CM Punk, the former wrestling superstar in the WWE who is now officially with the UFC as Phil Brooks, his real name, is facing a $1 million moral defamation lawsuit from WWE senior ringside physician Dr. Chris Amann.
Dr. Amann also included in his lawsuit former WWE wrestler Colt Cabana, who is Scott Colton in real life, and is also the real-life best friend of CM Punk, cites Yahoo! Sports.
The WWE senior ringside physician is seeking more than $1 million in compensatory damages and an undisclosed amount of punitive damages in a lawsuit his lawyer filed in a Chicago court on February 18.
The lawsuit stemmed from comments made by CM Punk on the “The Art of Wrestling” podcast hosted by Colt Cabana that repeatedly and falsely impugned and maligned Dr. Amann’s integrity as a doctor.
During the two-part podcast, CM Punk insinuated that it is the medical malpractice in the sports entertainment business that prompted his abrupt departure from the company. It was also the first time that the former wrestling superstar publicly spoke about his decision to leave the company and join the UFC for a multi-fight contract.
According to CM Punk, the WWE physicians headed by Dr. Amann simply do not follow concussion protocol citing in particular the instance where he was rushed back to the ring following an elbow surgery. He also mentioned of the misdiagnosed fatty deposits that allegedly developed into staph infection.
In the same podcast, CM Punk also claimed that during the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 26, 2014, he performed in the ring even with a purple lump on his back allegedly the size of a baseball located near the waistband of his tights.
Fabricated and disparaging statements
In his lawsuit, Amann said that both CM Punk and Colt Cabana knowingly fabricated the false and disparaging statements about him, because it would be heard by third parties such as the WWE fans and the media given their celebrity statuses.
Contrary to CM Punk’s allegations, Dr. Amann says that he followed proper protocol procedure when the wrestler suffered a concussion by directing the wrestler to leave the ring and even requested further evaluation and treatment in the training room.
He also said that CM Punk did not requested him or any WWE physician for that matter to look into the alleged baseball-sized lump on his back before or even after the WWE Royal Rumble 2014. Dr. Amann also said that CM Punk did not show it to him nor did he prescribe any antibiotic to the former wrestler to address the so-called swelling.
Dr. Amann is also suing Colt Cabana because he helped CM Punk project a false depiction of him as a lazy and bad doctor in the ears of listeners of “The Art of Wrestling.”
The WWE made a video investigation of CM Punk’s allegation of the alleged baseball-sized lump during the 2014 Royal Rumble and it seems that there was none at all and in fact, the former wrestler was not favouring anything on his back during the contest.