Paul Bearer: CM Punk is number one on the WWE roster

Good news, Paul Bearer fans. He's not dead and not only that, he'll be included as a manager on the WWE '13 video game roster.

Hooray!

THQ revealed as much today while also noting Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer/manager Ricardo Rodriguez will be included in the game as well. WWE Games has been masterful in its bit-by-bit approach to information release in the promotion of this video game, even for such seemingly inconsequential additions like this.

This time, though, they added some meat to the bone and conducted a full interview with Bearer on an assortment of topics ranging from what it was like to work with Undertaker to how he feels about the current WWE roster of talent.

It's there that the most interesting quote popped out at me:

"CM Punk is outstanding. I put CM Punk above Cena. I never knew him until I came back when I got kidnapped by Edge. He has the mentality and the ability and the athleticism to perform. He picked up all of that on his own, from Taker and Kane and talking with those guys. He is like a sponge and he just picks up everything. I think he is fantastic. Cena is fantastic too, but Punk is, in my estimation, No. 1 on the roster. Daniel Bryan was in developmental when I was going to a different territory each week. He came from Shawn Michaels' school. Shawn is one of the best in the business, and he taught Daniel Bryan right. He is not a CM Punk, but he is pretty close. He is really good at one (sic) he does. Dolph Ziggler...he had to grow on me. I had never heard of him before and he looks so much like Billy Gun. Certain things he does in the ring...I see Billy Gunn. He's not Billy Gunn, but he is a fantastic performer. I have nothing bad to say about any of these guys - they are all really good at what they do."

Punk, Bryan and Ziggler. Is this Paul Bearer or a smark on any predominantly WWE wrestling website?

And do you agree with his assessment?