Paul Heyman On Why He Thinks CM Punk Left WWE, Chris Jericho And Edge Talk Incident With Punk

Paul Heyman and Edge were the most recent guests on Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, and one of the many topics they discussed was CM Punk's departure, as well as another other incident involving the Chicago-based wrestler with both Edge and Jericho in a tag team match. Listen to the episode here.

Since Jericho thought Heyman could have known about Punk's departure beforehand, he asked if Punk had told him about his plans before abruptly quitting WWE. Heyman said it was rather spontaneous, but noted the issues with Punk had been building for a year. The former ECW boss said he wouldn't have been surprised had it been any other day in between last year.

"He was unhappy," Heyman told Jericho. "He had enough. He couldn't take it anymore, and it wasn't a slow build. A year before he walked, there were daily conversations of 'I don't know how much longer I could take, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be here?' So, I'm surprised it lasted that long."

He also mentioned Punk was struggling on a daily basis to find the passion he needed to continue. Heyman believes after walking in the next day after the Royal Rumble 2014, he simply couldn't find that passion, or convince himself what he was doing was for his legacy. Heyman thinks without the passion, Punk didn't want to be a shell of himself by simply coasting or collecting a paycheck.

Jericho then recalls an incident where he and Punk teamed against Edge and John Morrison, while Team Canada battled Team USA in the gold medal hockey game of the 2010 Winter Olympics. All wrestlers involved had agreed to call the match in the ring.

The former WWE and WCW megastar said he and Edge were watching the game backstage, and Canada had scored the overtime goal moments before Y2J walked to the ring. Jericho was thrilled as he made his entrance. Punk started the match, and Jericho realized he was not getting tagged in. He said it took him five minutes to come to terms that he wasn't going to get in the ring. Jericho then said Punk worked the whole match by himself, as Jericho stood on the apron. The host also mentions getting struck with a can of Coke to the back of his head by a fan after the match, which made him even more upset.

Jericho summoned all four wrestlers in the trainer's room afterwards, and asked Punk what his problem was. Punk said they were unprofessional because they watched the hockey game. Jericho said there may have been people who paid to see him on that day, and robbed them of the opportunity.

Edge chimed in to say between him and Jericho, they had been in the business for 40 years. He understood where Punk was coming from, yet he mentions that in a few years, Punk would understand where he would be in his career. Edge then mentioned an instance where Punk was tweeting about the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs during a pay-per-view.

Jericho said although he was upset, he respected and admired Punk's stance because it showed he stood up for himself and showed his true colors.

Source: Talk Is Jericho