Following incendiary comments made during the now-infamous C.M. Punk appearance on Colt Cabana's "Art of Wrestling" podcast, WWE physician Chris Amann has filed a defamation lawsuit against both Punk and Cabana. (real names Phillip Jack Brooks and Scott Colton as identified in the suit.)

In the episode which dropped on November 26th of last year (effectively breaking the internet), Punk asserted that Amann (or "Doc" has he was referred to in the podcast) failed to properly treat him for a growth on his lower back. Punk insisted that Amann dismissed the growth as a "fatty deposit," and resorted to prescribing ineffective antibiotics that caused extreme bouts of sickness while the growth only worsened.

Punk also claimed that after he left WWE last January, he took his now-wife's advice and consulted a different physician in Florida, who identified the growth as a potentially lethal staph infection known as MRSA. According to the Mayo Clinic, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotics used to treat typical staph infections. In the case of such an infection, the bacteria could potentially "burrow deep into the body, causing potentially life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs." Punk described the removal of the growth as the most painful experience he has ever endured, placing it above supposed Ryback-induced broken ribs and a cracked skull.

Punk further claimed that Amann responded with aloofness when the Chicago native sustained a concussion in the Royal Rumble match, an affair which turned out to be Punk's last time seen in a WWE ring.

Now Amann has fired back.

From The Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online website:

Amann claimed both men's statements on the November podcast were false, defamatory and put him in a false light by improperly insinuating a lack of integrity and/or competence as a medical doctor.

Amann is seeking in excess of $1 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages.

...

He claimed both men knowingly fabricated the false and disparaging statements about him.

The claims against Amann were most definitely loaded with frustration on Punk's behalf. However, Amann's cries of fabrication and lying on behalf of Punk and Cabana are hefty charges in and of themselves. Legal proceedings such as these could either quickly be settled, or be drawn out in court for years on end. (One need look no further than the late Ultimate Warrior's case against the WWE following the release of The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD in 2005 for proof.)

While Punk is preparing for his UFC debut, both he and his best friend could be finding themselves fighting out a very different battle in a courtroom soon.

Further details can be found at CookCountyRecord.com.