Why CM Punk Used Paul Bearer’s Death in Undertaker Feud Despite Initial Hesitation

CM Punk and The Undertaker had a deeply personal feud leading up to WrestleMania 29, with Punk incorporating Paul Bearer into the storyline shortly after Bearer’s passing. Although he was originally against the idea, Punk has now explained why he eventually agreed to it.

While speaking to Peter Rosenberg, CM Punk was asked why he decided to incorporate Paul Bearer into his storyline with The Undertaker following Bearer’s passing, despite his initial reluctance.

The Second City Saint recalled that he couldn’t remember exactly where he was when he first heard the news of Bearer’s passing, but he believed it happened either right after a TV show or on a Tuesday night. While he acknowledged that the situation was unfortunate, he had a feeling that it was a case of dumb luck and expected WWE to move forward with something related to Bearer’s legacy.

“You know, I—I can’t even remember where I was. I think it happened right after one of our TV shows, or maybe over the weekend. No, I think it was Tuesday night when the word came out. It sucked, but, you know, I kind of had a feeling it was just dumb luck, you know what I mean?”

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At first, Punk wanted no part in it as he convinced that whatever WWE pitched to him wouldn’t be something he’d want to do. He preferred a straightforward feud with The Undertaker without anything else in their angle.

“Obviously, I wish Percy was still with us, but as soon as I heard, I knew we were probably going to end up doing something. Initially, I didn’t want anything to do with it. In my mind, I thought, ‘Whatever they pitch to me, I’m not going to want to do it. Let it just be me and Taker, straight up.'”

However, when he arrived in Indianapolis and met Bearer’s sons, Punk’s perspective changed after a long conversation with them. Seeing that they were fully supportive of the tribute, he changed his mind.

Punk also spoke with Michael Hayes, who had known Bearer long before they were both in the wrestling business. Hayes explained that Bearer would have loved the tribute and the fact that an entire three-hour episode of Raw was dedicated to him, featuring clips and special moments. Hearing this reassured Punk, and he ultimately agreed to move forward with the storyline.

“I showed up in Indianapolis, and both of Paul Bearer’s sons were there. I had a long talk with them, and I realized they were totally on board. That changed my mind. People who had known Percy since before they were in the business, like Michael Hayes—he and Percy used to go to shows together before either of them were in the business—helped me understand.

Michael explained that Percy would have loved this. He would have loved that the entire three-hour Raw was dedicated to him, with clips and all that other stuff. And at that point, I was on board.”

The Undertaker would ultimately defeat CM Punk at WrestleMania 29 and eventually made it clear he had no beef with Punk as well. Nonetheless, fans are glad that Punk decided to go through with using Bearer in their feud as it definitely elevated it to the next level and that’s all that matters in the end.

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