CM Punk Details Wild 2012 WWE Brazil Show: Machine Guns Pointed at Him After Opponent Disrespected National Flag

Few wrestlers have a backstage story quite like this one. CM Punk recently opened up about what he considers his craziest in-ring moment — a 2012 WWE live event in Brazil that ended with armed soldiers surrounding the ring and a gun pointed directly at his face.

Speaking on The Late Run, Punk explained that his opponent that night — Chris Jericho, though Punk didn’t name him by name in the clip — exited the ring during their match, grabbed a Brazilian flag from a fan in the crowd, and proceeded to disrespect it. Punk recalled watching from inside the ring with immediate apprehension: “I’m down looking at him going ‘hmm, maybe no?'”

The reaction was swift and serious. Brazilian law prohibits desecration of the national flag, and local authorities weren’t interested in the fact that this was a scripted wrestling show. Within moments, a second referee appeared in the ring, followed by WWE’s head of talent relations. Then Punk looked up and saw the ring surrounded by men in military fatigues, one of whom had a weapon trained directly on him.

“Legit, I just looked out and this guy was pointing a machine gun at me,” Punk said. “Alright.”

The word came down fast: the match needed to end immediately. Punk’s opponent, however, reportedly refused to cooperate. So Punk took matters into his own hands — rolling his opponent up for a legitimate pin. The referee counted three, the crowd popped, and Punk grabbed the flag and kissed it from the turnbuckle in an attempt to calm the situation.

The fallout continued backstage. Authorities tried to confiscate his opponent’s passport, and Punk noted the group understood that handing it over likely meant that person wasn’t leaving the country. WWE managed to get the individual out under cover of night, while Punk and the rest of the roster continued on with the tour.

WWE has not run a live event in Brazil since. Punk, for his part, says he’d welcome a return: “Brazil I love you, I’d like to come back, let’s try to work on that.” Given the circumstances of the last visit, that reconciliation may require some diplomatic groundwork.