CM Punk: Latest News and Buzz Surrounding Former WWE Star Before Extreme Rules

Punk has been receiving more pot shots, grinding it out on a mat in his home gym and is reportedly set to make his mark on the world of comic books again. He's so entrenched in his post-WWE life that it has killed the perpetual rumors of him returning to the squared circle, even with Extreme Rules being in his backyard.

The question about Punk has shifted from "will he come back toWWE?" to "how will he fare in UFC?"

As has been the case since he signed on with the world's top MMA organization, Punk has had to suffer his share of verbal jabs as of late. Whether those bother him or not is unclear. It seems, though, that he's simply too focused on learning the ins and outs of the fight game to worry about what someone like Shawne Merriman says he'd like to do to him.

Besides, Punk has other ventures ahead of him.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson notes, "Marvel Comics has announced it will unveil a new CM Punk comic book this Sunday in Chicago at the big C2E2 convention in the Windy City." Punk previously penned a Thor story. Many folks are speculating that this next gig will involve ThePunisher. 

That's because in an interview with Ryan Penagos for Marvel.com, Punk said, "I think that my Punisher story is pretty badass. So everything I do for Marvel is going to be leading up to, 'Please just let me write my Punisher story.'"

We'll find out a lot sooner what he's up to in the world of comics than whether or not he can hang with the best the UFC has to offer. His work to get to that point continues.

Training Update

After a long stretch of not letting folks see into his training life, Punk has been a lot more open lately. Perhaps that's born from added confidence.

The Second City Saint tweeted about a recent training session, complete with a nugget of wisdom:

Daniel Wanderley, an instructor at the Roufusport MMA Academy, where Punk is currently plying his craft, let us into Punk's new life as well. He shared a photo of him and Punk after training:

Neither of those glimpses are particularly revealing, though. A posed shot can only offer so much. For fans wishing to see Punk in action,Wanderley has you covered.

He posted a video on Instagram of Punk demonstrating a Brazilian jiu-jitsu technique:

WWE fans will notice how much this looks like the kimura lock that Brock Lesnar once employed. That will certainly be a dangerous move if he can lock it on. He has a far better chance of using that in the Octagon than the GTS. 

Opinions Aimed at Punk

In a funny exchange on Twitter, Hideo Itami called Punk out for saying that he would never steal anyone's finisher move. Of course, Punk took the GTS from Itami.

That's why the Japanese star took a playful jab at Punk on Twitter:

What former San Diego Charger Shawne Merriman had to say about Punk was anything but playful. The two crossed paths long ago and the sack artist clearly hasn't forgotten about it.

Once the topic of Punk came up in an interview with Fox Sports' At the Buzzer, Merriman said:

I would do a lot of things to him. I wouldn't just want to beat him. I'd want to demolish him for the whole entire fight. I wouldn't want to pin him, wouldn't want to knock him out. I just want to make him feel pain for every round. I'm going for the kill shot every single time. I don't want to knock him out, I just want to make him feel punishment and pain the entire round.

This is far from the first time someone has dreamed of issuing violence onto Punk. John "Doomsday" Howard said during a UFC media dayback in January that he would like to crack Punk's nose.

Punk does have his supporters, though. For one, WWE Hall of FamerRoddy Piper saluted Punk for his decision to leave the comfort of a world he knew for one he didn't.

Speaking with MMAjunkie, Piper said of Punk, "I give him all the respect in the world. I love the guy and he's got the courage to leave someplace where you have millions of dollars and to go on and try something else. That's what a man's made out of. How he'll do there? You know, we'll all watch. He's a smart kid and I think he'll do great."

It will be months before we see whether Piper is right. It's great to see Punk putting in hours aplenty at the gym, but as his current teammate, Ben Askren, told Submission Radio, "He is getting a lot better, but he's still got a ways to go."