In March 2013, CM Punk set his sights on ending The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania streak.
“The Streak” had begun all of the way back in 1991, and come 2013, was arguably bigger than The Undertaker himself. Heading into the match with Punk, The Undertaker’s WrestleMania record stood at 20-0.
To add further spice to their match, the pair utilised the death of ‘Taker’s guiding force Paul Bearer, real name Bill Moody. This included Punk showing varying degrees of disrespect to the popular figure.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, Foley is Pod, Mick Foley discussed the life and career of Paul Bearer. The WWE Hall of Famer, who was close with Punk at the time revealed that the star wasn’t overly excited at not featuring in the main event at WrestleMania. That spot was taken by The Rock vs. John Cena, while Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H also featured heavily.
Foley said that Punk would have been happier if he had accepted his situation and focused more on stealing the show.
“I was pretty tight with Punk at that point. Punk was having a hard time getting excited for that match with The Undertaker because it was not the main event. I told him, I said, ‘Phil, you decide what the main event is. The fans decide.’ I think that Edge and I had a right to say that we had the match of the night in 2006, and by no means, way, shape, or form were we advertised as the main event. You go out there and try to steal the show.
In wrestling, and in life, I think we, and if I’m getting into DDP area, cut me off immediately, if not sooner, but I think in life, we do get to decide what our own great moments are, and so I think, you know, if Phil had been able to do that, I think he would have been happier and would still be on national TV. That was the way I looked at things.
I was proud to be Mr. In Your House, you know, like, I’m okay with being the number one name in secondary pay-per-views, and if I’m okay with that, then I think Punk should have been okay with having what could have been the match of the night and several people thought it was at that Mania against The Undertaker, and he wasn’t, and that’s a shame. So I think there’s a cautionary tale there.”
CM Punk’s Future Remains Uncertain
CM Punk hasn’t wrestled since winning the AEW World Championship at All Out on September 4th, 2022. However, it has been reported that he could be back in action soon, should AEW decide to use him.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co