101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
32. ‘Y2J’ Literally Tattoos CM Punk
Chris Jericho's feud with CM Punk heading into WrestleMania XXVIII told the world that Punk was straight edge due to his father's alcohol problems. That wasn't a shoot story - it was something Vince McMahon came up with when he didn't like Jericho's initial pitch for Raw. The fact that Punk already had 'a million tattoos' played into McMahon's thinking.
'Y2J' wanted to legitimately ink Punk's body and put either his initials or daddy dearest's somewhere on his foe's frame. Vince didn't understand why, and he didn't think fans would care given the number of patterns already on the babyface's body. Jericho fought against that by saying it was a personal thing, but McMahon wouldn't budge.
There was another concern staring the story down: Someone backstage warned Vince that Jericho could draw some blood if he was taking a needle to Punk on live television, and it'd be hard for WWE's cameras to shoot around that if they wanted to show the end results. That threat of blood and VKM's general disinterest in the idea anyway made it a no-go for Jericho.
McMahon didn't want to risk any blood on his flagship show, especially in and around 'Mania when corporate sponsors were watching WWE's every move. Chris was frustrated by that, 'cause he knew how much heat literally tattooing Punk would get him from the fanbase.
Even Punk dropping by to say that someone inking him without permission would be akin to being violated couldn't sway things. The boss had spoken, and he wouldn't change his mind again.