Drew McIntyre and CM Punk allegedly copied 13-year-old storyline between former world champion and popular WWE star

Drew McIntyre and CM Punk have been building up their rivalry for months despite the latter being out with an injury. However, the McIntyre-Punk storyline might have drawn inspiration from an old feud between two former WWE Superstars, Matt Cardona and Nick Nemeth, more popularly known as Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler.

In a recent appearance on the Wrestling With Freddie podcast, Cardona took some credit for pro wrestling companies incorporating social media into their storylines. He mentioned his original YouTube series called Z! True Long Island Story in 2011.

The former United States Champion had a feud with Ziggler on the abovementioned series, while other stars also made cameos on it during the 50-episode run.

"I don't want to say I'm the first person to incorporate social media into my storylines, but I'm definitely one of the first people, with my YouTube show back in the day. Me and Ziggler, we took this 'mid-card story' and added so much to it because of our back-and-forth tweets. He stole my girlfriend on my YouTube show, or he attacked me in my hotel room. This was stuff that wasn't done before, but now it doesn't have to be week-to-week and that's it," Cardona said.

Matt Cardona then turned his attention to Drew McIntyre and CM Punk's current storyline, which got bigger due to the two superstars' activities on social media. Punk's injury has allowed McIntyre to add another layer to his character, while The Second City Saint has always been a savage on Instagram.

Cardona didn't want to take credit for the angle but believed that his 13-year-old online feud with the former World Heavyweight Champion helped pave the way for stories like Punk vs. McIntyre.

"Look at what Drew McIntyre and CM Punk have been building on social media. They've made the story so much more intriguing and you want to see the eventual match because of all the trash-talking they're doing, not just on Monday nights," Cardona added. [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]

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Drew McIntyre mocks CM Punk's UFC career in the latest chapter of their rivalry

Before his dark match against Jey Uso on last Friday's episode of SmackDown, Drew McIntyre cut a promo on CM Punk. McIntyre promised to give Punk a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship once he potentially wins it from Damian Priest at Clash at the Castle.

The Scottish Warrior also mocked The Second City Saint's UFC career. For those unaware, Punk failed to secure a win in his brief MMA run.

McIntyre is set to officially challenge Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at Clash at the Castle on June 15 in Glasgow, Scotland.