CM Punk reveals which pro wrestling legends influenced his Heels character (Exclusive)

CM Punk made an emphatic return to professional wrestling after seven years, when he signed with All Elite Wrestling. He has been involved in various projects during his hiatus and his most recent one was on the TV show Heels, on STARZ.

While speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Kevin Kellam, Punk revealed the real-life professional wrestling legends who inspired some of the characters on the show.

Kevin asked him about which "old-school wrasslers" influenced his character on Heels to which the Second City Saint asked his interviewe to name some. Kevin guessed Terry Funk and Michael PS Hayes, which turned out to be right. The other wrestler to inspire Punk's character was Tracy Smothers.

"Did you say Terry Funk? You just named two of them, there's one big one. You should be ashamed of yourself [points to different people in the audience]. Who's a wrestling fan here? [Someone names Tracy Smothers] Thank you! The first line I say is, 'Jack Spade, what's your deal man?' Tracy Smothers would walk into every locker room, 'Hey man what's your deal, hey you working out, you eating cans of tuna, you swimming? I'm good brother, alright.' Ricky Rabies is Tracy Smothers you know," CM Punk said.

You can catch the whole video here:

Heels is a television show revolving around a wrestling promotion in Georgia. CM Punk portrays the character of Ricky Rabies, a character inspired by Tracy Smothers.

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Terry Funk and Tracy Smothers have been big influences on CM Punk's career

Time and again, CM Punk has attributed much of his success to the help he received early in his career from legends of the stature of Terry Funk and Tracy Smothers. While talking about his legacy, CM Punk spoke of the importance of being loved by Funk.

"So to me, what I would like my legacy to be is, I was the kid that Terry Funk loved, I was a kid that Harley Race loved, I was a kid that Dusty Rhodes loved. I was a kid that all these old school wrestlers loved. And then I got to a place where I thought was supposed to be my dream job, and these dudes that idolized these same guys that loved me didn't like me, and it didn't make any sense to me. So, going forward, I think my legacy is to just help out the young guys the way Harley helped me, the way Terry Funk helped me, the way Eddie Guerrero helped me. And just not be a d**k. Because for what? Protect a spot. Who cares? That's my legacy," revealed Punk.

Tracy was the first name I ever worked. He taught me so much just that first night, and continued to do so for years. He loved working shows full of young kids and always helped share his knowledge. Always asked if I was swimming and eating cans of tuna. 1/5

— player/coach (@CMPunk) October 28, 2020

Tracy Smothers was the first name CM Punk wrestled, so he holds a special place in Punk's career. Upon his passing, the Straight Edge superstar spoke very highly of Smothers on social media.