CM Punk Reveals If He Was Nervous Before WWE Return Promo
CM Punk is known for his ability to cut a promo, but was he nervous to speak in front of a WWE crowd again?
When it comes to delivering promos in the ring, CM Punk is somebody who is considered by many people to be one of the greatest talkers ever. While Punk is also very good in the ring, it’s his gift of gab that has separated him from a lot of his peers.
The connection that CM Punk has had with wrestling fans led to a huge ovation when he debuted with AEW in August 2021 and returned to WWE in November 2023 at Survivor Series. Both of those moments led to loud crowd reactions that were memorable moments for both companies.
On the November 27th edition of Raw in Cleveland, CM Punk addressed the WWE Universe for the first time since his return. The promo wasn’t that long at the end of the night, but the key things were that Punk said he was “home” in WWE after leaving for a decade and that he was there to make money, not friends.
In an interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond on her show for the NHL, CM Punk revealed that he was nervous for his promo on that night in Cleveland, which is the same city where he walked out of WWE in January 2014.
“100% of CM Punk was nervous. Returning to wrestling is one thing. Returning to WWE is a completely different animal. I didn’t know how things would go. It’s not like I was off TV for a super long time, but you still, as a performer, you’re like, ‘Is anyone going to remember me?’ I was legit in an arena that had not been kind to me throughout my career. My first UFC fight was in that building.”
“It was also hugely cathartic because I’m very much a guy who, if you ask me if I’m ready, I’m going to tell you ‘no’ because part of the juice is being in front of a live crowd. I’m the old guy on the ice now. I can stretch and warm up and I’m not going to be ready until I’m on the ice, the whistle blows, and the puck drops. Now, I’m ready.”
“I need to be in front of the crowd and I need to see the red light on the camera and it’s like, ‘Okay, now, it’s go time.’”
CM Punk Warns Drew McIntyre On WWE Raw
Since coming back to WWE, CM Punk’s rivalry with Seth Rollins has been pushed a lot because they are likely to be WrestleMania 40 opponents.
This past Monday on the January 8th edition of Raw, CM Punk got into a promo battle with former WWE Drew McIntyre, who complained about Punk not acting like much of a leader in the past. Punk ended their discussion by saying that he was going to win the Royal Rumble and he was going to throw McIntyre out last.