Hey, if you need any help.' I'm always kind of a standoffish guy. It's hard to open up and trust people in the pro wrestling world. But he was never anything but a real sweetheart. It was a pleasure to work with him. He's just a great guy, I think."
CM Punk continued to praise Brock Lesnar, admitting that he was lucky to be one of the people that The Beast Incarnate wanted to work with in WWE. Punk also said that Lesnar doesn't get credit for how smart he is in the ring, calling their match at SummerSlam a "special" one.
Punk said that he wasn't sure how receptive Brock Lesnar would be to the ideas he pitched for their match. However, to his surprise, Lesnar was enthusiastic about calling it on the fly, even pitching his own ideas.
CM Punk proceeded to call the match everything he loved about professional wrestling. He said that Brock Lesnar has a "big heart" and never gets enough credit for being a family man:
"I think Brock has got a big heart, and that's something a lot of people don't talk about. They'll talk about the freak strength and the crazy athletic things he's done in his career, the accomplishments. But they don't talk about the fact that he loves his wife, his kids, lives on a farm and just kind of wants to be left alone. All the fame and the money and everything is really just a side effect of being successful at what he wants to do. And he does what he wants, when he wants. That's the beauty of Brock Lesnar."
CM Punk and Brock Lesnar had contrasting UFC careers
While Brock Lesnar became a UFC Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk didn't have the same level of success. Regardless, it seems as though Lesnar has a lot of respect for Punk.
AJ Styles revealed in an interview 3 years ago that Brock Lesnar can have a great match when he wants, referring to their Survivor Series 2017 classic. Lesnar wanted to have a great match with CM Punk and was motivated to do so, leading to an all-time classic.
CM Punk returned to wrestling in late August 2021 after a 7-and-a-half year hiatus. Brock Lesnar returned to WWE a day later, after nearly a year-and-a-half hiatus.
It's interesting to note what CM Punk said about Brock Lesnar the person. Because of how private he keeps his life outside the ring, people are often lost on what kind of an individual he is. Various stories have indicated that Lesnar is simply a more introverted person outside the ring and is a big family man.