CM Punk Reveals If He Knew He Would Be Signing With AEW While Filming For "Heels"

CM Punk recently spoke with Joe Otterson of Variety to promote Sunday's "Heels" episode on Starz. This episode will feature the debut of Punk's Ricky Rabies character.

Punk revealed that he filmed his "Heels" episode in late 2020 and early 2021, and during filming he had at least some idea he would be working with AEW in the future.

"It wasn't 100%, but I knew that's what I was doing, if that makes sense," Punk said. "It was just fortuitous, I guess. Here I am in a wrestling ring for this acting gig and I know, in the back of my head, I'm getting back into the ring in a few months anyway, so I figured it was two birds one stone. I got a little out of camp training."

Regarding Punk's Ricky Rabies character, he noted that the "Heels" creative team gave him the chance to fill in the blanks on the character to a degree.

"The character was fully formed from a visual standpoint, but the showrunner, Mike O'Malley, and [creator Michael] Waldron said, 'This is your world. We're assuming you probably know or have known who this guy is.' And they were right," Punk said. "I've shared a locker room with a guy like Ricky Rabies — a perennial independent wrestling journeyman, maybe had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, who has a strong following. People will buy a ticket to go see Ricky Rabies. I got to kind of cherry pick and choose different attributes and personality traits from wrestlers that I have known over the years."

Punk would not name any specific wrestlers who informed the character, saying that he would rather people form their own opinions. He previously noted that Waldron came up with the character, but he was able to channel other wrestling stars and then add his own spin to the character. Punk also previously said he was able to pay homage to some people from his career with the Ricky Rabibes character, and noted that fans will notice "little Easter eggs here and there."

You can click here for a new preview of Sunday's episode with Punk's character in the ring, along with ratings updates on "Heels" and notes on the remaining episodes in the first season.

Stay tuned for more.