10 Best WWE Moments That Have Ever Happened In Chicago
10. Paul Heymans Promo - Monday Night Raw 2014
WWE was presented with a tremendous dilemma in February. The man who was the de-facto number two wrestler in the company, CM Punk, had abruptly left. Fans in other towns were chanting for his name. The shows were beginning to get hijacked by angry smart marks. And they were about to roll into Chicago, Punks hometown, where he is regarded as a god, for a live taping on national television. To make things worse, internet reports leaked stating that Punk was 100% returning to Raw that evening; however, Punk wasnt there. They couldnt ignore the chants, but they couldnt dwell on them either. So if youre presented with this dilemma, how do you go about addressing the issue without having it overwhelm the program youre trying to put on? The answer: Paul Heyman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00cZ6G_1ICU WWE addressed the problem head-on by starting Raw playing CM Punks music and letting the ovation ride out before sending out Punks former friend and adviser, Heyman. Paul sat in the ring Indian-style, similar to how Punk would deliver his pipe bombs, and addressed the Punk situation without needing to get into specifics about what happened. He quickly placed the blame on the fans for Punks departure, and also pointed the finger at The Undertaker, which segued into Heyman hyping the Wrestlemania match between Taker and his client, Brock Lesnar. It was a masterful stroke by one of the best promotional men in wrestling history. He brought the crowd on his side when discussing Punk, and then threw it back into all of their faces. The chants for Punk continued throughout the night, but without the ferocity and endurance that WWE probably feared for that show. Heyman is one of those talents with the rare gift of crowd control, of being able to hold an audience in the palm of his hand and move the marionette strings to get what he wants out of them. His promo was a major contribution for the WWEs side in the battle of management vs. the people.
