Devastating News On CM Punk’s Immediate WWE Future

CM Punk was not a part of the Monday Night Raw show in Omaha, Nebraska.

The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion has now missed two consecutive weeks of television appearances. It has been several months since Punk missed multiple episodes, leading to fans speculating about his situation.

As the Stamford promotion builds the card to Saturday’s Backlash premium live event, the 47-year-old’s absence has been noted by viewers, with some hoping for him to be Danhausen’s mystery partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson at Backlash.

CM Punk was last seen on TV during the April 20 episode of Raw, the night after he lost his world championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

During the taping, he gave fans an insight into what the future might hold for him. He was then interrupted by the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, who beat Randy Orton in their ‘Mania match.

After a back-and-forth conversation between them, Punk hinted that he might come for Rhodes’ championship in the near future.

CM Punk Set To Miss WWE Backlash

CM Punk’s name popping up as a potential contender to team up with Danhausen at Backlash on May 9 is natural. After all, Punk played a major role in WWE signing the former AEW star.

After his PLE match was officially announced by Triple H on Twitter, the 35-year-old wrestler tagged multiple retired legends, asking them to come out of retirement to be his tag partner.

Despite that, The Second City Saint’s name continues to come up in the conversation.

However, a report provided by Self Made Pro during the latest Self Made Sessions podcast confirmed CM Punk’s status for Backlash.

At the moment, as far as I’m aware, he’s not scheduled to be on Backlash. No. [H/T: Ringside News]

So, the possibility of Danhausen teaming up with his former AEW peer is next to none. Moreover, Danhausen, Kit Wilson, and The Miz are involved in a comedy angle, which is not something Punk is known for.

While it might have been an opportunity for the former champion to explore a different character on screen, the idea will not materialize on TV, not at Backlash anyway.

AJ Lee Temporarily Bids Adieu To WWE

Like CM Punk, his wife, AJ Lee, has been off television as well. Lee’s temporary departure from WWE comes following her Women’s Intercontinental Championship loss to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.

WrestleVotes confirmed that while the 39-year-old is indeed taking a break, she will return to live programming in the near future, possibly around SummerSlam in August.

According to sources, AJ Lee has wrapped up her current run with the company and as of now isn’t scheduled for anything in the near future. We’re told her return isn’t officially considered over, but there is some caution that it could be a while before we see her back in action again.

One source did speculate they’re hopeful a SummerSlam program materializes, although no further details were available regarding the possibility of this at that time.

So she has come in, returned, wrestled a few matches mainly with Becky Lynch, takes a loss at WrestleMania and now, according to a source, isn’t coming up anytime soon.

Lee returned to WWE in September 2025 after retiring ten years ago due to an injury.