Paul Heyman thought CM Punk had a chance to end The Undertaker's fabled WrestleMania winning streak.
Appearing on Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin, Heyman discussed a number of topics including CM Punk's bid to end The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 29. Unfortunately for Punk, even though he may have been ready for the moment, those in charge of deciding the outcome were less sure of the person behind the character.
"I thought when we were going with Punk versus Undertaker, and Paul Bearer had just passed away, and we had done the out of the box and way over the line story on television that we laid out the Undertaker, and then we poured the ashes of Paul Bearer out of the Undertaker's urn onto the Undertaker, which was just the heaviest thing we could think of doing. 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, the Macho Man to Hogan, The Rock to Steve Austin, a clear 1 and 1A, that if we give Punk this victory, we've established someone for the next 20 years as a star.' I thought the case could be made for that. CM Punk was ready to beat The Undertaker. In Vince's mind, and a lot of other people's minds, and most likely in Taker's mind, Phil Brooks was not going to get that victory. CM Punk, yes. Phil Brooks, no. That was their decision. That was their judgment. But Brock Lesnar going against the streak. The moment Vince came to us and said, 'Hey, here's what I have in mind for Mania. When he said Brock versus Undertaker, first thing in my mind was, 'Oh, my God, we're getting the streak.' I didn't see it any other way. I couldn't fathom it any other way," Heyman said.
Lesnar would defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX, becoming the one in 21-1.
Punk is currently signed with AEW and is set to make his return to the ring on the debut episode of AEW Collision. Click here to learn more.
Click here to read Tony Khan's comments on CM Punk's impending return.
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