CM Punk shares his thoughts on the polarizing reaction to the Stranger Things finale.
Stranger Things concluded its fifth season on Netflix last week. The finale received mixed reactions on social media, with some fans praising the ending while others expressed strong disappointment.
WWE Superstar CM Punk recently appeared on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox. The World Heavyweight Champion addressed the criticism of the Stranger Things finale, noting the prevailing online culture where viewers are often dissatisfied if events don’t unfold exactly as they expect.
“I don’t know if this is just like a stan culture thing. Or if I’ve just like, aged out. I certainly don’t understand. I see it in wrestling, and I see it with fandoms with like Stranger Things and all that stuff. Like, people just seem to want to be angry about everything because it didn’t happen the way they fantasy booked it in their head. And I don’t — to me that’s a slight mental illness,” Punk said.
“People just straight up mad about the way it ended, and I thought the 45-minute epilogue — I was like, now mind you, I’m not a feverish Stranger Things fan. I’ve watched the entire show. Hard to remember what has happened because they spend way too much time in between seasons, which I feel is a valid criticism.”
How does CM Punk feel about the Stranger Things finale?
“But I thought it was so poetic the way they wrapped it up. At the heart of the movie, it’s a nostalgia bomb, but it’s about these kids that are bonding over playing Dungeons & Dragons. They’re the outcasts, they find each other, and there’s a sci-fi element to it.
“And the way they wrapped it up was just like a Dungeon Master would wrap something up, almost like Choose Your Own Adventure. Do you blink? And spoiler alert, if you haven’t seen the end of the show, like, maybe stop watching this interview, but did Eleven die? Did she live?
“It’s really kind of up to you, just like Dungeons & Dragons. I thought it was so beautiful! And it really depends on you, ’cause you can be like, ‘Yeah, she sacrificed herself to save her friends, to make sure this never happens again. She’s a hero, she’s dead.’ Or, ‘Yeah, man, you know what? She’s still alive.’ And that’s a beautiful thing. Like, I thought that was great. I was super happy about it, but people have their opinions. Just like the John Cena-Gunther finish.”
WWE integrated Stranger Things into last night’s RAW. The cameras were inverted before the opening match, a nod to the infamous Upside Down. Ringside barricades were also covered in vines to give the live crowd a more immersive experience. Fans can read more on that here.
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