19 Things WRESTLING Wants You To Forget About CM Punk

18. The Backstage DX Burial

Vince McMahon CM Punk
WWE.com

A well known rumour about CM Punk's WWE tryout was confirmed by multiple sources a decade after the fact, with current MLW head honcho and former WWE writer Court Bauer having been there in person for DX members Triple H and Shawn Michaels not being particularly kind about 'The Straight Edge Superstar' as he was out in front of the live crowd.

Speaking on the Bauer & Pollock podcast, Court said;

"One time, Triple H along with HBK buried CM Punk. I think it was his 2005 tryout," Bauer said. "Maybe he didn't know the name, and wasn't familiar with who it was but they buried him." Bauer said that he, Vince McMahon, and then-head of talent relations John Laurinaitis were all present as it was going on. They, along with Triple H and Shawn Michaels were in the Gorilla position watching Punk's tryout at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. "They annihilated his look and his work and I'm like 'you just sunk the guy in front of the Chairman!'....They were shredding this poor guy."

Obviously things would change (and change again, and change again, and change again) over the years between the two sides, but few wrestlers ever had as many hurdles to jump over to make it in WWE than the 'Voice Of The Voiceless'.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett