WWE superstar admits surprising Celtic allegiances while claiming he has one 'gnarly' match on the bucket list
An unlikely individual has spoke of his love for the Old Firm Derby
WWE icon CM Punk has made a career of entertaining the world on the biggest stages of them all - but believes nothing compares to the ‘intense’ nature of a Celtic vs Rangers fixture.
The 47-year old two-time WWE Champion has revealed that he’s Celtic through and through, claiming it’s a major regret of his that he’s not been able to see them in action in an Old Firm derby. An enemy of Rangers-daft fellow superstar Drew McIntyre, originally it was thought CM Punk declared his love for the club to antagonise the Scotsman.
Despite this, speaking on a podcast with former NFL star, Chad Johnson, the Chicago-born wrestler appeared to well-versed in the nature of the rivalry. The Old Firm Derby remains one of the fiercest in world football, which is part of the reason CM Punk is such a fan.
‘It’s in our blood’ - CM Punk on Old Firm ‘hatred’
Speaking on The Nightcap, CM Punk explained his knowledge of other rivalries in football, including Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray and River Plate vs Boca Juniors, but he believes Celtic vs Rangers takes the biscuit. He said: "You're talking about 200-year-old, deep-seated, religious hatred. It gets pretty gnarly.”
The most recent encounter between the sides at Ibrox further enhanced the ‘deep-seated’ reputation of the rivalry as fights broke out on the pitch involving both sets of fans. The next derby will take place at Celtic Park in the league on May 10.
Punk on Old Firm regret
When asked by host Johnson, if he’d ever been to an Old Firm derby, CM Punk claimed it was a big regret that he hadn’t so far. He replied: "No, I wish I had. We're talking about brother vs brother, it gets wild. Who roots for who, and why? It gets intense. And then I've got my wife going 'why do you dumb men care so much about this?' I don't know, man, it's in our blood.”
While visiting Scotland in March, the former UFC man gave his reasoning as to why he picked Celtic as his team: "Glasgow has always been one of the funner places for me to come. I kind of fell in love with it. Every time I'm here, I know my way around a little bit more than I do the other cities. It’s (Celtic Park) Everything’s green – the seats are green, everything’s beautiful. There's just so much history here. If 60,000 people are coming every game to see something, I want to know what that's about."