WWE Hall of Famer Details Cancelled CM Punk Match Plans
Kevin Nash was supposed to wrestle CM Punk in 2011.
The "Summer of Punk" almost went very differently. In the build up to WWE Money in the Bank 2011, CM Punk made his behind-the-scenes status with WWE completely transparent: his contract was expiring on the night of WWE's next pay-per-view, and he planned to leave the company as WWE Champion. Real life and storylines eventually blurred together, as Punk would make good on his promise, beating John Cena for the WWE Title and hopping the barricade at the Allstate Arena, running off like a thief in the night through the Chicago crowd. As was revealed later, Punk did re-sign with WWE moments before WWE Money in the Bank 2011, and he would return to programming just over one week later.
This then set up a rematch against Cena at WWE SummerSlam 2011. While Punk was victorious, a sneak attack from the returning Kevin Nash gave way for Alberto Del Rio to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, ending Punk's reign at just over one month. All indication pointed to Punk entering a grudge feud with Nash, and while they traded some barbs on the microphone, the two never ended up sharing the ring with one another.
Kevin Nash Details Cancelled CM Punk Match
Big Daddy Cool had to take a backseat to the King of Kings.
Speaking on his Kliq This podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash revealed that Triple H personally replaced him in his scheduled match against CM Punk at WWE Night of Champions 2011.
"When I was supposed to wrestle Punk, he got under Triple H's skin so bad. Paul just came up to me and said, 'I'm going to beat him. You're not going to wrestle him. I'm beating him,'" Nash recalled. "Cool. That's why me and Punk never wrestled. He made the call, 'I got to beat this f--ker.'"
That loss significantly derailed Punk's momentum following what was a white-hot summer. Punk himself has vented about Triple H not putting him over at WWE Night of Champions 2011.
"I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have," Punk recalled a conversation with Triple H during the now-infamous Colt Cabana podcast appearance in 2014. "That would have been best for business, but you had to f--king come in and squash it."
Punk and Triple H were once scheduled to run back their feud at WWE WrestleMania 30, but Punk's walkout of WWE and wrestling as a whole two months prior scrapped those plans.
"And I turned to Hunter [Triple H] and I said, 'All due respect, I do not need to wrestle you, you need to wrestle me,'" Punk said in 2014 regarding the initial WWE WrestleMania 30 plans. "'I do not want to wrestle you.'"
Today, Punk is back in WWE and is seemingly on the same page as Triple H. The two shared a picture together following Punk's return in November, joking that hell had frozen over.