So, my friend Phil (otherwise known as CM Punk) and I finally managed to be in the same place at the same time long enough to get tattooed together. Normally I don’t really post about new tattoos or stuff I do with my friends (unless is baking, bake sales, pastry markets…) on my blog, but people seem fascinated by this particular tattoo. After literally hundreds of Tweets, Tumblr posts and emails I decided to address all the “wtf” around the tattoo here. This way, only my blog readers what it’s all about… at least until wrestling forums get a hold of it (hi, wrestling forums!)
OK, so prepare yourself for a story you will barely find interesting…
Punk, Matt, and one dead fish.
A little over 10 years ago, Punk and I shared an apartment with two other people (hi Sean and Todd!) in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. He was working the independent circuit along with Colt Cabana (who I accidentally almost killed with kiwi lotion once, but that’s another story) and I was attending college and working in a local bakery. He was the only omnivore in a house full of vegans, so his Canadian bacon binges were often met with scrunched-up noses, but nothing got the three of us as riled up as when Punk made a hot bowl of soup, and then dumped an entire can of tuna into it. Take a minute and just think about what the would smell like. A zombie hooker’s panties, perhaps? Yes, it did smell exactly like that. So that’s story number one.
Story number two: This is long before you could just buy tofu ice cream at the corner store, and before there were 5 vegan restaurants within a two mile radius from my house, not that I could have afforded to eat in restaurants back then anyway. So, as an ambitious young vegan who happened to be a former sea food lover, I thought it would be fun to make vegan fish. (Yes, that’s a thing. Look it up.) I spent a lot of money and a lot of time making this vegan fish and I was so psyched to eat it even though my two vegan roommates made fun of me. For the record, Punk also made fun of me, but he redeems himself in this next bit. I sat down to try my masterpiece and, surprise! It was fucking disgusting. I was so bummed I just started to bawl right there at the table. Big, tough soon-to-be-pro-wrestler Punk felt so bad for me he took the plate and ate every bite.
My swollen, hurty leg.
So, about a week ago when we briefly exchanged tweets about getting bro-tats we started texting ideas back and forth. We both texted “fish” to each other at the same time. Eventually we decided it should be a mostly-eaten fish with a stupid look on its face, and of course, an X on his fin because out of everyone we used to know who was straight edge back in our tuna soup and vegan fish days, we’re the only ones left. So this past Tuesday we commemorated a long and weird friendship with a couple of weird tattoos.
So there you go. Are you happy you sat through all that? Thanks to Punk for always being there to cheer me up, to my husband for not caring that I have a dead fish tattooed on my leg and to everyone who read this whole boring story.
Awesome! I love your blog and wrestling, so its totally cool to see this CM Punk stuff up here! I’ll remember this everytime there’s a close up of the dead fish tattoo when he’s putting on the Anaconda Vice.
Thanks for sharing the story Natalie!
An interesting story for an interesting tattoo that’s for sure
y’all are cute. if i had to get a tattoo commemorating my time in Humboldt Park it would be a dead Something So Much Worse.
LOVE LOVE LOVE!! the story! pretty sure theres a lot of us who would love to read more stories about mr punk and yourself!! tatts came out awesome and its great you guys are still such great friends. <3
That’s a really cool story. How sweet of him to eat the gross dish just to cheer you up.
That’s a lovely story. And he also did a sweet thing to you. I bet he’s a very good friend. You must be proud of him. The little fish is too funny.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Take care.
PD: By the way, I love chocolate cake. I wish I could taste one of your recipes, but I live in South America.
Thank you so much for telling the story. I was curious about what the bro tats meant. Punk eating your vegan fish was sweet:)
Wow What a intresting tattoo and well put together Story!
Phil Brook’s was brave for eating that plate for you:] I Sure in THE HELL COULDNT!
Thanks for sharing those stories with the rest of us. The tattoos turned out great! Big thumbs up to Matt Wes and for straight-edge vegan fish.
I’m about to be sick from thinking about the hot soup and tuna. WHO DOES THAT?!
Very nice tattoos and I might drop on over to see this pie off.
Thanks so much for sharing that story. It’s so sweet & weird, and so NOT boring. I also think, though, that hot tuna soup might have been good practice for enduring vegan fish.
thanx for shared this awesome story with us.
PS: I’m intrigued with the story of the kiwi lotion and Colt Cabana
“whole boring story” ? There isn’t stronger relation then the really Friendship!!! Thanks for sharing, Natalie.
That story was so not boring, I’m glad to know the tale behind that bit of ink. Cheers!