WWE World Champion C.M. Punk says WWE officials were leery of pushing his character as a heel, discusses his Breaking Point pay-per-view opponent The Undertaker

C.M. Punk admitted that WWE officials were leery of pushing his character as a heel. "I was kind of nervous because when I came into the WWE they had no aspirations of making a drug-free kid a hated character and I thought it was going to tank because I'm telling everyone that I don't smoke and I don't do drugs," Punk said. "I thought people would boo me but they actually took to me. I guess it's a testament to how hard I work at certain things."

Punk also commented on his match with Undertaker. "For all the experience I have and all the stripes I may or may not have earned in the WWE thus for, I've been there for pretty much a hiccup compared to how long Undertaker's been there," he said.

"He's been there 22 years and I've been there three. My career is definitely divisible into his. I've been in the business a long time so at this stage experiencing anything new at this stage is very cool. Going against The Undertaker is new and that makes it fun for me." To read the full interview, visit TheSpec.com.

Powell's POV: This might be the first time that Punk or anyone else from WWE has publicly admitted that the company was leery about pushing the straight edge superstar as a heel. It is risky to push a drug-free wrestler as a heel. The key is to stress that the drug-free message isn't what makes him a heel, but rather the character's self-righteous approach to delivering his message.

Check back tonight for Jason Powell's "Live Coverage" report of the WWE Breaking Point pay-per-view.