>>7205638>>7205823>>7206011However much he netted after training and other expenses, it's a fair assumption that he lost considerably more from damage to the CM Punk brand.
It seems so obvious now that he's a complete goon, but tbf it was not so obvious then. Yes I'm sure there are plenty of people with an eye for MMA that knew he would get heemed but it was not apparent to most normies. I remember the speculation on the internet before his first fight, and plenty of people thought he might have a chance. Even after the first fight there were STILL people who thought he could improve. It wasn't until the high journalist toyed with him that Phil was 100% exposed to all normies as an irl shitter. (Then he went ahead and made it even worse when he lost to 2 amateur boomers in a karate tournament lmao.)
To reiterate - sure there were probably plenty of people back then who knew Phil would embarrass himself in a UFC fight. Except those people did not make up most of the main wrestling fanbase. Most wrestling fans don't really think or care about how any particular wrestler might fare in the UFC. It doesn't matter because it's a fictional show and as long as the wrestler looks like he can win a fight that's usually good enough. But when your gimmick is all about going off script and bringing up MUH REAL LIFE [and even if it's not] then in real life you expose yourself as a joke - that's terrible for your brand. And if it weren't for such a money mark as TK existing, Phil's career in the big leagues would've been over.
Also it's funny to think that back in the WWE Phil training in "the most regimented discipline Muay Thai" was part of his gimmick and generally no one questioned it. I even remember a quote from HHH saying something to the effect of "yeah Punk probably could beat most of us up in a real fight" which I'm sure he would take back knowing what he knows now.
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