CM Punk’s WWE Return Date Revealed – Reports

CM Punk has not been seen on WWE television since the Raw edition after WrestleMania 42.

On Night 2 of the Show of Shows, Punk defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns, but failed to retain it.

During an appearance on the subsequent Raw episode, The Second City Saint claimed that he would lie in wait for the next opportunity to come his way.

He was confronted by the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes shortly afterward. After a brief back-and-forth, CM Punk teased a run at Rhodes’ title.

Ever since, there have been multiple reports speculating on Punk’s disappearance from TV, some of which sounded outlandish, if anything.

Insiders, meanwhile, revealed that the 47-year-old was enjoying a much-deserved break and would reappear when the time was right.

Tentative Date For CM Punk’s WWE Return Revealed

CM Punk recently took on the role of a commentator while appearing at the Cage Fight Fury Championship 156 event in Chicago.

It was then that one of his co-commentators asked whether Punk would clear his dates to attend other upcoming CFFC shows. In response, the former world champion said that he was unsure because CFFC takes place on Friday, which is the same day of the week as SmackDown.

This potentially confirms that CM Punk’s WWE return will be on SmackDown instead of Raw, where he spent the majority of his time since late 2023.

Punk’s SmackDown rostering also lines up with Sami Zayn’s Undisputed Championship win at Night of Champions yesterday. Plus, it sets up a future clash with Cody Rhodes, which was teased during his last appearance in the company.

All this was discussed during a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez.

Meltzer touched upon Punk’s recent comment at the CFFC event, stating not only that he would be on SmackDown but also that he would be inserted into the title picture immediately.

But yeah, I mean, now what does this mean? See, CM Punk’s another one in that mix, not just Brock Lesnar, you know? I mean, because he’s gonna be on SmackDown, which I guess we could mention. CM Punk was announcing the CFFC. It’s an MMA promotion that he used to announce all the time, and then he stopped. They were doing a show in Chicago on Friday night, and he announced it. And, you know, he got a whole bunch of lines in there.

And then he was asked at one point about, you know, ‘Are you going to be back announcing for us?’ Because he said that he doesn’t travel anymore because his horse is sick. So he goes, ‘Well, if you’re on Fridays, I might be busy,’ which was his way of telling everyone that he’s bound for SmackDown.

WWE will also start to actively build towards SummerSlam, which is scheduled for August 1 & 2. Meltzer speculated that CM Punk might very well challenge Sami Zayn for the title at the biggest party of the summer and then feud with Cody Rhodes.

Meltzer then shared that Punk wants his WWE return to take place on July 6, which is a Raw taping in his hometown of Chicago, before the build-up for SummerSlam starts.

So anyway, Punk should be back a week from Monday if he has his way. He wants to come back in Chicago July 6th. So, you know, that’s the deal, and then build for SummerSlam, obviously. Well, I mean, I don’t know who he goes against now. Maybe it’s Zayn. I mean, I don’t think it’ll be Oba. We’ll find out.

CM Punk claiming to be busy on Friday nights in the future is a hint that he is SmackDown-bound. Plus, WWE wants to give fans a Punk versus Cody Rhodes match, which was teased a couple of months ago.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether or not Sami Zayn continues to remain at the top of the card.

H/T: Ringside News