When he's not doing stand-up, writing bestsellers or getting tossed off 16-foot-cages, Mick Foley is a man of the people.

The pro wrestling mainstay's always been in touch with his fan base, from his early days working the extinct territorial circuit, to his four books (in which he's relentlessly ribbed pal Al Snow), to his time in WWE, where he's held the promotion's coveted championship on three occasions.

Mick's got a busy weekend ahead as he prepares to appear Friday and Saturday at WrestleReunion, a gala convention celebrating its third year in Los Angeles at The Westin Hotel, featuring autographs, photos-ops and three live shows. He'll then hightail it to St. Louis, where he'll be one of 30 participants in the WWE's annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view Sunday.

After his epic promo went viral and set Twitter abuzz, WWE champion CM Punk emerged as pro wrestling’s biggest star last summer; what you might not have known is that the Chicago-made grappler was nearly handed his walking papers -- twice -- but saved by a faithful behind-the-scenes backer: Tommy Dreamer.

“He had little-to-no chance of ever making it in the WWE -- he wasn't their type of guy,” Dreamer, who moonlit between the ring and the WWE front office during his decade-long tenure with the company, told RadarOnline.com exclusively about Punk, whose 6-foot-2, 235-pound frame is a far cry from the bodybuilding look synonymous with wrestling heroes like Triple H, John Cena and, in his heyday, Hulk Hogan.

“I saved his job two times when he was about to be let go -- I was saying, ‘Ya gotta keep this kid, ya gotta keep this kid,’” said Dreamer, who credited Punk for his fortitude in overcoming obstacles to become a worldwide phenomenon.