Former WWE superstar, yes former, CM Punk did not have many friends in the WWE locker room. The one true friend that Punk had backstage was Paul Heyman. After all, Punk was a Heyman guy through and through.
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Since Punk walked out on the company on Janaury 27, Heyman has been one of the few WWE talents to make mention of the former superstar on WWE programming.
Heyman came out to Punk’s “Cult of Personality” theme during the March 3 edition of Monday Night Raw while mimicking Punk’s mannerisms.
Heyman once again referenced Punk on June 1 at WWE Payback. At the Payback pay-per view, Heyman, to the disappointment of the fans in attendance, announced that Punk was at the Chicago Blackhawks’ game and would not be working the show.
While Heyman has not shied away from mentioning Punk on WWE programming as part of his promos, the WWE manager has avoided speaking about Punk when not in character.
That is until Heyman was a guest on Chris Jericho’s podcast “Talk is Jericho”. While speaking with Jericho, Heyman gave some details as to why Punk walked away from the WWE.
"“He was unhappy. He had enough. He couldn’t take it anymore. A year before he walked these was daily conversations of, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to take this. I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be here. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to be before I just decide to go home.’ I’m surprised it lasted that long.”-Paul Heyman, Talk is Jericho"
There had been signs that Punk was questioning his future. Shortly before Punk walked out on the company, the superstar tweeted that he didn’t have much left in him. At the time of that tweet, Punk was feuding with both The Shield as well as The Wyatt Family. Punk was often booked in handicap matches against either faction and the booking took a toll on his body.
With his body ailing and that impacting his performance, Punk no longer was happy.
"“Every day with him was an exercise in him finding the balance to simply continue on and find the passion he needed that he to do it. And I think what happened was he walked in the day after the Royal Rumble and he couldn’t find that passion. He couldn’t convince himself or persuade himself, ‘OK, whether I’m happy or not this is about the performance, my legacy. It’s about I take pride in what I do. And whether I’m happy or unhappy when I go out there I’m going to be the best CM Punk I can be.’ And I think somewhere during that day he couldn’t find that.”-Heyman, Talk is Jericho"
It certainly is refreshing to hear the CM Punk situation be talked about with a sense of honesty. That is why Heyman is incredible at his craft. Heyman knows the business and Punk is one of the talents that Heyman knows best.
To fans that are still expecting Punk to make his return to company, stop believing in false hope. Punk is happy in his retired life. The fact of the matter is that Punk was not happy with the WWE.
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