In 2005, Paul Heyman became the head writer for Ohio Valley Wrestling, then one of WWE’s developmental brands. The goal was for him to develop the right people to eventually promote to the main roster on Raw and SmackDown.
Not long after Heyman took over OVW, an up-and-coming star was sent to the promotion. The order given to Heyman was to fire him. But Heyman wouldn’t do it. Since he didn’t handle hiring people, he wasn’t going to be the one to fire them.
Plus, Heyman saw something in this young wrestler, something that could end up making them a box-office attraction.
That star ended up being CM Punk.
“He was not supposed to make it. That’s for real,” Heyman told USA TODAY Sports.
Now, 20 years later, Punk will fulfill Heyman’s vision by participating in the main event of WrestleMania 41 night one, taking on Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match between enormous figures in the business.
For Punk, Saturday night in Allegiant Stadium will be the culmination of a career-long journey to headline WWE’s top event. He was denied it several times, and it played a role in his departure from the company in 2014. He swore he wouldn’t come back to the business.
But he couldn’t ignore the desire to be a main-event star. He returned to the profession with All Elite Wrestling in 2021, and after a tumultuous end with the company, he made his shocking return to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023.
After a triceps injury forced him to miss WrestleMania 40 last year, Punk is now healthy and ready for his WrestleMania moment. It was a long and winding road, but it resulted in Punk finally achieving his dream.
“One would suggest that this is a most improbable circumstance that came to be, for both professional and personal reasons,” Heyman said.
One part of the storyline for the match involves Heyman’s relationships with Punk and Reigns. The WWE Hall of Famer has produced some of his best work since he became “The Wiseman” for Reigns in 2020. Since then, Heyman has been there as Reigns reached the pinnacle of WWE.
But way before that, Heyman was aligned with Punk. Beside working in OVW two decades ago, Heyman was the on-screen advocate for Punk in 2012 and 2013. They’ve had such a close bond, and that’s why when Reigns and the OG Bloodline needed someone to help at Survivor Series: WarGames 2024 in November, Heyman went to Punk.
Despite the differences with Reigns, Punk agreed to help and it paid off with a victory. The only thing Punk asked for in return was a secret favor he’d eventually cash in — having Heyman in his corner at WrestleMania 41, putting Heyman at a crossroads.
While it has added an extra layer to an increasingly-hot feud ahead of WrestleMania 41, this favor was actually a promise, and it came long before Punk aided Reigns last year.
After Heyman left WWE in December 2006, he was in former WWE star Big Show’s bus with him and Rob Van Dam when Punk walked in. He was in shambles, fearing for his career after Heyman left the company. Punk believed he would be fired.
Heyman rebuffed the notion.
“I said, ‘They can’t fire you. You’re too damn good at what you do,’” Heyman recalled.
Then he made a bold claim.
“I said, ‘But when you main event WrestleMania, bring me back to be in your corner, we’ll enjoy that first WrestleMania main event of yours together, and will force them to deal with us,’” Heyman added.
Punk was barely in his first year of being on-screen in WWE and hadn’t even competed in his first WrestleMania match yet. But Heyman knew the moment would come.
Despite being a wrestling icon, Heyman didn’t walk down the ramp at WrestleMania until 2013. The person he did it with was Punk. Now, he’ll be able to accompany him again in a WrestleMania main event.
“Life takes a lot of crazy turns, and these turns have been especially crazy for the both of us. So when you look at our trajectories or our journeys, they are pretty wild,” Heyman said.
Heyman knows this has been Punk’s dream. It was something they discussed “in great detail” when they first met in 2005, and Heyman made the promise to be in Punk’s corner in 2006 when it did happen.
That’s why it was an emotional moment for Heyman on March 28 when he got to tell Punk the match would close out the show. Twenty years after first talking about it, Heyman and Punk will get to live out the dream together.
“I couldn’t imagine anybody else giving him the news,” Heyman said.
(This article was updated to change a video.)