CM Punk’s Shock WWE Return – What We Know So Far

CM Punk is back in WWE after making a memorable return at Survivor Series in front of his hometown crowd in Chicago.

The main event of WWE Survivor Series in Chicago saw a team led by Cody Rhodes defeat The Judgment Day’s team in an exciting and fun WarGames Match.

As the show was going off the air with graphics appearing to signify the end of the broadcast, the song “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour hit and CM Punk made his return to WWE television for the first time in nearly a decade. It was one of the loudest ovations in the history of WWE.

There’s a long history between CM Punk and WWE since he’s a former WWE Champion who worked there for about eight years from 2006 to early 2014. Punk walked out of WWE one day after Royal Rumble 2014 due to creative frustrations with the company, but in the pro wrestling business, everybody seems to come back.

After returning to pro wrestling with AEW in the summer of 2021, Punk lasted there for about two years. After a second backstage fight, CM Punk was fired by AEW in early September and he was free to pursue other opportunities.

It was reported by PWInsider’s Mike Johnson that CM Punk has signed a WWE deal that is “several years in length” although no specific terms or years were mentioned.

The report from Johnson added that the deal came together quickly, which is something that Triple H said at the Survivor Series press conference. The company also views this as a “new beginning” for Punk. A deal was officially reached at some point on Saturday – the day of Survivor Series.

There was apparently a thought of having Punk return to WWE at the Royal Rumble in January, but then it was decided that Chicago was a better choice since Punk is a hometown guy. Punk was able to drive to the show and was hidden away until it was time to appear.

Who Knew That CM Punk Was Returning To WWE?

It was reported by Fightful Select that CM Punk told some people close to him that he was returning to WWE.

The Fightful story added that minutes before Punk appeared, there was an area backstage that was cleared out for Punk to appear. Triple H took over as the Producer of the show to make sure it went off how he wanted it to come off.

As for the WWE superstars, it was reported by Fightful also that the wrestlers were told that CM Punk would be returning at the end of Survivor Series.

CM Punk is also expected to be at WWE Monday Night Raw in Nashville.

A video has been circulating online about Seth “Freakin” Rollins angrily reacting to CM Punk’s return. It was mentioned by Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio that it was just a storyline reaction to Punk, so it could certainly lead to a Rollins-Punk rivalry down the road.

Drew McIntyre was visibly upset at the end of the show with Fightful noting that when people close to McIntyre checked on him, Drew confirmed it was connected Punk’s return rather than some storyline reaction.

As for WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H, he said that CM Punk belongs in WWE. As for their past issues, Triple H spoke about how people can mature and change over a decade, so they consider it a fresh start.