"Could become equal to Cena" - WWE legend reveals AEW star was close to ending The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak
The Undertaker's streak at WWE WrestleMania is one of the most legendary streaks in sports entertainment history. It came to an end in 2014 when he lost to Brock Lesnar. However, Paul Heyman recently revealed that he felt that AEW star CM Punk had a strong case to end the Deadman's streak.
CM Punk was the Undertaker's rival in 2013, heading into WrestleMania season. Paul Bearer's untimely and unfortunate death in real life played a big part in the feud and made it extremely personal.
CM Punk vs Undertaker really felt like the main event of WrestleMania 29 tbh. https://t.co/blttZx1iXJ
During a recent interview with Rick Rubin of Tetragrammaton, Paul Heyman opened up on how the Second City Saint was seen as a viable contender to end the Phenom's streak at the Grandest Stage of them All:
"It had to be the right guy," Heyman said. "When we were going with Punk vs. Undertaker, Paul Bearer had just passed away and we had done the way out of the box and way over the line story on television that we had laid out The Undertaker and then we poured out the ashes of Paul Bearer out of Undertaker's urn onto Undertaker, which was just the heaviest thing we could think of doing."
Heyman continued:
"I was like, 'Okay, if there's a guy that could be anointed as a top-tier star. If there's someone that could become equal to Cena at this point in time... a clear 1 to 1A, that if we give Punk this victory, we've established someone for the next 20 years as a star.' And I thought the case could be made for that." (h/t: WrestlingInc)
The Undertaker and CM Punk had a classic match at WWE WrestleMania 29
The Undertaker is synonymous with WrestleMania and has faced some of the biggest names in the industry has ever seen. He has faced and defeated the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Kane, Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Big Show, Ric Flair, Batista, and Edge.
The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion added CM Punk to that list at WrestleMania 29 when the two squared off in one of the semi-main events of the night. From an in-ring perspective, it is widely regarded as the Demon of Death Valley's last great WrestleMania match.
Undertaker counters GTS into a devastating Tombstone 🔥🔥
One of Taker’s last great matches.
Undertaker vs CM Punk : #WrestleMania https://t.co/gIQ608aG9L
That was also CM Punk's last WrestleMania match, as he quit WWE a few months later. He ended his hiatus by showing up in AEW in 2021.