CM Punk’s Straight Edge character isn’t just a gimmick. He really doesn’t drink or do drugs. That is something he stuck with despite Vince McMahon trying to break him.
While speaking to Hannibal TV, former WWE Superstar Chris Masters said that he remembers when everyone “got hammered” while flying to the Middle East. They were on that journey for a Tribute To The Troops event and Vince McMahon “really let his hair down.”
During that experience, Masters said that McMahon was drinking and “instigating fights.” He also tried to peer pressure CM Punk from drinking alcohol as well, but Punk didn’t break.
“All I remember about that flight was everybody got hammered on those. Those were some of the wildest stuff that I encountered in the wrestling business was the trip over to the Middle East for the Tribute to the Troops shows because it was the only time I’ve seen Vince [McMahon] like really let his hair down and get buck wild man, like seriously. Like drinking and instigating fights. A lot of that was on Vince. I think Vince was trying — you never know with Vince.”
“Vince was trying to peer pressure CM Punk into having a drink and I wouldn’t really know what to do either if I was CM Punk because part of me, maybe Vince is testing him to see if he could get CM Punk to break his will and then that’ll make Vince lose respect for him or whatever, you know what I’m saying but, and then eventually so CM Punk wouldn’t drink and then eventually it turned into — it went from CM Punk drinking to now, ‘Hey, if you’re such a shooter CM Punk, how about you take on –’ I think it was first, Shelton Benjamin and then after that, it was Carlito because Carli would, not shoot flirt but kind of mess with Maria [Kanellis-Bennett] and flirt with her and I’m pretty sure CM Punk and Maria were together again at the time or were together at that point so I think kind of the boys really instigated that because we knew that CM was kinda annoyed with Carlito trying to mess with him and trying to kind of, I guess — again, work flirt with Maria, not shoot flirt with her but I don’t even remember what happened. I mean I think Shelton — Carli, nothing happened with Carli and CM but I think Shelton and CM actually grappled a little bit but I mean, that’s no competition for Shelton and Shelton [is a] top-level wrestler in the world as everybody knows so, but it was wild.”
CM Punk wouldn’t drink, so Vince McMahon got a fight started instead. It seems that Mr. McMahon was determined to create his own entertainment one way or another during that trip.
Thanks to Post Wrestling for the quote