5 Times Brock Lesnar was praised by his WWE rivals

#2. CM Punk calls Brock Lesnar a "sweetheart"

Brock Lesnar and CM Punk (who is probably not calling him a "sweetheart" in this photo)

CM Punk and Brock Lesnar actually have a lot in common. They're both multi-time World Champions. They've both competed in the UFC - albeit at different levels of success. And, they both have faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania - again, to different levels of success.

In 2013, the two men would compete against each other in an absolute barnburner of a match at SummerSlam that simply doesn't get the credit it deserves. In fact, I want to go watch it right now. OK, after I finish this...

It shouldn't be surprising to learn, however, that these two "Paul Heyman guys" get along great outside of the business. In fact, it was their mutual career aspirations outside of pro wrestling that reminded Punk of this story he told ESPN in a feature they did on 'The Beast."

“I don’t want to ruin his image [but], I think he’s a f—ckin’ sweetheart. This is a guy, when I got into MMA and I left wrestling, he was texting me, “Hey, if you need any help.” I’m always kind of a standoffish guy. It’s hard to open up and trust people in the pro-wrestling world. But he was never anything but a real sweetheart. It was a pleasure to work with him. He’s just a great guy, I think.”

“I think Brock has got a big heart, and that’s something a lot of people don’t talk about. They’ll talk about the freak strength and the crazy athletic things he’s done in his career, the accomplishments. But they don’t talk about the fact that he loves his wife, his kids, lives on a farm and just kind of wants to be left alone."

Punk, himself, is a performer whose backstage behavior has often been speculated on (usually by people who have no idea what they're talking about... like me, for instance). If he ever does come back to the ring in an Edge-like return, let's hope another match with Brock Lesnar is on the cards.