Pretend to be crazy but keep your sanity. One should “hide behind the mask of a fool, a drunk, or a madman to create confusion about your intentions and motivations.” Pretend to be something harmless in order to achieve your true objectives. Your enemy will underestimate you, and then you can strike with great effect.

CM Punk feigns Drunkenness to Disarm Y2J

In the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania XXVIII, Chris Jericho used the strategy of “Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao” on CM Punk by leveling attacks at his family members. Punk persevered in the face of this tactic and was able to overcome Jericho by making him tap-out to the Anaconda Vice in their WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Ever since this defeat, Chris Jericho has dramatically increased the intensity of his attacks on Punk, making it his personal mission to force Punk to drink alcohol (much in the same way that Jericho made it his mission to unmask Rey Mysterio a couple of years ago). Jericho poured (what looked like) Jack Daniels on Punk’s face and head after Punk’s match with Mark Henry. Jericho later had Punk followed and recorded his activities, allowing Jericho to accuse Punk of drinking at a pub in London. Up to this point, Jericho had been solely on the offensive, and he seemed to have Punk reeling in the build-up for their return match. All of Jericho’s attacks during this period were sneak-attacks from behind, or long distance / via-satellite attacks.

On the April 23, 2012 episode of RAW, Jericho sent an alcohol basket to Punk as a sarcastic gift. When Punk was interviewed by Josh Matthews about this gift, Punk gave all the bottles to Matthews…except for the bottle that Punk had in his hand. He kept that one.

Later on in the evening, Alex Riley saw Chris Jericho and told him that Punk was drinking. Jericho demanded that Riley take him to see Punk. Punk’s door was ajar, and Jericho caught a glimpse of Punk drinking from a cup, with a partially emptied bottle of (what looked like) Jack Daniels on the table. Punk’s posture and mannerisms were also affected. Jericho took another glance and then silently left the area.

Jericho went to GM John Laurinaitis and demanded that Punk be administered a sobriety test in the middle of the ring in Detroit and that, if he failed, the WWE Championship should be handed over to Jericho on the basis of Punk violating the WWE policy of forbidding alcohol within twelve hours before or after a WWE event. On behalf of Laurinaitis, Teddy Long informed Punk that he had to take the field sobriety test, and it was coming up next.

In the center of the ring stood Teddy Long, Chris Jericho, and two Detroit Police Officers. Punk’s music hit, and he hesitantly approached the ring…with a little bit of a stumble here and there. When questioned by the police and Teddy Long, Punk iterated that the whole thing was bullshit. He was told to recite the alphabet backwards, and Punk responded by saying that no one can recite that alphabet backwards, drunk or sober, in the entire history of the alphabet. Punk was obviously stalling, but then he began. Z…..X…..I know there’s a V in there somewhere. Jericho began yelling at Punk, and Punk complained to the officers that when they make someone do this on the side of the road, there’s no one there screaming at the people while they’re trying to recite the alphabet. After another couple of attempts, Punk’s failure at this test was obvious.

Next, Punk was asked to walk the line. Punk responded by asking “What line???” Jericho started yelling at him to walk the red line in the center of the ring. Punk, half-laughing and half-annoyed, responded that there’s never a red line in the wrestling ring; so he had no idea to look for one there. Punk eventually made his attempts to walk the line…and he failed. Each subsequent attempt was worse than the one before it. It was uncomfortable to watch from home, and both commentators Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole seemed uncomfortable, as well.

Teddy Long asked the police officers for their final opinion on CM Punk, and they concluded that Punk was under the influence of alcohol. The officers were then dismissed and left the ring. Jericho, smug and satisfied, stood beside Teddy Long and demanded that Long take the WWE Championship from Punk and had it over to him. At this point everyone in Detroit and watching at home thought that Jericho had done it…he had broken CM Punk and was now about to take his WWE Championship.

But at that moment, Punk asked for one more chance. With only Punk, Long, and Jericho in the center of the ring, Punk straightened his posture. Speaking articulately and unaffected, Punk recited the alphabet backwards (even though he said S-T instead of T-S) and then did a perfectly straight dance on the narrow red line. Jericho looked shocked, and Teddy Long, who wanted nothing to do with this charade, looked on happily. Punk then attacked Jericho and chased him all around the building and culminating in knocking Jericho off the entrance ramp, from which Jericho scurried away.

CM Punk had never been able to mount any offense in the build-up to their Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rules because Jericho had kept Punk off balance and at a distance. Punk used Jericho’s strategy against him, and the final piece to getting to Jericho was letting Jericho think that Punk was intoxicated. Jericho thinking this set in motion Jericho’s attempt to have Punk stripped of the WWE Championship and put the two of them physically next to each other…which is where Punk needed to be in order to attack a defenseless Jericho…defenseless because he had been lulled into complacency because of CM Punk really selling being drunk.

Paul Heyman Acts Like a Lunatic to Get Banned from Ringside

On the 09/12/2002 episode of Smackdown, Paul Heyman theatrically interfered in the Undertaker- Matt Hardy match in order to get himself banned from ringside. At the start of the match, he ranted and raved like a lunatic on the ring apron. During the match, he made several attempts to interfere. The referee eventually sent Heyman from the ringside area to the back. The referee also sent Brock Lesnar to the back. His ultimate goal in getting banned from ringside was so that he could freely go backstage and intimidate the Undertaker’s pregnant wife, who was waiting in the dressing room while the Undertaker wrestled. Once the Undertaker noticed this on the Titan-tron and left his match to rush to Sarah’s aid. When he got to the dressing room, Brock Lesnar hit the Undertaker from behind, sending a serious message to the Undertaker.