How CM Punk’s Confusion With Triple H Almost Led His WWE Return Astray
CM Punk has described the chaos he found backstage when making his WWE return and how a misunderstanding with Triple H almost led to everything going wrong.
CM Punk made his shock return to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series after almost ten years away from the company. The return came just weeks after CM Punk was fired by AEW for yet another backstage fight in that promotion.
Following the WarGames main event, the victors were celebrating in the ring when the familiar strains of Cult of Personality hit and the Allstate Arena in Chicago came unglued as the prodigal son returned home.
Speaking on No-Contest Wrestling, CM Punk gave some insight into the scene he was met with when he arrived backstage at the show and how he was faced with some faces from the past he hadn’t always played nice with:
Because I got brought into Gorilla, and I don’t think people knew. I think people were just piled in there because it’s the end of the show, and there’s social media people who are going to be filming winners and losers coming through the curtain, they’re doing their job and stuff like that.
I remember being in Gorilla [at Survivor Series] and all of a sudden I get bear-hugged from behind and as I kind of turn around to see who it is, it’s Bayley. She’s like, ‘I f*cking knew it!’ She’s like, ‘As soon as they started yelling at us to clear the hallway I knew it!!!’ And she’s not letting go of me.
Then, Triple H is there. Stephanie, I remember seeing her and having a moment with, just somebody I haven’t seen in 10 years. People were like, ‘Oh, they hate each other.’ Regal [laughs], I remember looking at Regal and Regal going [look at us].
CM Punk & Triple H Struggled To Communicate
All the chaos backstage nearly led to utter confusion over what CM Punk was supposed to do when he made his entrance as he didn’t know what was awaiting him and couldn’t understand Triple H’s instructions:
But there were just so many people in there, and then I don’t know what to do. I absolutely lose my composure. All I know is I’m coming out. But I don’t know what the set looks like, I don’t know if there’s a ramp. I’m literally in the dark. So I’m trying to talk to Triple H over the table, and it’s so loud and there’s so many people and they hit my music and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. What am I doing?’ And he’s like, ‘Go out and walk down to the cage.’ And I’m like, ‘Go out and walk all the way down to the cage!?’
He was trying to tell me that there was two cages for the babyfaces and the heels for WarGames and he wanted me to walk down and stand in-between them. So in my head, I’m like, I’m marching all the way to the cage and he’s like, ‘No!’ My music’s playing, and we’re going back-and-forth and we’re both freaking out. He went, ‘No!’ And he rips his headset off and I’m like, ‘Oh God! What are we doing!?’
Obviously, we figured it out. But the chaos backstage, I mean, it’s last minute, there’s so much stuff going on back there and they film everything now so I’m sure someday we’re gonna see a lot of cool stuff. It was just such a great moment and I love that chaos and that uncertainty again. I was like, man, I could just drink it up all day. But when the music hit, it was deafening!
CM Punk will face Drew McIntyre inside Hell In A Cell on October 5th at Bad Blood as the two men look to finish off their personal rivalry once and for all.