CM Punk Had WWE Heat Before His First Match

CM Punk is no stranger to backstage heat.

According to former WWE star Maven, the Straight-Edge Superstar had it in the company before he had even made his official televised WWE debut.

The winner of the very first season of Tough Enough was in that match, teaming with Simon Dean against Punk and Russel Simpson in a bout taped for the April 17, 2005 edition of Sunday Night Heat.

While discussing the match on his YouTube channel, Maven noted that Punk had already done something to upset some people backstage.

"The one thing management wanted, they wanted us to get the pinfall victory on CM Punk. And for whatever reason, I have no clue, I mean he wasn't a signed talent at the time. But he already had heat in the company. There were already feathers he had ruffled. I don't know how and I don't know who's. 

"Nova [Dean] saw it differently. Nova wanted to give the guy a chance and Nova made the decision. Earlier on, when we were discussing the match backstage he said 'When I come in, I'm going to knock you out. Punk, you roll to the floor'. That way we can get the slam on Simpson. I don't know why Simon wanted to protect Punk.

"He might have seen in Punk what the entire world would come to see years later. Simon was always a good gauge of talent. He might have known that Punk, for whatever reason, might have had heat backstage and he was doing everything in his power to protect him".

Reports at the time indicated that Triple H, Shawn Michaels and producer Arn Anderson had been openly critical of the then-Ring of Honor star's work during a non-televised tryout.

That - along with arriving with the 'indie darling' tag attached to him - didn't stop WWE from signing Punk, who earned a development deal and then his proper call-up as a member of the ECW roster a year later.

H/T SE Scoops