WWE Night of Champions 2013
Two On One Handicap Elimination No Disqualification match
Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman vs. CM Punk
Fast forward seven years and Paul Heyman is in action again. He’s paired up with another of his clients again, Mr Perfect Curt Hennig’s son, and then-Intercontinental Champion, Curtis Axel. They teamed up to take on Heyman’s former client CM Punk, who he, earlier in the year at Money in the Bank, turned on, with Punk requesting this match to get a measure of revenge on his former advocate.
Both Punk and Axel start off with kendo sticks in hand, with Axel dodging Punk’s swing and hitting him with his kendo. Axel attempts another shot but Punk ducks and gets in one of his own, following it up with multiple kendo stick strikes to the Intercontinental Champion. Using the kendo stick as leverage, Punk hits Axel with a Russian Leg Sweep and then takes out Heyman with a Suicide Dive through the middle rope.
Punk then shoves Heyman into the ring and puts him in a chokehold. Punk then picks up his kendo stick, threatening to hit Heyman with it, but Axel makes the save by hitting Punk with a low blow. Axel continued the attack on Punk, raining down strikes on CM. Axel then picked up his kendo stick and struck Punk in the back with it.
Axel hit Punk with another kendo stick, this time to the shoulder, getting a two-count. The Intercontinental Champion then retrieves a steel chair from under the ring but doesn’t get to use it as Punk regains control with a flurry of kicks. Punk then picks up the steel chair and attempts to hit Curtis with it, but Axel avoids it by dropping CM with a dropkick, getting a two-count.
Axel wedges the steel chair in the corner. Punk hits Axel with two big chops and attempts to send him into the chair. Axel misses a right hand but then nails a clubbing blow to the back of Punk’s head, getting another two-count. Axel then goes underneath the ring again, this time retrieving a table. Axel proceeds to set the table up in the corner and attempts to suplex Punk through it, only for CM to reverse it and attempt to suplex Axel thorugh the table. Axel avoided it by hitting his own suplex, getting a two-count.
Axel then hit Punk with an elbow drop and puts him into a chinlock. Axel released the hold and then attempted an axe-handle onto Punk, only for CM to roll out of the way. Axel attempted to regain control but Punk sent him into the steel chair in the corner, knocking him loopy on the outside. Axel then rolled back into the ring, only to be met with a high dropkick, a clothesline and then a swinging neckbreaker.
Punk then nailed Axel with his trademark high running knee, following it up with a clothesline. Punk then climbed to the top turnbuckle, possibly going for a diving elbow drop, only for Axel to roll out of the ring. Punk attempted a suicide dive to Axel, but the Intercontinental Champion held a chair up in front of him, sending Punk face first into the steel, getting a two-count when he rolled Punk back into the ring.
Axel then dropped Punk with a swinging neckbreaker and continued the attack, raining down fists. The Intercontinental Champion then picked up a kendo stick and, once again, began beating Punk down with it, once again getting a close two-count. Axel attempted a swinging facebuster but Punk avoided it and lifted Curtis up for a GTS. Axel escaped that but pushed Punk right into reach of a kendo stick, which he picked up and then struck Axel in the gut with.
Punk then dropped Axel with the GTS and then he forced Axel to submit to the Anaconda Vice, resulting in Axel being eliminated, leaving only Punk vs. Heyman. Punk then began chasing Heyman around the arena, until Punk caught him in the ring. Punk picked up a kendo stick, grabbing Heyman by the scruff of the neck. Heyman attempted to hug Punk, only for CM to break the hug and beat Heyman down with the kendo stick.
Punk then retrieved handcuffs from his boots and then cuffed Heyman’s hands behind his back. Punk continued to beat Heyman down with the kendo sticks, choosing different body parts to attack. With Heyman lying prone on the bottom rope, Punk told him that he was going to break his face. That was, until Ryback showed up and then speared Punk through the table that was set up in the corner. Ryback then dragged Heyman onto the lifeless body of CM Punk, with referee Mike Chioda counting the three, resulting in Heyman and Axel winning the match.
WWE Hell in a Cell 2013
Two On One Handicap Hell in a Cell match
Paul Heyman and Ryback vs. CM Punk
It only took another month for Heyman to step back into the ring as he teamed up with new client Ryback to face off against CM Punk, this time, inside Satan’s Structure, Hell in a Cell, with Punk promising that he would get his hands on Paul Heyman. Before the match began, Paul Heyman taunted CM Punk by calling himself the ‘Best in Hell’ and using a load lifter to take him up to the roof of the cell, keeping himself away from Punk.
