10 Most Shameless WWE Promotional Tactics
5. Exploiting The Death Of Paul Bearer
In 2013, CM Punk had held the WWE Championship long enough ahead of his Royal Rumble loss to The Rock that he felt perfectly placed to slot into a spot that few others would have wanted at the time.
Fighting The Undertaker at WrestleMania was a dream spot, but battling 'The Deadman' after four consecutive years of a celebrated story with Triple H and Shawn Michaels added significant pressure to the brand new opponent. Annoyed that he wasn't going to be taking on John Cena or The Rock (or both) in the 'Show Of Shows' headliner, Punk was determined to make new believers out of fans becoming increasingly convinced that the streak would never end.
All of this was powerful stuff, but all of it fell by the wayside when Paul Heyman passed away during the build. Punk tipped Bearer's ashes over himself and The Undertaker to add Memphis-style heat to a contest big enough to steal the biggest wrestling show of the year. The tawdry act was forgotten in the aftermath of such a ripper but again played into the company's strange obsession with mocking the memories of the deceased.