CM Punk, Rhea Ripley keep it Unreal: WWE stars on Netflix docuseries, Cena and more

India Today

18 hours ago

When you look at CM Punk and Rhea Ripley, it is easy to figure out why they're two of the most beloved superstars in WWE right now. The journey does seem a lot different, yet similar in many ways for both stars within the company. Both are big-money draws, fan favourites, the best in the world when it comes to working in the ring, and their characters just seem to connect with the audience on screen.advertisementNow, both superstars are heading to SummerSlam 2025 as No.1 contenders—with Punk taking on Gunther for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship while Ripley takes on champion Naomi and Iyo Sky for the Women's World Heavyweight title.But what happens outside the ring when Punk becomes Phil Brooks and Ripley is Demi Bennett? Well, both of them are affectionate dog parents—that's something everyone would love seeing. But apart from that, the fans would be eager to know how both superstars are like outside the ring. And WWE's new docuseries with Netflix, WWE: Unreal, kind of gives us a sneak peek into it. From a look at your favourite superstars to seeing how each match is produced, it is a proper breaking of kayfabe if you're a WWE fan and the five-part docuseries will be available from July 29. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NetflixSports (@netflixsports)
Well, that was something CM Punk wasn't quite ready for, as he and Ripley had an exclusive chat with India Today regarding the documentary—and a little bit about wrestling as well."I still don't know how comfortable I am with all of it. Even just sitting here talking with you, saying the word kayfabe makes my skin kind of crawl. But it's a brave new world. I think once you break through all of that, what the Unreal documentary series is going to do is, it's gonna humanise us a little bit more," said Punk.And there's good reason as well. Wrestling for a long time has been all about the character and gimmicks the superstars play and not breaking kayfabe. But for Punk, he feels this is a chance for the younger generation to see the human side of the wrestlers and draw inspiration to deal with some of the issues like anxiety."They see CM Punk when they turn on Netflix and watch Monday Night Raw. I think backstage, you're gonna see a little bit more Phil. And I don't know how I feel about that, to be completely honest with you. I think there's definitely a big part of me that still wants to keep a lot of this protected and private and in a way just for us, but I recognise, in a lot of ways, the importance for people to see what we go through."advertisement"I know we talk a lot about like anxiety issues, and I just think of, you know, like maybe a little girl who has it pretty tough, and then sees Rhea and sees how Rhea is reacting in real time to how she deals with her anxiety and stuff like that. And I think that can give, a number of little girls, a way out of whatever they're dealing with. And to me, that's more important than me trying to protect the business," said Punk.The Netflix experienceThe deal with Netflix has certainly changed the fan experience when it comes to WWE. The feel is getting bigger and better, leading to the global wrestling juggernaut bringing in more viewers. But what has been the experience for the Superstars?Ripley feels it has been wild since WWE started their partnership with Netflix and feels it has been beneficial for everyone involved. She says it's good to have new eyes come in."It's been wild. I feel like the publicity that WWE has gotten just from partnering with Netflix has been so beneficial for not only the company but all of us. To see the amount of people that have started watching WWE just because we are on Netflix. It's obviously easier, it's right there, a lot of people just go, I don't know, I've never checked it out, so they just click on it, they watch it. It's just like welcoming new people in and it is just awesome to me. I love when new eyes start watching the product and you hear the excitement that they get by watching it first off, and I love this partnership," said Ripley.advertisementFor Punk, he feels that Netflix has made them more accessible worldwide than how it was with cable and network television over the past few decades."Yeah, I think WWE wrestling has been on cable and network television for 30–40 years. So you, as a superstar, almost take it for granted. Like this is as big as it's gonna get, and then Netflix comes around and you realise like, oh, this is getting so much bigger and now it's like so much more global and areas that couldn't access us before."advertisement"I think India might be a pretty big market. Everybody's got Netflix on their phones, so I feel like we are now even somehow more accessible, and more available to people worldwide, and that's very exciting," said Punk.The CenaverseAfter the talk about the documentary and Netflix was done, it was time to get into some of the wrestling action and rivalries for both superstars. When it comes to Punk, probably his biggest rivalry was with the legendary John Cena. From the infamous pipebomb promo to Punk's win at Money In The Bank in 2011, Cena has been a vital presence in the Second City Saint's career over the years.Both men ran it back once again at Night Of Champions 2025, where Cena got the win, and Triple H confirmed after the event that the rivalry was done. Punk commented on his iconic rivalry and confirmed that it was indeed the last time he would face Cena inside a WWE ring, with the 17-time World Champion heading for retirement at the end of the year. