United Kingdom, April 29 -- CM Punk had his "pre-existing relationships and projects" written into his WWE contract.

The 46-year-old wrestler - whose acting career has included roles in 'Heels', 'Girl On The Third Floor' and 'Rabid' - is glad he's in a position where he can balance his in-ring work with his other ambitions.

He told Deadline: "It's a lot easier now. It was harder back in the day because wrestling was the lion's share of what I did, and I wasn't allowed to do other stuff.

"I have pre-existing relationships and projects I work on that are grandfathered into my contract.

"I typically do 'Monday Night Raw' live on Netflix every week. But if I need to dip out for two weeks to shoot an independent film, I can always do that....