Paul Heyman on creating his masterful 'Raw' promo from 2014 in Chicago
“I never saw the situation in Chicago as unwinnable”
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
Paul Heyman shares details of a famed 2014 promo
An inside look at the past week in wrestling
Bryan Danielson on the evolution of violence in pro wrestling
Tweet of the Week
How The Untouchables inspired a legendary Paul Heyman promo
Paul Heyman revealed this past Friday on SmackDown that CM Punk will finally have his long-awaited opportunity to close out WrestleMania, as he will headline Night One on April 19 in a triple threat against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
It is an opportunity Punk has earned over the past year, where he delivered phenomenal work even while on the injured list. But it runs deeper than that, as Punk helped carry WWE more than a decade ago–yet was never rewarded with the ultimate prize of a main event at WrestleMania. That was long a source of aggravation, which he famously expressed in November of 2014 on Colt Cabana’s “Art of Wrestling” podcast.
Punk’s tumultuous departure from WWE led to a significant amount of time away from pro wrestling, until he signed a deal with AEW in 2021. Though the highs were certainly high, Punk’s time with AEW ended on a bitter note, leading to a shocking reunion in 2023 with WWE.
When Punk left WWE in 2014, and then received termination papers on his wedding day, it appeared there was irrevocable damage–specifically with Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque. But a lot has changed. McMahon, who was once the end-all/be-all, has been banished from the company, while Levesque and Punk put in considerable effort to make amends.
Throughout the entire saga, one element that has never changed is Punk’s bond with the fan base. That is what carried Punk to new heights in WWE–even as far back as 2006 when there were power brokers within the company that preferred Punk did not succeed. Through injuries and amidst backstage issues, the fans gave Punk new life in AEW. That has remained a constant in this current run in WWE, where Punk still stands as one of the most popular performers in the entire industry.
A proud “Paul Heyman Guy”, Punk and Heyman are forever intertwined. That made it especially meaningful for Heyman to be the one to share the news about WrestleMania. The whole scene was exceptional–The Wise Man offered his sage words for an emotional Punk as Reigns, sitting at the head of the contract signing table, acted above it all, while Rollins visibly fumed.
The contrast to the chaos of 2014 was striking, and it is worth revisiting a monumental piece of WWE history. Leading up to WrestleMania 30, while Punk was on what Vince McMahon had referred to as a “sabbatical”, there was still a question of whether Punk would return, or if he was finished with the company. His last appearance had been the Royal Rumble in January, and there appeared to be plans in place to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania. That excitement reached a fever pitch just over a month before WrestleMania, when Raw visited the city of Chicago–Punk’s hometown–that March.
If Punk was returning, it was going to happen in Chicago. So when Punk’s music hit that night and his image appeared on the Titan Tron, the crowd positively erupted. Chicago’s prodigal son was home, and the powerless were going to find a way to defeat the powerful.
But Punk never walked out onto the ramp.
Instead, it was Heyman–the man who fought for Punk dating all the way back to 2006 during his time in Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was WWE developmental at the time. Then, in late 2012, Punk and Heyman were on-screen partners, making magic together during Punk’s historic 434-day world title reign.
If anyone was going to make sense of Punk’s absence in Chicago, it was Heyman.
Heyman then cut one of the most impassioned, effective promos of his career. He needed to shift the crowd’s attention from Punk–who was not there and was not returning–to Brock Lesnar’s upcoming battle against The Undertaker and his undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
It stands as one of the most fascinating times in the storied history of professional wrestling, and Heyman operated at the center of it. And who better to share the details of that night than Heyman.
“That moment in Chicago was a very unique period of time,” recalled Heyman, who was less than a year removed from his on-air partnership with Punk that had reaped extraordinary dividends. “It came after the Royal Rumble where CM Punk had walked out, and the Chicago crowd was on fire, angry that obviously CM Punk was not going to be there.
“In the meantime, my appearance took on a whole new meaning because I was so closely associated with Punk. I was going to be a distraction from Brock Lesnar, and we had to get Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker on the map because we were heading straight into WrestleMania.”
If done correctly, this could be an enduring moment. But if Heyman failed to connect with the fiery crowd, it would have been disastrous. Seeking inspiration for the right words, Heyman found exactly what he was seeking in a film that took place in the heart of Chicago.
