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CM Punk is finally learning where the person Phil Brooks and famous pro wrestling character begin and end — creating a character even more compelling than his younger self.
That’s what longtime friend and former on-screen manager Paul Heyman has seen since Punk returned to WWE in November 2023 after a decade away from the company and a seven-year absence from pro wrestling.
“I think Phil Brooks’ approach behind the scenes is far more mature and calculated,” Heyman said in a phone interview. “ I can say with great certainty, he has a far greater grasp of the persona of CM Punk than he had years ago. Because, much like anyone else caught up in the mix, and I’m certainly more guilty of this than probably anybody else in the locker room, you can get caught up in the persona and the persona can take on a life of its own, to the point where you have to be in the persona to think like the persona, instead of being able to strip that character from outside of its own skin.”
Punk’s first stint in WWE from 2005-14 saw him rail against the establishment on and off screen.
Things ended abruptly and unceremoniously with him sick, injured and frustrated with how the company was booking him at the time and the medical treatment he was receiving from the company’s then-primary physician Dr. Chris Amann.
Public comments Punk made led to Amann filing a defamation lawsuit against him but a jury ruled in favor of the wrestler in 2018.
Punk, 46, has been a model citizen since rejoining WWE after his tumultuous and injury-riddled AEW tenure ended after two-plus years. He was fired with cause after a backstage scuffle with Jack Perry at All In in August 2023.
Now back in WWE, he is doing some of the best work of his career — especially in his feuds with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins — and has taken a great interest in going out of his way to help younger talent in NXT.
Heyman, currently “The “Wiseman” to Roman Reigns, stressed how much maturity it takes and the personal struggle some performers go through to get to the point where they can truly separate themselves from the persona they are portraying on screen — especially to “the degree that the CM Punk character or persona should be believed in.”
“It’s a dangerous place to take yourself sometimes because you can get lost in it, but it also is the level of commitment that is necessary to be the best In the world and the greatest of all time,” Heyman said.
Punk will look to finally secure his first WrestleMania main event match when he tries to win the 2025 Royal Rumble (6 p.m., Peacock) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday.
Heyman and Punk got to interact on screen together for the first time in more than 10 years in June, when Heyman interrupted a promo in Chicago to warn Punk about tangling with Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline and asked his friend to protect him from the group.
Heyman also pulled “The Best in the World” into this version of Reigns’ orbit by recruiting him to be the fifth member of the Original Bloodline’s eventually victorious Survivor Series WarGames team.
Punk, in storyline, agreed to do it as a favor to an old friend and he can now ask a favor from Heyman down the road as WWE heads toward WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas in April.
For Heyman, it’s just another example of the intrigue that has made the Bloodline saga so successful, and the nature of the CM Punk character and the favor hanging over his head opens up a wide variety of possibilities for the story to go.
“I always look for intrigue. What’s the mystery here? What’s the water cooler conversation after this airs?” Heyman said. “Where are the potential trajectories this story can argue it should take and therefore the possibilities the audience can sink its teeth into and get passionately behind or against? Punk adds so much of that because he is among the most unpredictable characters and personas in WWE history.”
It’s what’s made Punk’s current run so fascinating to watch for Heyman because the former WWE champion is “presenting a character that on every level should not work.”
During Punk’s first tenure in WWE, he was “The Voice of the Voiceless” for fans wanting to rebel against what they were unhappy about with the company at the time. WWE is currently as popular as it’s ever been, but Punk has still found his place and an outpouring of love from the audience.
“How does a rebel continue to be the voice of rebellion against an establishment that is popular?” Heyman said. “How does a rebel age into his mid-40s and still be the voice that pushes for a progressive product? How does a rebel mature and not lose the very edge that made him so wildly popular?”
Heyman attributes it to that professional maturity Punk has found both on and off screen — learning through experience “what not to do.”
“It’s through the maturity he’s achieved that Phil Brooks can present the most articulate, most compelling rebel character not just in WWE, pro wrestling or sports entertainment history,” Heyman said. “I would suggest CM Punk is the most compelling rebel on screen today, be it television, movies or sports.”
