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Triple H Addresses CM Punk’s Shock WWE Return

By John Canton • Published 25th November 2023
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Triple H has commented on CM Punk’s return to WWE by saying it “came together very quickly.”

The ending of WWE Survivor Series in Chicago had a big surprise as CM Punk appeared on WWE television for the first time in nearly ten years. After walking out of WWE after the 2014 Royal Rumble, Punk didn’t speak kindly about WWE for many years, but in the pro wrestling business, we have learned to never say never.

Moments after Cody Rhodes and his team were celebrating their win in the WarGames main event match, the song “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour hit and CM Punk was back in WWE.

At the post-Survivor Series Press Conference that aired on YouTube and other outlets, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque answered questions about Punk’s return to WWE. In his initial comments, Triple H said that it was apparently a quick deal.

“This is one of those lighting-in-a-bottle moments that came together very quickly. We are incredibly excited about it. It’s been a long time, and in some ways been a long time coming. You can say this about CM Punk; love him, hate him, positive, negative, whatever you want to say, people talk about him all the time.”

“He’s a magnet for that, he’s a conversation starter, and it’s tough to look past that. For me, if our fans want it, if the WWE Universe is excited to have it, then, let’s go, and we’ll figure out the rest of it from there.”

“This came together super quick, which I’m sure is why it stayed very tight. There was a lot of speculation, and at that point, it was nothing but speculation. For most of the time it was speculation, it didn’t really come to fruition until everybody stopped thinking it was going to happen, and then all of sudden, it was happening. Extremely excited.”

As he continued, Triple H talked about how a lot of time has gone by since CM Punk was last in WWE and that people change. Triple H added that WWE is where Punk belongs.

“A lot of time has gone by, almost ten years. If you are the same person you were ten years ago, ten years later, you messed up. Everybody grows, everybody changes. I’m a different person, he’s a different person. This is a different company. We’re all on the same even starting ground.”

“What’s next for CM Punk? That will be interesting, won’t it? I’m interested in seeing that myself. I know whatever it is, it will be talked about, it’ll be exciting, and it will be a thrill ride for the WWE Universe, no matter what it is. I’m thrilled, we’re all thrilled, to have him back here and have him back, cliched to say, have him back home in WWE. It’s where he belongs.”

How Many People Knew About CM Punk’s Return To WWE?

A question was asked about whether WWE’s owners TKO Group made the call to bring CM Punk, but Triple H replied that there was no push from them and that it was only a small group of people who knew, including WWE President Nick Khan.

“There has been zero push from anybody past WWE. It’s myself, Nick Khan. To be honest, very few people knew about it past that. It’s a funny thing, all of a sudden there is a mystery entity behind WWE. We’re doing our thing and we’re trusted to our thing and trusted to do what we feel is right for business.”

“To be honest, probably the top people at TKO were going ‘Holy Shit.’ It’s a good thing. It’s a crazy, cool time right now at WWE. I think fans can feel that. A lot of energy, a lot of excitement, and I’m ready. Let’s run through a wall. Let’s do this and do it the biggest way possible, and keep building on what Vince McMahon made into a global juggernaut for 50 years.”

“If I have anything to do with it and have any say in it, we’re going to make it bigger than it’s ever been before.”

On Twitter/X, CM Punk joined Triple H for a classic “point” post that Triple H has done with dozens of WWE superstars.

H/T Fightful