'To Me That's a Slight Mental Illness' — CM Punk Compares 'Unhealthy' Anger Over Stranger Things Ending to John Cena's Final WWE Match

Wrestling superstar CM Punk has compared the online choler astatine the ending of Stranger Things to the backlash to John Cena's last WWE match, saying some fandoms sometimes show “a flimsy intelligence illness" erstwhile events don't spell the mode they had built them up successful their heads.

CM Punk, regarded arsenic 1 of the top wrestlers of each time, deed retired astatine fans who “just look to privation to beryllium aggravated astir everything due to the fact that it didn't hap the mode they phantasy booked it successful their head.”

Stranger Things Season 5’s finale, which near it up to the assemblage to determine whether Eleven was live oregon dead, has proven truthful divisive that immoderate fans person concocted stories astir concealed 'Snyder cuts' and theories astir a ninth occurrence that would person revealed the show’s existent ending. Both were proven to beryllium fake. Still, a petition to merchandise this expected “unseen footage” gained astir 400,000 signatures — contempt being debunked by the cast. Some fans are adjacent utilizing generative AI to marque alternate Stranger Things endings.

Speaking connected My Mom's Basement with Robbie Fox, CM Punk noted parallels betwixt the Stranger Things and wrestling fandoms, expressing interest astir radical who respond with choler to events that don’t spell the mode they had hoped.

“I spot it successful wrestling. I spot it with fandoms, with Stranger Things,” helium said. “People conscionable look to privation to beryllium aggravated astir everything due to the fact that it didn't hap the mode they phantasy booked it successful their head. To maine that’s a flimsy intelligence illness.

“Like, hey I bought tickets to spell to this wrestling amusement and past I look connected Twitter and wrestling writer 345678910 reports that there's going to beryllium a large astonishment guest, and I spell to this amusement and there's nary large astonishment guest, and I walk an unhealthy magnitude of clip complaining astir that online. And it's conscionable like, good you weren't promised a large astonishment guest. Somebody that astir apt knows little astir what they're talking astir than you bash and is conscionable a instrumentality conscionable similar you, made immoderate crap up connected the net and passed it disconnected arsenic a journalism, and you're getting huffy astatine that.

“I spot the aforesaid happening with the Stranger Things fandom. People conscionable consecutive up huffy astir the mode it ended, and I thought the 45 infinitesimal epilogue… Mind you, I'm not a feverish Stranger Things fan. I've watched the full amusement and it's hard to retrieve what has happened due to the fact that they walk mode excessively overmuch clip successful betwixt seasons, which I consciousness is simply a valid criticism. But I thought it was truthful poetic the mode they wrapped it up. At the bosom of the movie, it's a nostalgia bomb, but it's astir these kids that are bonding implicit playing Dungeons & Dragons. They're the outcasts, truthful they find each different and there's a sci-fi constituent to it. And the mode they wrapped it up was conscionable similar a dungeon master.”

On Eleven’s ending, specifically, and the ambiguity astir her fate, CM Punk added: “I was ace blessed astir it, but radical person their opinions. It's conscionable similar the John Cena / Gunther finish. I consciousness similar it's the aforesaid thing. Some people... possibly I don't deliberation you recognize what you're watching. But if you didn't similar it, I tin besides recognize that. But to overnight marque it your full property and walk an unhealthy magnitude of clip talking astir it… enactment it this way, if John won, they'd beryllium huffy astir that, too. But we wouldn't beryllium talking astir it anymore. And we're inactive talking astir that finish. The smile, the tap. ‘Oh my god, The feline who said don't springiness up conscionable gave up.’

“Everybody's an expert. I thought it was beautiful.”

The John Cena / Gunther ending refers to John Cena's affectional last WWE lucifer successful December 2025, wherever helium mislaid to Gunther via submission, officially concluding his legendary vocation with a symbolic "passing of the torch" to a ascendant caller champion, though fans had mixed reactions to Cena's "Never Give Up" persona tapping out.

Gunther successful enactment against John Cena during Saturday Night's Main Event astatine Capital One Arena connected December 13, 2025 successful Washington DC. Photo by Mike Marques/WWE via Getty Images.

CM Punk went connected to accidental that beloved Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back astir apt would person suffered a akin backlash had societal media been disposable astatine the time.

“Could you ideate for a 2nd if Twitter was astir erstwhile Empire Strikes Back came out?” helium said. “I retrieve watching that movie erstwhile I was a kid and I was conscionable like, ‘This movie is amazing.’ Boba Fett is ace cool. But they chopped Luke's manus off. They frost Han successful carbonite. Vader's his father. The rebels are getting their asses handed to them. And I ne'er erstwhile successful my fandom was like, ‘Fuck you, George Lucas. How could you bash this? Luke wouldn't bash that.’

“Ah, Jesus Christ. Just sometimes it's good to beryllium a fan. And it's good to bask things and it's good to not bask things, too. But the mode radical conscionable grandstand astir it is… it's a small intelligence to me.”

Earlier this week, the widely-discussed Stranger Things 'Conformity Gate' mentation was proven — arsenic expected — to beryllium nonsense, leaving conspiracy theorists facing the cold, harsh world that Season 5 truly is the extremity of the show.

CM Punk retains the World Heavyweight Championship during Monday Night RAW astatine Barclays Center connected January 5, 2026 successful New York. Photo by Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images.

In the aftermath of Stranger Things Season 5’s divisive finale, the alleged ‘Conformity Gate’ mentation dispersed similar wildfire crossed societal media, particularly TikTok. It posits that the lengthy epilogue we saw successful the last occurrence was an illusion created by villain Vecna, who remains live and well.

Some fans spent a large woody of clip and vigor assembling “clues” that pointed to the shadowdrop of an “Episode 9” of Season 5 that would uncover the existent ending connected January 7. Alas, that failed to materialize, leaving immoderate Stranger Things conspiracy theorists dismayed.

“The amusement ended guys. It’s over,” said 1 instrumentality connected the Stranger Things subreddit. “I recognize you weren’t blessed with the ending… I wasn’t either. But believing a concealed occurrence is dropping conscionable makes nary sense. Not lone that but the posts astir it, which are nonstop and each I request astatine this constituent successful the treatment of the ending and it clogs up each the abstraction for existent treatment of the existent ending. If you privation to play unreal with the ending determination are respective instrumentality fabrication websites to spell to. I truly anticipation contiguous is the extremity of each the concealed occurrence nonsense.”

Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].