The short-lived pairing of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Champion CM Punk and UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen is over before it really started.

That's because WWE head honcho Vince McMahon has called a halt to the idea of Punk walking Sonnen to the Octagon for his UFC on Fox 2 fight against Mark Munoz on Jan. 28 in Chicago.

MMAFighting.com has it:

WWE champion CM Punk will not escort Chael Sonnen to the Octagon prior to Sonnen's fight against Mark Munoz on Jan. 28, after all.

Punk confirmed with MMAFighting.com that WWE chairman Vince McMahon decided against allowing him to walk out to the cage with Sonnen later this month.

Seems like a waste for the WWE, what with the publicity such a thing may or may not have brought the company but we're talking about Vince McMahon here. For those unaware of his style, let's just say he's crazier than Sonnen could ever hope to act during his "promos."

And so ends one of the biggest non-story stories of the past month. A pro wrestler won't be walking an MMA fighter to the cage for his real fight and, presumably, everyone can stop complaining about how that does or does not affect perception of MMA as a sport.

Yippee.