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WWE (@wwe)advertisementPunk said he had pulled up Cena and told him that he wanted to be a part of the Cenation leader's retirement tour and was willing to do whatever was necessary."Night Of Champions was a really important night for me personally and professionally and emotionally. Yeah, that's it (on Cena rivalry). John to me has written his own ticket. John can do whatever he wants. I told him, I think it was a year ago, I saw him for the first time in a while, and he announced in Toronto he was gonna retire and he was gonna do X amount of dates."And I immediately I grabbed him and I said, 'hey I don't know if I figure into your plans, whatever you want to do, but man, I'm your Huckleberry. To me, selfishly, I wanna be a part of it. So, you want me on commentary for one of your matches, you want me to be a referee, I'll drive you to the shows, buddy, like, whatever it takes to get me to be a small part of your story because he was such a big part of mine. And yeah, that was it," said Punk.The former WWE Champion finds his rivalry with Cena more like a romantic novel."Like, there's something romantic and poetic about it, the John Cena and CM Punk rivalry. There's a beginning, there's a middle, and now there's an end, and that's life," said Punk.Well, for Ripley, she is kind of like a young CM Punk in the women's division currently. For her, she has had some big rivalries as well—with the current one with Iyo Sky capturing the imagination of the fans. They delivered a clinic at the main event of WWE Evolution 2, and the question was simple:Is Iyo Sky the John Cena to Ripley's CM Punk? View this post on Instagram A post shared by WWE (@wwe)The former World Champion said she has had a few "Cenas" along the way in her career, name-dropping Bianca Belair as one, but said that Iyo does fill that spot. Ripley said that in terms of story and connection, she can see shades of the famous Cena–Punk rivalry in hers with Iyo."I never thought of it like that. It's hard because I feel like I have a couple John Cenas in my career. I feel like Bianca Belair is a John Cena as well, but I mean Iyo Sky fills that spot, for sure. She's someone that, I've gone through a lot with in this business, and every step of the way, she's had my number, she's been able to pin me every single time or win somehow. And I think that is the only way that I say she's not John Cena, because, I would have beat her by now if I was CM Punk. But, like story-wise and connection-wise, I would say she would be on that same level," said Ripley.Will AJ Lee return?One question that has continued to follow Punk since his WWE return has been if his real-life wife and former WWE Divas Champion, AJ Lee, will follow in his footsteps. There were rumours and suggestions that Evolution 2 would be the stage for her return, but Lee just didn't appear.We followed the same trend as everyone else and asked if we would ever see Lee return to a WWE ring. Punk said that while he doesn't make that call for his wife, selfishly, he would love to see her come back to WWE—but only if she is interested in it."I don't know (laughs). I love my wife. She's my best friend. It's not 100 percent up to me. So I always say this, selfishly, if it was up to me, if I made the decisions for her, and trust me, I do not. I would love to see it. But also, if this isn't something she's interested in, if it doesn't serve her anymore, more power to her.""She's very busy. She's very brilliant. She's doing a great many things. It's not even like a ball's in her court sort of thing. It's just like, I was gone from WWE for 10 years, and it wasn't for the lack of trying to get me back."Punk feels that time will be an important factor if Lee returns and pointed to his own comeback to the company as an example."It's just stuff didn't line up, like I was busy doing other stuff, and the timing wasn't right. I think timing is probably a really important factor in the decision, not saying there's anything even going on. I am just talking in circles now. Huge AJ Lee fan, would love to see her back, but also, love and respect everything she's already done, like she's got a Hall of Fame career already," said Punk.Well, Ripley is surely eager to have Lee back in WWE. The Nightmare said she would love to face her—but more than that, just be present when the return does happen to hear the reaction from the crowd."Yeah, if she were to come back, I would love to face her. I think stepping in the ring with AJ would just be incredible. I honestly just want to be in the ring to hear the reaction.""To hear the reaction from the fans and everyone in attendance as she does her entrance. It's something so special and like it doesn't even have to be a full match, I just want to be a part of whatever she's a part of. I want to be there on the day that she comes back. If that ever happens, I think it'd be awesome, I'd be down," said Ripley.And just like that, we saw a bit of Phil Brooks and Demi Bennett—even when discussing their wrestling careers. While kayfabe might be a thing sacred in the business, Punk and Ripley decided to keep it real, rather Unreal.- Ends