5 Times WWE used real-life events in a storyline
Over the years, WWE has given us a string of memorable storylines that fans still talk about, to this day. Be it Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon, Daniel Bryan's rise to the top on the road to WrestleMania 30, or Brock Lesnar's path of destruction following his WrestleMania victory over The Undertaker- WWE's archives are chock-full of storylines that will be remembered for a long time to come.
There are occasions when in order to engage the fans and grab more eyeballs, WWE used realism in a storyline. In such cases, WWE sometimes uses a real-life event from a particular Superstar's life, and turn it into a storyline on TV. These attempts have always been a mixture of hit-and-miss, and end up creating controversy due to the nature of the content. In the following slideshow, we will be taking a look at five WWE Superstars whose real-life issues ended up in TV storylines.
#5 CM Punk disrespects the late Paul Bearer during his feud with The Undertaker on the road to WrestleMania 29
As WrestleMania 29 approached near, CM Punk won a Fatal Four-Way match to determine The Undertaker's opponent at The Show of Shows, by defeating Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Big Show. The next night, The Undertaker's former manager Paul Bearer passed away due to respiratory issues, and WWE decided to use the tragedy in storyline. Punk began boasting that he would break The Undertaker's streak, and got hold of the legendary urn that Bearer used to hold during The Deadman's matches.
CM Punk was The Undertaker's 21st victim at WWE WrestleMania
Punk went on to beat The Undertaker up with the urn, and then emptied the urn's contents over The Phenom, who was in an unconscious state after Punk's attack. At WrestleMania, Punk and The Undertaker had a classic, with the former WWE Champion doing everything in his power to put The Deadman down. In the end, The Undertaker managed to defeat Punk and the streak remained unbroken.
The Undertaker was initially against the idea of using Paul Bearer's passing in the storyline. He later realized that Paul Bearer would have loved it, and agreed to insert it in his feud with CM Punk.