CM Punk Says This Top WWE Star Is 'Grossly Misunderstood'

CM Punk has discussed the Unreal show, which he feels allows fans to learn more about the people behind the characters, some of whom have been misunderstood by fans, like Charlotte Flair.

Punk, during his recent appearance on the "Good Guy / Bad Guy Podcast," said that the Unreal show exposed and spotlighted the pro wrestling business. He admits that his old school mentality demands him to protect the secrets of the business, but he conceded it has allowed fans to take a glimpse of the person behind the character. 

"You're taught to protect the business. You're taught to not give away your secrets. So, I would like to protect all of that as much as I can. I watched all five episodes, and there were some things, of course, I rolled my eyes at and I was annoyed at." 

He gave the example of Charlotte Flair, who has been featured on the show, as someone who's misunderstood in the business, but said the show paints a real picture of who she truly is.

"But my 90 percent takeaway was this was fantastic because you get to see like somebody like Charlotte, and it humanizes her. There's the wrestling fans, especially the ones who are consuming this, the hardcore wrestling fans, they're always going to watch, but they all have these parasocial relationships with us. They think they know us. I think this can kind of peel back the curtain a little bit to show you that, like, no, man, like we have real human emotions. We're human beings just like everybody else. You probably don't know us the way you think you do. And for somebody like Charlotte, I think who's, you know, a lot of the times grossly misunderstood, I think this kind of softens her a little bit, and you get to see, you know, Ashley instead of Charlotte."

Other WWE stars have also spoken positively about Unreal, with Bianca Belair stating that the show could clear a lot of misconceptions about wrestling.