How CM Punk And WWE Veteran Repaired Friendship
CM Punk and a longtime WWE employee repaired their friendship, which had gone sour.
When CM Punk walked away from WWE in January 2014 after about eight years in the company, he chose not to stay in touch with a lot of people he was friends with during his WWE run.
Fast forward to November 2023 at Survivor Series, and CM Punk was back in WWE after spending the previous two years in AEW. That meant that Punk was back in the same company with the same friends that he had previously ignored, so there was likely some tension there.
Since Punk has been back in WWE, he seems as happy as ever, but there are still guys like former World Champions, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, who criticize Punk all the time. That could be part of their job as wrestlers, but there could also be truth behind it.
Corey Graves is a WWE announcer who has been with the company since 2011, and for the last ten years, he’s been an announcer. In 2018, Graves sent a series of tweets about how he was once close friends with Punk, but Punk didn’t want to associate with anybody in WWE after he left the company.
While speaking about TV Insider, Raw announcer Corey Graves said he was once close with the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, that the relationship fractured, and that it now appears to be good again.
“It really is wild. Life in this business is so unusual. Everyone has a different story, but to have someone who I bond with so deeply when I was trying to get ahead of the business. He was always a step or two ahead of where I was.
I looked up to him for that. I sort of tried to follow in his footsteps. I patterned myself after him, right, wrong, or indifferent. I’m sure I learned a few bad habits along the way, but he was sort of my wrestling big brother. That’s how I looked at it. Then life happens.
There are the well-documented issues he had with WWE. He and I fell off for a while, but when he came back, I made it a point to talk to him. It’s one of those things where I believe time heals all wounds or at least most wounds.”
“I’ve Always Been A Fan Of CM Punk” – Corey Graves
As he continued, Corey Graves spoke about his repaired friendship with CM Punk and how he remains a fan of the World Heavyweight Champion.
“We had a heart-to-heart. Both of us apologized for a couple of different things and let it be water under the bridge. Since then, we’ve continued to grow close again. He is one of my favorites to this day, despite the fact he is my friend.
As a talent, I’ve always been a fan of CM Punk. With all the headaches and issues and struggles he has had in his career, the relationship between him and WWE had soured so badly. Then to have it come full-circle and know, despite what he says in interviews about what is important to him, in Phil [Brooks’] (Punk) heart he wants to be the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania.
So, I’m happy for my friend in that respect. To know the fan in him, not just professionally speaking, he is in the top spot and that’s where he deserves to be. It truly is a dream come true for him. There is still part of him that acknowledges that and realizes that, and I’m happy for him to get to live that.”
The next WWE PLE is WrestleMania 42 on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas. Here’s the lineup so far:
* WWE World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
* WWE Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
* WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
* WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
* Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
* Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
There will be more matches added in the weeks ahead.
WrestleMania 42 will STREAM LIVE Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.