Paul Heyman Claims CM Punk Wanted to Quit a Year Before He Actually Did

Paul Heyman claims CM Punk wanted to quit a year before he actually did. Punk left WWE on Jan. 27, one night removed from the “Royal Rumble” PPV, and has not appeared on WWE television since.

Heyman, who was once a representative for Punk both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, recently joined former Undisputed WWE Champion Chris Jericho as a guest on his popular podcast, “Talk is Jericho.” When Jericho began to probe Heyman about Punk’s WWE departure, Heyman revealed that he was surprised that the “Best in the World” lasted as long as he did.

In regards to Punk’s 2013 run in WWE, Heyman said,

“He was unhappy. He had enough. He couldn’t take it anymore. A year before he walked, there was daily conversations of, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to take this. I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be here. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to be before I just decide to go home.’ I’m surprised it lasted this long.

Every day with him was an exercise in him finding the balance to simply continue on and find the passion he needed to do it, and I think what happened was, he walked in the day after the “Royal Rumble,” and he couldn’t find that passion.

He couldn’t convince himself, or persuade himself, ‘OK, whether I’m happy or not, this is about the performance, my legacy. It’s about ‘I take pride in what I do,’ and whether I’m happy or unhappy when I go out there, I’m going to be the best CM Punk I can be.’ And I think somewhere during that day he couldn’t find that.”

Editor’s Note:
Some wisdom from the Walrus. If you haven’t listened to this episode, I encourage you to do so. Edge also pipes in with comments about Punk’s departure.