A WWE doctor is suing CM Punk for over $1 million in damages alleging that the former WWE wrestler defamed him in a November interview.
Christopher Amann, who has been a WWE ringside doctor since 2010, filed a suit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that Punk (real name Phil Brooks) defamed him with statements made in an interview on friend Colt Cabana’s (real name Scott Colton) “The Art of Wrestling” podcast.
According to the Cook County Legal Record, Amann “claims the duo’s statements were false, defamatory and put him a false light by improperly insinuating ‘a lack of integrity … and/or inability or lack of competence to perform his professional duties as a medical doctor.’ ”
As we wrote in Nov., Punk absolutely annihilated the WWE in his interview with Cabana, outlining all the reasons that led him to quit the organization. One of his biggest issues was the poor medical treatment he received for multiple injuries, such as knee and elbow problems, and how he was always pushed to rush back from the recovery. He said Amann was negligent in treating his concussion and repeatedly misdiagnosed an abscess on his back. Punk says he repeatedly complained to Amann about the growth and was continually told it was just a fatty deposit and he only needed antibiotics for it. Punk said he had to go to his wife’s doctor, who diagnosed it as a potentially life-threatening staph infection and had him go to the hospital to get it cut out.
Below are some of the exact statements made by Punk about the matter on Cabana’s podcast (as transcribed by Cageside Seats):
Punk: …And that day I showed Doc that thing on my back which was now purple and the size of a f—ing baseball.
Colt: It had teeth.
Punk: He went ‘does it hurt?’ And I went ‘yeah, actually, it hurts like a mother—-er.’ And the waistband of my tights was like right on it so I was constantly aware of it. It was so big I felt like if I bumped on it it would burst. But, like, I can’t pop it, it’s not like a f—ing zit or anything. He’s like ‘well, I would cut it out now but you’ve gotta wrestle in the Rumble. I would probably want to put you on some antibiotics before I put…’ and I went ‘motherf—er, I’ve been on antibiotics since November. What are you doing? Just cut it! Cut it right now!’ He won’t do it. He just wouldn’t do it. I didn’t get it. So I gotta do this s–t, I’ve gotta wrestle in the Rumble, I’m number one and I’m getting thrown out right at the end.
…
So I roll under the f—ing corner and I motion to Doc (Amann), I go ‘I have a concussion.’ And he was like ‘what do you want me to do?’ And I just started laughing and I was just like ‘Doctor, you are one of the most worthless pieces of s–t I have ever met in my entire life.’
…
Punk: So he goes ‘do you want me to tell somebody?’ And I go ‘no, I’m just going to sit here for a minute, I’m going to collect my wits and I’ll go do my s**t.’ Next thing I know, one of the refs is like ‘Kane’s out here, he’s going to pull you out early.’ And my knee jerk reaction from 15-plus years of being a pro wrestler was ‘f–k you, I’m finishing this match. If Kane touches me, I’m going to f–king quit.’ So then poor Glen is out there, he’s like shirtless wearing business slacks…
Colt: Corporate Kane.
Punk: …and he’s like crouching down and the camera is trying not to shoot him and it was chaos. But then eventually we did the angle, he choke slammed me through the f—ing thing. And I walked in back and Doc was there and he was like ‘are you okay’ and I was like ‘cut this f—ing thing out of me right now. Like, whatever the f–k it is, cut it out of me. I feel like f—ing s–t. I’ve had a fever for weeks, I’m f—ing green when I look at myself on television.’ And he won’t do it because now he’s like ‘oh, it’s the concussion, it’s this, it’s that, blah blah blah.’
Amann claims Brooks and Colton “knowingly fabricated the false and disparaging statements” about him, knowing they would be heard by third parties, such as WWE fans and the media, given their celebrity statuses. A factor in the damages for the case is that they say the podcast was heard by over a million people and disseminated by multiple media outlets.
If you ask me, I would be inclined to guess that Amann was acting in the WWE’s interest when it came to treating the wrestlers, and that Punk was probably justified in his complaints. Heck, if he felt like he couldn’t trust the company with his medical status to the point that he left, it probably was a pretty serious and legitimate issue.
H/T Bloody Elbow
