CM Punk confirms WWE retirement: It feels good, I can paint chairs now

Wrestler quit the WWE in January

CM Punk back in his WWE days (WWE)

CM Punk appears to have confirmed that he has retired from wrestling, telling RedEye Chicago that he is enjoying his time away from the ring and has no regrets about leaving the WWE.

The publication caught up with Punk to talk baseball (a passion of his), but they did manage to sneak in one wrestling-orientated question:

"How does it feel to be retired at 35? Are you going to be doing more charity work now?"

"It feels good" Punk replied. "It's a lot easier when you hook up with organizations like the Cubs and being friends with some of the team members. It isn't hard to support their charities. Plus I get to do fun stuff like bowl and paint chairs and play whiffle ball with Bill Murray.

"It was super fun and for a great cause. You've got athletes and actresses and musicians and all kinds of people painting chairs. I'm super happy to be a part of it."

Read more: Daniel Bryan: CM Punk leaving is the only reason I became WWE Champion

Punk, real name Phil Brooks, certainly didn't side-step the issue and seemed comfortable/affirmative about their insinuation that he has retired, but let's not forget how loose the term has become in professional wrestling.

Wrestlers like Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels have all "retired" in the past only to return, and even Bret Hart who had the most bitter of disputes with the WWE eventually made nice.

Rumours that this is all a work and that Punk will return on Sunday at WWE PPV Payback (in his hometown of Chicago) may be a little hasty, but there is every chance Punk will return to the ring at a later date. There's only so many chairs you can paint.