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WWE Champion CM Punk believes Vince McMahon was RIGHT to fire Abraham Washington ... because rape jokes are not funny and have no place in the WWE.

TMZ spoke with the wrestling champ on his way in to Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills last night where he made it clear ... A.W.'s crack about Kobe Bryant during a live WWE event was definitely grounds for termination.

"I don't like to see anybody lose their job," Punk told us ... but says axing someone over a rape joke is "justified."