Punk quickly took control as the bell rung, hitting Ryback with kicks and strikes. Ryback pushed Punk backwards, only for CM to immediately come back with more strikes. Ryback soon took over by lifting Punk up into a Military Press Hold, only for Punk to escape it and take Ryback out via his knee. Punk continued the assault by kicking and stomping on Ryback.
Punk kicked and stomped Ryback until he rolled out of the ring. Punk then took Ryback out with a suicide dive, sending Ryback back-first into the cell door. Punk retrieved a kendo stick from under the ring and swung at Ryback, only to miss. He attempted another swing but Ryback lifted him up and began continuously driving Punk back-first into the cell wall.
Ryback then picked up the kendo stick and began beating Punk with it. Ryback continued the assault by choking Punk by pressing his foot into his throat. He then continued the attack with the kendo stick. Ryback then rolled Punk back into the ring and, again, hit Punk in the back with the kendo stick.
Ryback began choking Punk, using the kendo stick as leverage. He then shoved Punk to the mat with a shoulder barge. He continued the attack with multiple strikes before shoulder barging Punk in the corner. Ryback then stood on the back of Punk’s head before dropping a splash on CM, getting a two-count.
Ryback then locked Punk into a rear waistlock, with Punk soon escaping from it. Ryback attempted to retake control, only for Punk to send him over the top rope, crashing into the cell wall. Punk then took Ryback out with a diving elbow, sending him to the floor. Punk retrieved a table from under the ring, only for Ryback to push him into the steel steps. Ryback then continously suplexed Punk into the cell wall, before sending him back into the ring.
Ryback then hit Punk with a back suplex, getting another two-count. Punk attempted to regain control, only for Ryback to drop him with a Backpack Stunner, getting yet another two-count. Ryback once again put a rear waistlock on Punk, with CM escaping it with back elbows. Punk escaped an attack in the corner by putting a boot in Ryback’s face.
Punk then took Ryback down with a springboard back elbow from the middle turnbuckle, getting a two-count. Punk then hit Ryback with the running knee to the face in the corner. Punk attempted a springboard clothesline but was caught by Ryback, who dropped him with a powerslam, getting another two-count on the attempted pinfall.
Ryback then looked to end the match, as he lifted Punk up for the ShellShock but Punk escaped it, dodging a counter-attack, sending Ryback face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Punk then picked up the kendo stick again and began hitting Ryback with it repeatedly. Punk hit another running knee to Ryback in the corner, following it up with a clothesline. Punk then nailed a diving elbow drop, getting another two-count.
Punk retrieved the table from ringside and pushed it into the ring. As Punk was setting it up, Ryback attacked him from behind. Ryback attempted to powerbomb Punk onto the edges of the table but Punk escaped. Punk hit Ryback with a strike and a kick but Ryback ducked another strike attempt, lifting Punk up and dropped him on the edge of the table, groin first.
Once Punk got back to his feet, Ryback took him down once more with a Meat Hook Clothesline, getting a two-count. Ryback set up the table, properly this time, and yelled up at Heyman, who’s been on the cell roof the entire time, “now we finish it”. Punk avoided it, low-blowing Ryback, resulting in Ryback being laid out on the table. Punk then took to the top turnbuckle once more and drove Ryback through the table with a diving elbow.
Punk whacked Ryback with the kendo stick again and then dropped him with the Go To Sleep, getting the three-count and the victory. Punk was not done, however, as he stared up at Heyman on the roof. Punk then shoved a kendo stick into his trunks and began climbing the cell. Punk then removed the kendo stick from his trunks and began taunting Heyman, while walking towards him. Punk then grabbed Heyman, kissed him on the head and then began repeatedly beating Heyman with a kendo stick. CM Punk then lifted up Heyman and dropped him with the Go To Sleep.
On the rare occasion that Paul Heyman steps into the ring, I can only guess that the crowd watching, either in the arena or at home, all want to see him get comeuppance for what led him to step into the ring. The crowd always goes home happy when that happens but Heyman does sometime escape with a victory, albeit with some help as evidenced by a match or two in this list. It is very doubtful that Heyman will be stepping back into the ring but it is fun to see him get beaten up when he does.