WWE News: Is Shawn Michaels Responsible for CM Punk's Rise to Glory?

According to pwtorch.com, Shawn Michaels may have saved CM Punk's career.

As you may know, Punk was a big part of WWE/ECW in 2006 and 2007. Apparently, he was not well received by the backstage powers that be. That was, until a meeting involving Shawn Michaels occurred. The meeting consisted of ECW writers, including head writer Dave Lagana.

Allegedly, Michaels had a discussion with Lagana about ECW's direction during that meeting.

According to Lagana:

"

Vince McMahon was scheduled to appear on ECW for the first time in the start of a new storyline. He was going to rid ECW of it’s “Original” stars and make the way for a “New Breed.” The meeting quickly turned into another CM Punk bash fest. My role was to run the meeting but dare not speak out of turn on the veteran agents. This was how the previous months meetings had gone but this day was different. It was a new voice in the room that changed everything. “Um, if you don’t like something the kid is doing, why don’t you work with him to fix it...instead of killing him.” That voice belonged to Shawn Michaels.

"

If this is at all true, that is huge for Punk. Not only did he have a legend in the business back him, but it was a staple of WWE. As we all know, Michaels spent the majority of his Hall of Fame career with WWE and was extremely loyal to Vince McMahon.

So for him to make that statement about Punk and have it make a difference in his career speaks volumes. Who knows, if Michaels had not been there, Punk may have been "future endeavored" years ago.

According to the article, Lagana also noted that McMahon was not a fan of Punk's, stating:

"

In 2006, Vince McMahon looked at Punk and “didn’t get it.” Plus, when you have Paul Heyman pushing heavily for you in that environment—you get the stigma of being a 'Paul Heyman Guy. I had the stigma because I worked with Paul on every run he had on creative from 2002-2006. Punk suffered for those sins and that night in December, he did not make the Big Show tap out. The agents who didn’t like him made sure the audience would not get a moment from CM Punk that night; Punk was the first man eliminated in the match.

"

In closing, this goes to show that Shawn Michaels is indeed a class act. It also demonstrates that he does actually have some "stroke" within the company. This occurrence is rare, seeing as veterans don't often stick their neck out for anyone—let alone a young up-and-comer.

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