CM Punk recounts how Paul Heyman replaced 63-year-old veteran and became his mentor
On June 21, 2024, CM Punk made a special appearance for SmackDown in Chicago. WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman reunited with The Second City Saint inside the Allstate Arena after a decade.
CM Punk has always been known as a "Paul Heyman Guy," but what is the story behind it? As it turns out, The Wiseman wound up becoming Punk's mentor after Jim Cornette was fired by WWE.
Speaking on The Rich Eisen Show-produced new podcast hosted by O'Shea Jackson Jr. and TJ Jefferson, No-Contest Wrestling, Punk reflected on making his WWE debut in 2006. He was part of the ECW roster, which was run by Heyman at the time.
"It was either a phone call or an email from Jim Cornette, 'Hey kid. We're excited you're coming down here now. This is gonna be great. Can't wait to work with you. I already got ideas.' And I'm just like wow. Jim Cornette. Do you know what I mean?" CM Punk said.
He praised Cornette for having held several designations in the wrestling business over the years. However, sometime later, the veteran called The Straight Edge Superstar to inform him that he had been fired. Punk thought his career was over, and this is when Heyman came into his life.
The Best in the World recounted learning how to write, format, and edit for television from The Wiseman. He also found out later that the latter was not very well-liked either, much like himself.
"And then I go down to OVW, they put Paul Heyman there. So I was just like, okay so, disappointed I couldn't learn from Jim Cornette, excited I get to work with Paul Heyman. Make friends with Danny Davis, who is equally a legend. Done everything. I dedicated myself to learning as much as I can. [...] But I learned very fast that [Heyman] is down here because other people don't like him either. And so, me becoming a Paul Heyman Guy was more of a scarlet letter on me than anything else. 'Oh, we don't like Punk. Now Heyman likes him? We hate him,'" he added.
Watch his comments in the video below:
Paul Heyman is due for a return to The Island of Relevancy
After Roman Reigns disappeared from WWE TV in April 2024, Paul Heyman was forced to walk alongside Solo Sikoa, who took over as the leader of The Bloodline.
However, Sikoa ultimately decided The Wiseman's fate when the latter refused to acknowledge him as his Tribal Chief. The villainous faction put the 59-year-old through the announcers' desk as punishment for his actions. He hasn't appeared since the June 28 edition of SmackDown.
It remains to be seen how The Wiseman reunites with Roman Reigns on SmackDown. Nevertheless, it seems that will happen sooner rather than later, now that Jimmy Uso is back in the fold as well.
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