Actor Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, The Need for Speed) was given the dubious task of having to host an episode of Monday Night RAW on March 3 from the All-State Arena in Chicago, the hometown of recently departed WWE Superstar CM Punk. Paul recently spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the experience of being in front of a rabid fan base that was disappointed by rumors of Punk returning that night not coming true.
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Paul made his first appearance on the program alongside WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler, coming out to the arena in a Ford Mustang and then joining the announcers on commentary during Ziggler's match with Alberto Del Rio. While there was fear that Paul would be met with boos, the WWE crowd serenaded him with "Jesse Pinkman" chants in a nod to his character on Breaking Bad.
"I knew [the risk]," Paul told the Chicago Tribune prior to going out in front of the rowdy Chicago crowd. "I'm an outsider. I'm not part of the WWE family."
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Paul then addressed Punk, who walked out of the WWE prior to the Jan. 27 RAW over frustration due to the way that he has been used and his role at recent WrestleManias, which also included a planned match against Triple H at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
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"Oh yeah, he's the guy that quit a few weeks ago," Paul said of Punk prior to the show, per the paper. "I think a lot of people think he's going to show up tonight. I don't think so."
Punk didn't show up and could be done with the WWE altogether, however Paul was prepared for the worst thanks to some advice from Ziggler.
"[WWE fans] don't take too kindly to outsiders coming in, no matter how great your show is," Ziggler told the publication. "They got the Pinkman chant going, and I go, 'It's hard to win these guys over, but when you do, they'll love you forever.'"
While Paul was cheered by the WWE fateful, there were boos and "CM Punk" chants all night from the Chicago crowd during various segments of the show.
Punk has been vocally frustrated and burned out in the last couple of years, especially with the fact that Batista and The Rock came back from long stints away from the company to headline WrestleMania the last few years.
While Paul had a great time in front of a raucous WWE crowd, the belief is that Punk won't be appearing before an audience in a WWE ring anytime soon.
Further Reading:
Top 9 worst WrestleMania events of all-time
Best WrestleMania moments from 'Manias VI -X
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