What’s the story?
Bruce Prichard recently took to his Something to Wrestle Podcast and talked about how he stopped CM Punk from being buried after having a conversation with him and understanding his character.
Prichard also went into detail about CM Punk’s arrival from OVW and how things panned out for him initially.
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In case you didn’t know...
Bruce Prichard, who was also called Brother Love in the WWE, worked as an on-screen personality for the company and later as a backstage agent and producer. He worked for the WWE for 22 years till 2008, when he was released by the promotion.
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Prichard is currently an advisor and an on-air personality at Impact Wrestling. He also hosts a podcast, where he talks about several WWE-related topics and provides a backstage perspective on some of the most important WWE Superstars and storylines.
CM Punk, on the other hand, was signed up by the WWE in 2005 and stayed with the company until 2014, when he left in acrimonious circumstances.
The heart of the matter
Bruce Prichard, speaking on his Podcast, talked about the momentum and hype surrounding Punk when he was first brought into the WWE in 2005. He said that Punk was heavily endorsed by Paul Heyman, who insisted that the Chicago native was a great talent.
Prichard stated that hardly anyone backstage knew anything about Punk except for the hype that Heyman had given him, which had actually caused the WWE to start Punk’s burial once his mentor and biggest supporter, Heyman, left the company in 2006.
Also read: 5 reasons why we still hear CM Punk chants in the WWE
Prichard added that even though the burial for Punk was already in process, he felt that Punk wasn’t getting “a fair shake” and was being ignored due to his association with Paul Heyman. Prichard stated that Punk was a “very interesting, clever guy” and that he felt bad for him.
As per Prichard, he decided to sit down with Punk in the stands of an arena one day to discuss and demystify Punk’s background and gimmick in detail. Prichard recalled the two-hour on-camera conversation that he had with Punk and was quoted as saying:
"I asked questions that people didn't have answers to. Things like 'Tell me the stories of the tattoos.' 'Why do you have Pepsi on your shoulder?' 'Why this tattoo? Why that tattoo?' 'What is straight edge?' "And he just talked.
And the more that he talked, the more interesting he became. He became a real person that I felt that our audience could identify with if we just told that story."
After learning of Punk’s background, Prichard incorporated the newly-acquired details into Punk’s on-air presence in the WWE, which subsequently led to his meteoric rise in the future.
What’s next?
CM Punk has effectively retired from professional wrestling and has forayed into the world of Mixed Martial Arts instead. Despite being called out by other professional wrestlers as well as independent promotions (with lucrative offers) to return to pro wrestling, Punk has expressed no desire to return and is focused on his MMA career.
Author’s take
In another interview, Paul Heyman had previously explained that he had left the WWE in 2006 over creative differences with Vince McMahon concerning the direction that their brand of ECW was taking.
Heyman’s eye for talent and Prichard’s stellar backstage work are my two takeaways from this. All CM Punk fans must be thankful to these two men for identifying and promoting the Straight Edge Superstar.
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