Did CM Punk actually return to WWE for a secret reason?
His first WWE in-ring match has been announced! And how he’s become the Kingmaker for the biggest
negotiation in wrestling. I’m Oli Davis, and yes,
I’m talking about CM Punk again! CM Punk… to NXT confirmed question mark?
For the first two weeks of CM Punk WWE return confirmed, Punk had ‘free agent’ status,
teasing he could sign exclusively to Raw, SmackDown, or even NXT.
Before confirming he was accepting Adam Pearce’s offer to become an exclusive
superstar on Monday Night Raw, Punk showed up on the 8th December episode of SmackDown,
and then, more shockingly, the following night’s NXT special
Deadline - where he shared an awkward opening promo with Shawn Michaels,
where they seemingly forgot their lines, then got played off early by Punk’s entrance music.
What C-Mon Luck doing in the Full Sail zone? In that exchange, Punk teased:
“The big question is that, is CM Punk going to be on SmackDown? Is CM Punk
going to be on Raw? Or is the newest NXT Superstar named…[crowd chants CM Punk].”
Quite clearly Raw. He’d already started a feud with Seth Rollins.
Which Punk would confirm two nights later on the 11th December Raw. But his NXT tease appears to
be far more than just a one night bit of fan service. It might actually be Punk’s long term
plan for himself in WWE, and a driving reason he returned to the promotion after a decade out.
Fightful reported that a CM Punk in NXT isn’t just for Deadline. He was also backstage at
the following TV taping on December 12th - where he was “hanging out” throughout the
day, and was even giving talent feedback on their matches in the evening. Presumably feedback like
DON’T USE REAL GLASS! And ‘Have you tried these
muffins. Mindys. Mindy’s muffins. This was confirmed by NXT Women’s
Breakout Tournament winner Lola Vice, who posted a photo with Punk from the
taping with the caption “shooters”. Either a reference to their shared MMA past… or Punk’s
tendency to have physical altercations with his co-workers backstage. ALLEGEDLY!
Booker T also corroborated Punk’s positive backstage
attitude at Deadline, revealing on his podcast: "CM Punk wasn't hiding. He wasn't hid away in
some room. He was running around mingling.” Ibou of WrestlePurists then claimed why Punk
might be so suddenly invested in the NXT brand… he wants to take over running it.
“CM Punk’s long term goal is to succeed Shawn Michaels in NXT. Was told he was buzzing last
night, didn’t sleep and flew to Orlando. He’ll be doing a lot of observing tonight, seeing how
things work over there in terms of TV production.” So Punk enjoyed his appearance at Deadline so
much, he flew to the Performance Center to not just mentor younger talent, but also to gain
experience in backstage production. While his last year in AEW might’ve
convinced you otherwise, with his alleged Jungle Boy clash leading to his firing,
Punk has a long history of wanting to mentor the next generation of wrestling talent.
During his first WWE run, Punk would sometimes just show up at the NXT Performance Center to
give advice. Famously, and very appropriately considering his first feud back on Raw, he once
appeared on the 23rd August 2012 episode of NXT while WWE Champion, interrupting a promo from
then NXT Champion Seth Rollins. They would team together against the Kings of Wrestling, Antonio
Cesaro and Kassius Ohno - at a time when main roster stars appearing on NXT was incredibly rare.
Following that, it was actually Punk who pitched Seth, Dean Ambrose and Kassius Ohno as the new
main roster faction that would become the Shield - when WWE wanted it to be the Big
Show and Daniel Bryan - again because he wanted to elevate and help out hungry young stars. WWE
replaced Ohno with Reigns, and they did alright. The Shield would travel on Punk’s coach in the
first few months after their call-up, where he would give them advice - until WWE broke
them up. Full disclaimer: every member of the Shield would then later fall out with
Punk. I’ve got a whole video on that in the link in the video description below.
Even in AEW, Punk would go out of his way to mentor younger talent, taking the likes of MJF,
Powerhouse Hobbs and Brody King out for meals. But as Lexis King revealed about
William Regal trying to do the same in AEW, he was met by resistance and indifference.
And perhaps this desire to help didn’t always come across in the most productive way, as Punk telling
Jungle Boy maybe he didn’t have to use real glass in a weapon spot because it’s needlessly
dangerous led to him leaving the company. Whatever you feel about Punk and how he expresses
himself, he has been consistently passionate about helping and elevating young talent.
But it’s not just young talent Punk can clash with. He can clash with veterans
too. He’s an equal opportunities asshole. So what about the guy Punk might be trying
to replace as head of NXT, Shawn Michaels? At first glance, you’d think Michaels and
Punk would have decades of ill will between them. Punk’s mortal enemy for over ten years was HBK’s
best mate Triple H. And Michaels himself is also famous for being a dickhead backstage.
