Brock Lesnar and CM Punk once again find themselves working for the same employer, but they’ll never meet inside the UFC’s octagon. Their WWE feud was one of the most compelling rivalries in the company back in 2013, culminating in their NO DQ match at that year’s SummerSlam . The Lesnar-Punk bout and Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship were far and away the marquee matches that sold that particular pay-per-view.
Of course, that night ended with Triple H attacking Bryan, allowing Randy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new champion and ignite a long rivalry while Cena healed up from injury. While Punk and Lesnar tore the house down for over 25 minutes, their program ended when the match did, and unfortunately, WWE fans were never treated to a rematch.
Lesnar went on a long hiatus after SummerSlam and did not appear in another WWE match until the 2014 Royal Rumble; ironically the final event CM Punk appeared in WWE before walking out on the company the following night.
Paul Heyman, who has famously managed both Lesnar and Punk during their runs in WWE, recently performed in a one-man show over two nights at the Comedy Store in the United Kingdom. The timing wasn’t the best from WWE’s standpoint as it prevented him from appearing on this week’s episode of RAW, which certainly could have benefited from one of his classic promos hailing Lesnar as the most dominant combat athlete in the world following his win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 .
Be that as it may, Heyman did not disappoint the live crowds, shedding some light on the business and pulling the curtain back on his time as a member of the creative team, interactions with Vince, and a proposed angle that would have seen him take over for Bobby Heenan in the early 90s. But, arguably, the most interesting news to come out of the second night of the show was the details he revealed surrounding the Lesnar-Punk program from 2013, as reported by F4WOnline .
Heyman discussed how Vince McMahon first approached him to manage CM Punk in 2012. Punk was never one to need a mouthpiece, but the two agreed because of their personal friendship. Their onscreen relationship began in September 2012, further progressing Punk’s feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship at the time. The Lesnar-Punk SummerSlam match wouldn’t happen for another 11 months, but Vince told Heyman that that’s where they were ultimately headed in a rare example of long-term storytelling.
Heyman would be by Punk’s side all the way up to the 2013 Money In The Bank show when Heyman turned on Punk just as he was about to capture the briefcase during the main event ladder match. This would lead to Lesnar’s return and eventual match with Punk the following month. Heyman revealed that before SummerSlam , he and Lesnar requested that Vince stretch out the feud all the way until WrestleMania 30 . However, with a portion of the future already mapped out, Vince declined their pitch, saying he was planning on Brock facing the Undertaker at that event instead.
Of course, that plan was executed to perfection, but it was Punk who felt slighted and quit the company beforehand anyway. WrestleMania originally had Lesnar slated for the Undertaker, Punk paired with Triple H, Daniel Bryan matched up with Sheamus and a main event featuring Randy Orton and Batista. Only one of those went as planned with Lesnar, of course, breaking the Undertaker’s undefeated streak.
Heyman revealed that after Vince told him of his plans in August for the following year’s WrestleMania , Lesnar told him that they would find a way to break the streak to become the 1 in 21-1.
[Image via WWE]
