CM Punk says that his Ricky Rabies character on “Heels” is in honor of Tracy Smothers.
“Heels” airs on Starz. Its debut episode premiered on Aug. 15, just before Punk’s big AEW debut. The show stars Stephen Amell, who plays the role of heel Jack Spade. Alexander Ludwig plays the role of Spade’s brother, Ace.
Punk also plays a heel wrestler on the show, taking on the role of Ricky Rabies. During an interview with Sportskeeda, CM Punk revealed that Rabies is an homage to the late Tracy Smothers.
“Ricky Rabies is Tracy Smothers you know and we lost Tracy a couple of years ago and he was the first name I ever wrestled, maybe. I wrestled Tracy Smothers in a barn in Southern Indiana in 1999 or 2000, something like that. And he just walked up to me, he’s like, ‘hey man I seen you work, you’re good, listen, uh, I can’t remember sh*t you know, is it okay we just go out there and do it? I can’t memorize this and that, we can talk about it but I’ll just forget it.'”
Smothers passed away on Oct. 28, 2020. He was 58 years old. Smothers had been battling cancer and heart issues.