“In looking at the circumstance, it reminded me of The Untouchables, which was directed by Brian De Palma,” said Heyman, referencing the brilliant film from 1987 that captures Al Capone’s seemingly unstoppable reign of terror. “Kevin Costner, who plays Eliot Ness, leads a group–they’re ‘The Untouchables’. One of the villains in the movie kills one of ‘The Untouchables’ and writes ‘Touchable’ in blood on the elevator wall. It was such a dramatic turning point in the movie.”
If you’re wondering how that scene inspired Heyman, it wasn’t merely because of the setting. Heyman saw it as a chance to pull victory from the depths of defeat, even if very few people shared his optimism.
“I never saw the situation in Chicago as unwinnable,” said Heyman, who even sat cross-legged in the ring during his promo–exactly like Punk had done so many times before. “I looked at it as a magnificent opportunity to promote Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker.
“I knew I could spin within my persona the fact that Punk would have beaten The Undertaker the year before had he just listened to me and ignored the love being bestowed upon him by the audience. In blaming the audience for Punk’s decision to leave, which would only have happened outside of my wisdom, I was directing my venom towards them–and I’d punish the audience by taking something away from them, which would be The Streak, and the only beast on the planet that could beat The Streak was Brock Lesnar. It sounds so fucking convoluted, but when you put it in front of yourself, with that audience that night in that moment, it all made sense.”
More than a decade later, it still makes all the sense in the world. The present adds further clarity as Punk and Heyman are reunited together on-screen, with Punk chasing dreams that were once abandoned. This Friday, history comes full circle as Heyman returns to Illinois–this time in nearby Rosemont–to build further interest and anticipation for this year’s WrestleMania.
Heyman captured the essence of professional wrestling on that night in Chicago more than a decade ago. He turned frustration into excitement, and from anger sprung exultation. Handed an opportunity where so many others would falter, Heyman found a way to flourish.
“On that night, there was nothing else to do–unless we wanted to get badgered by CM Punk chants all night, and that wasn’t going to sell WrestleMania tickets,” said Heyman. “So, for me, it was a straight line. I knew in the moment that it wasn’t just the best move, it was the only move.”
This past week…
John Cena and Cody Rhodes were outstanding on Raw. Turning Cena heel has brought so much excitement to WWE.
Cena also shared that he is now completely healthy after dealing with a frightening skin cancer scare.
Gunther provided an old school beatdown of Jimmy Uso on Raw, forcing Jey to watch his brother get destroyed and leave covered in blood. This was extremely well done and adds a new level of intensity to the Gunther-Jey Uso match at WrestleMania.
MVP invited MJF to join The Hurt Syndicate. MJF accepted, but Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin weren’t having it. This is a compelling start to a new storyline in AEW.
While the focus will be on Jon Moxley defending the world title against Swerve Strickland this Sunday at Dynasty, hopefully tonight’s Dynamite will also shed more light on the growing Athena-Mercedes Mone feud. It is a great opportunity for Athena, who has been outstanding in Ring of Honor, to get more spotlight, but I feel like this ends with Mone taking another piece of gold.
Thoughts on Jon Moxley, a spiked bat, and Bryan Danielson’s insight on the evolution of professional wrestling
Two weeks ago, Jon Moxley was the recipient of a spiked bat lodged into his back. It was wedged in so snugly that it was difficult to remove.
The part that struck me the most? My reaction.
Yes, it was gnarly. But no, it wasn’t the craziest spot I’d ever seen–even though that was the exact reaction it should have drawn.
We’re so accustomed to seeing pro wrestlers taking extraordinary risks that, somehow, the insane has become fairly customary. It made me think of a conversation from last spring with Bryan Danielson, who marveled at the same notion–wrestling fans have become immune to many of the most shocking spots.
“I was in an Anarchy in the Arena match where we lit somebody on fire,” said Danielson. “I still can’t get over that.
“When I started wrestling, me and Brian Kendrick would always try something different. Say we did a superplex off the top rope–the old-timers would say to us, ‘What are you going to do next–light somebody on fire?’ It was this thing that would never actually happen. Now we actually did it.”
It is an odd phenomenon. Despite men and women putting their bodies on the line, there are many times when the extraordinary looks more and more ordinary.
“Match after match, you’re seeing these incredible things,” said Danielson. “Now you’re not even that surprised by it. Isn’t that crazy?”
Tweet of the Week
MJF is right–it adds a different feel when it is done correctly.