During a recent appearance on “The Masked Man Show”, Paul Heyman commented on CM Punk’s return to pro wrestling in AEW, what will happen when the novelty wears off, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On CM Punk’s return to wrestling and what’s next for Punk after the novelty wears off: “I don’t know if what he’s doing now is what should be judged. I think what will be interesting is, what happens when the novelty that he’s back wears off? Both for the audience and for him. I’m sure for him this is still like ‘I can’t believe I’m back! I’m actually walking into an arena, holy s–t.’ I think it’s still very fresh for him. What happens a year from now? How’s he going to feel? How will the audience look at him and accept him in a year? If he can continue to drive himself to being a progressive, compelling, riveting character on the cutting edge that presents himself in a different manner than anyone else can present himself, then he’s going to be a fascinating character to watch. If he can’t, then he’s going to be someone that came back, rode a wave of nostalgia but didn’t progress into the future when he as a rebel was always looking forward in the business and never trying to live off what the business had already accomplished or what he had already accomplished in the business. So the fascinating thing for me to watch is his mindset and his vision for that character, for that persona, for himself as a performer a year from now. We’re still in the honeymoon period.”
On his curiosity for the CM Punk character moving forward: “Where does Phil Brooks want to take CM Punk? It’s the same thing, it’s the same conversation I had with Roman Reigns before we debuted in public together. It’s again, it’s taking the ‘Big Dog’ and moving him into the role of the ‘Tribal Chief.’ Everything that you’ve done only leads up to now. That was just the appetizer. And now you’re going to be the main course. I told Roman, I said, ‘You’ve had four WrestleMania main events and you have to look at that as just the audition to be the Tribal Chief. It’s just the lead-up to it. Because everything you’ve done before now is just the lead to the moment you emerge as the Tribal Chief. This is where your legacy gets crafted. This is your Hall Of Fame run. This is what you will be remembered for. And everything before was just getting you here, including four WrestleMania main events.’ For Phil Brooks, that’s the same thing. Everything he accomplished, and he accomplished a lot – he overcompensated in his life from the moment he broke into this industry. Everything for him that led him to now, including his return and the enormous reaction, is just the lead-up. Where does he take the CM Punk character in 2023, 2024, 2025? And can he make that character so progressive, so revolutionary, so evolutionary, so riveting, so compelling, so different and unique from anybody else that’s out there, that he truly defines himself as a transformative figure and true disruptor in the professional wrestling/sports entertainment game? That’s the interesting part to me.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
