More has come out regarding CM Punk’s return to WWE, including when the deal came together and why AEW wasn’t referenced in his Raw promo.
It’s been six days since the AllState Arena came unglued at the sight of CM Punk, who walked out onto the stage at a WWE event for the first time in just under a decade. Since then, the Straight Edge Saviour has addressed the WWE Universe in the main event segment of Monday Night Raw and many still can’t believe quite how the company were able to pull off the return in a way that surprised almost everyone watching around the world.
To talk more about how CM Punk’s comeback came together, Dave Meltzer has written in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the deal happened around ten days before Survivor Series and was discussed within WWE once they knew that Punk didn’t have a non-compete clause following the termination of his AEW contract.
“The only thing we were told is that the deal was put together about ten or so days before the event and kept secret, although obviously the idea that there was never any discussion prior is not the case and obviously it had been talked about dating back to them getting the word Punk didn’t have a non-compete period.”
-Dave Meltzer
To touch on how confident WWE were of being able to land the 45-year-old, it was said that Punk’s previous attempts to come back to the company made them feel as if interest would be strong on his side if the chance to return came up.
“From the WWE side, they knew Punk would come since there were the two prior attempts Punk’s side made to come in, once before he signed with AEW and a second time last year when WWE couldn’t have gotten him anyway because his AEW contract was still in effect.”
-Dave Meltzer
As mentioned, CM Punk followed up on his emphatic return at Survivor Series by appearing on the November 27 edition of Monday Night Raw. However, many fans felt underwhelmed by what they heard from the Second City Saint during his return promo, particularly because content of what was said didn’t mention what he had been doing in between the two spells with WWE.
To clarify why Punk’s promo steered clear of any reference to his time in AEW, Meltzer said that there are ‘several NDAs’ which prevent either side from talking about each other in the public eye.
“For those wondering or disappointed that Punk said nothing about AEW, it’s because both he and others have signed several NDAs regarding talking publicly about the other.”
-Dave Meltzer
CM Punk’s return promo focused on how happy he was to be back in WWE, and it’s widely believed that his first feud will be with current World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. On top of this, it’s also been suggested that there are plans for the company to pit the Chicagoan against The Tribal Chief in the future, something which will excite a large portion of viewers.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on CM Punk’s WWE return as we hear more.
