Professional wrestling is already dangerous enough, with performers routinely slammed onto the canvas, thrown outside the ring and subjected to all manners of high-impact punishment. Sometimes, however, even those risks pale in comparison to the threat posed by an enraged crowd.
CM Punk recently recalled a 2012 match against Chris Jericho in Brazil in which Jericho, who was playing a heel at the time, may have done his job a little too well after disrespecting the Brazilian flag.
“I had machine guns pointed at me,” Punk said during a recent episode of The Late Run. “Oh yeah. You mentioned Brazil. We went and did a show in Brazil one time; we haven’t been back. Brazil, I love you. I would like to come back. We should try to work on that.
“My opponent that night [Jericho] rolled out of the ring and snatched a Brazilian flag from somebody. You know where this is going,” Punk continued. “Brazil don’t play.”
While disrespecting the flag is considered a major faux pas in the United States, Punk said the offense was treated far more seriously in Brazil.
“The instant this happened, all of a sudden there’s a second referee in the ring. I’m going, ‘Uh, what’s going on?’” Punk recalled. “The one referee’s talking to Jericho, the other referee’s talking to me, trying to relay the information. Then our head of talent relations is in the ring. This all happens lickety-split. I’m looking around [confused].
“Then I turn around and the ring is surrounded by men in fatigues, and one has his gun pointed directly at me.”
Punk said the crowd became furious after Jericho’s treatment of the flag. He could not remember whether Jericho had thrown it onto the ground or pretended to wipe himself with it, but the reaction was severe enough that Punk believed the match needed to end immediately.
That was an understandable conclusion for someone staring down the barrel of a gun.
Jericho, however, apparently wanted the match to continue. Punk, who referred to him only as “homeboy” while telling the story, said he eventually had to force Jericho into a legitimate roll-up and end the match himself.
“They tried to snatch [Jericho] up, take his passport,” Punk said. “We knew if he handed it over, he wasn’t coming home. No. So, by the cover of night, we got him out of there, and we continued on the tour and he went home.”
Do you think this CM Punk Brazil story is the most dangerous situation a pro wrestler could find themselves in in the ring? Let us know in the comments.
