CM Punk has reflected on one of the most chaotic moments of his WWE career, recalling how a live event in Brazil escalated into a dangerous situation that involved armed military personnel surrounding the ring.

The incident took place during a non televised WWE live event in São Paulo in 2012, where Punk defended the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho. What began as a standard title match quickly spiraled after Jericho grabbed a Brazilian flag from a fan and disrespected it inside the ring.

Speaking on The Long Run, Punk explained that the reaction was immediate and unlike anything he had experienced before.

“I had machine guns pointed at me. You mention Brazil, the company went and did a show in Brazil one time, we haven’t been back. Brazil, I love you, I would like to come back. Let’s try to work on that."

Punk recalled watching events unfold in confusion after his opponent brought the flag into the ring.

“My opponent that night, he rolled out of the ring and snatched a Brazilian flag from somebody. You know where this is going, Brazil don’t play. In America, you get people who will get bent out of shape, but there’s no law against it."

He continued by describing the moment the atmosphere inside the arena changed.

“He rolled in the ring. I’m down looking at him going, ‘Hm.’ I can’t remember exactly if he just threw it down and stepped on it or if he maybe wiped his butt with it. The instant this happened, all of a sudden there’s a second referee in the ring."

Punk said WWE officials quickly entered the ring to inform both competitors that the match needed to end immediately.

“One referee’s talking to him, the other referee is talking to me trying to relay the information. Then, our head of talent relations is in the ring. This all happens lickety split."

Looking around, Punk realized the seriousness of the situation.

“I turn and I look and the ring is surrounded by men in fatigues. One has his gun pointed directly at me. They were offended."

According to Punk, officials wanted to end the match as quickly as possible, but Jericho was reluctant to change the planned finish.

“The extra referee and the head of talent relations were like, ‘This match is over, we got to wrap this up.’ Homeboy who did the thing was like, ‘Absolutely not, I refuse to do this.’ So, I had to roll him up for real."

Punk said he improvised the finish by pinning Jericho before trying to calm the crowd.

“Stack him up and the ref counted to three. Crowd pops. I grab the flag, jump up on the turnbuckle, I’m showing it and kissing the flag. Then I got out of there."

After the match, Punk revealed WWE feared Brazilian authorities might prevent Jericho from leaving the country.

“They tried to snatch dude up, grab his passport. We knew if he handed his passport over, he wasn’t coming home. So, by the cover of night, we got him out of there and then we continued on the tour. He went home.”

Following the incident, Jericho publicly apologized and was suspended by WWE for 30 days. More than a decade later, the company has yet to hold another live event in Brazil.

Punk has been absent from WWE programming since April and is reportedly expected to return as part of the SmackDown roster.