But it seems that shared diva-like attitude forged an early bond.
According to Maven, Punk managed to have backstage heat in WWE even before his first ever tryout.
This followed him throughout his first WWE run, but according to former ECW writer Dave Lagana,
it was Michaels who defended Punk in a meeting with Vince McMahon - arguing they
should try mentoring and guiding Punk rather than burying him. HBK himself later confirmed this:
“Dave Lagana will tell you, as Punk will, that I was one of his biggest fans. The reason [WWE]
didn't like him is because he had a bad attitude.” For Punk’s part, he seems to have always been
grateful to Michaels for this. So grateful, in fact, he shared a fictional gay love affair story
about it in March 2023, posting on Instagram: “we had a glorious 11 month love affair,
man on man, that I shall never forget. Our bodies intertwined as one,
and from the beauty of Morocco, to the French Riviera, to the snorkeling in the Galopagos,
Shawn Michaels and I made glorious gay love to each other on six of the seven continents."
This was a creepypasta post, shared for trolling and comedic effect. But it did come at a time
when Punk’s AEW status was in flux. So maybe he was trying to get his way back to NXT by
seducing… I don’t know. I don’t know what that was about. I don’t get it.
Couple these with Michaels embracing Punk on NXT Deadline, and it doesn’t feel like Punk trying
to politick his way behind-the-scenes to usurp HBK. In fact, even though Michaels has been a
revelation booking NXT in 2023, it wasn’t a role he ever wanted. Triple H spent years convincing
him to take it on. Perhaps Punk will end up in developmental. But it’s not to become a wrestler.
It’s for NXT’s head booker succession plan. And then all will be right with the world
once more. CM Punk will have his own show again, and you better
believe Hangman Page isn’t allowed on it. Punk announced on the 11th December Raw
that he’ll be entering the Royal Rumble match - making it ten years to the show since his
last onscreen WWE appearance. But before then, he’ll face the hottest star working today at a
live event… Dominik Mysterio! And by hottest, I mean ‘most
artificially crowd noise booed’. In a neat long term story,
after Punk creepily sang happy birthday to Rey Mysterio’s daughter Aliyah back in 2010, which had
a young Dominic also in the ring [IMAGE WITH ARROW POINTING AT DOM], the Kia Forum have announced:
“JUST ADDED! @CMPunk will face ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio at the @WWE Live
Holiday Tour on Saturday, December 30!” Which will take place the same night as
AEW’s World’s End pay-per-view. Not to be outdone, Madison Square
Garden then posted actually they’ll have Punk’s first match a few days earlier:
“CM Punk will be live at The Garden on Dec 26 for his first match in WWE in over 9 years”
Punk’s return has seen WWE’s live event ticket sales soar,
even for shows he’s not announced for. And that same business boom is being seen across the board.
Mike Johnson has revealed on PWInsider Elite that the night Punk returned to WWE,
at Survivor Series 2023, his merchandise sales already were in the six figures.
That means Punk sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merch from just a few minutes
of TV time right at the end of the PLE. Punk’s segments on TV have consistently
been the highest rated of the night, with Brandon Thurston reporting his promo with
Seth Rollins on the 11th December Raw was “by far the most-watched quarter hour” - adding
over 400,000 viewers on the show’s average. In an increasing sign of trust from WWE in Punk,
Sean Ross Sapp has added that promo segment had “no producer listed” - implying CM Punk
is leading the charge on producing his own segments. Perhaps another sign he’s being
groomed for a major backstage role in WWE. And the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer has
claimed Punk’s return has been a major factor in the ongoing TV negotiations over WWE Raw - whose
USA Network deal expires late 2024. “Things are changing greatly. Let's
just say things changed greatly with Raw negotiations from a few weeks ago. And
Punk is a huge part of the selling point.” Tony Khan revealed on a media call promoting
ROH Final Battle that he continues to be in talks with Warner Bros Discovery about AEW’s
own big TV rights negotiation. The thing is, the CEO of that company, David Zaslav,
apparently calls CM Punk “One Bill Phil” - disclaimer, that is according to CM Punk.
As his tumultuous tenure in charge of WBD has shown, Zaslav isn’t afraid to screw over long
term partners. He’s made ruthless cuts and has reportedly shelved movie projects like Batgirl
and a Wild E. Coyote film starring John Cena, that had already cost over a hundred million dollars,
just for tax saving reasons. Perhaps the biggest consequence of Punk’s WWE return could be AEW
losing their TV network for him. How do you think Punk would be in
charge of NXT? Let me know in the comments… That’s not the only big shake-up behind the
scenes. Because WWE have massively changed their business. Watch on to find out how…