Here’s why CM Punk winning the Royal Rumble could be very bad for WWE

CM Punk is one of the favorites to win the men’s Royal Rumble match this Saturday night (Feb. 1) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Punk ranks among the biggest stars in WWE, and Paul Heyman happens to owe him a favor for helping The OG Bloodline win at War Games. The seeds are planted there for a WrestleMania headlining match between Punk and Roman Reigns.

Punk also got up close and personal with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on this week’s episode of Raw, so that’s another potential ‘Mania main event that might be lined up for CM in April.

The point is, there are plenty of reasons to think Punk has a good chance to win the men’s Royal Rumble match, point at the absurdly large WrestleMania sign, and realize his dream of main eventing WWE’s biggest show of the year.

But what does that mean for the rest of Punk’s pro wrestling career if he finally checks that box off his to-do list? In an interview with Jackie Redmond, the 46-year-old Punk was asked about how much time he has left in the ring, and how it might feel to lose the Royal Rumble with so much on the line for him.

CM said he knows exactly how empty he feels when he loses the Rumble, because he’s lost every Rumble match he’s ever competed in. It’s the thought of winning it that scares him, because what if that makes him less passionate about the business afterwards?

“I’ll be very honest with you, that’s a scarier thought to me than losing. Because I haven’t experienced it.

What if I do get there? You know, ‘cause we’re talking about career longevity, and we’re talking about my age. And you’re asking me very real questions.

So, what if I win the Rumble? Great. What if I main event WrestleMania? And if my entire career, that has been my dream, and I accomplish that, maybe [I’m] a little bit scared that what I have in my heart for this business goes away, or fades, or is even less than the day before. Maybe what makes CM Punk so great is his constant hunger. And if I’m not hungry anymore, do I want to do this? Can I do this at this level? That scares me…be careful what you wish for, right?”

I remember back around 2012 when Punk was in the midst of his 434 day WWE championship run, he suggested that he would walk away from pro wrestling earlier than anybody expected. That led to some fan speculation that maybe Vince McMahon intentionally kept him out of WrestleMania main events in order to keep him motivated to try reaching that spot again the following year.

I doubt that’s the case, because The Rock vs. John Cena was always going to be the WrestleMania main events those years regardless of Punk’s comments about his future. That being said, CM’s thoughts in this new interview are feeding into the idea that he could lose his passion to continue wrestling if he does achieve his dream this year. Why would WWE book him to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania if it takes away the main thing that motivates CM Punk to be great and perform at the highest level?

Do you think a Royal Rumble win for CM Punk could backfire on WWE? Let me know in the comments below, Cagesiders.