We now have more information on the possibility of CM Punk appearing at tomorrow night’s Survivor Series.
Since CM Punk’s AEW contract was terminated in early September, speculation has been rife regarding a potential WWE return. With tomorrow night’s Survivor Series emanating from Chicago, Illinois (CM Punk’s hometown), many fans believe that the former WWE Champion could be set to make his long-awaited return at the show.
It now appears unlikely that the 45-year-old will be present at tomorrow’s show, however, as Sean Ross Sapp recently noted on the FAQs section of Fightful Select that both sides are denying that Punk will be appearing.
“WWE’s claim is that CM Punk won’t be there. Punk’s claim to friends is that he won’t be. This does not permanently close the door.”
-Sean Ross Sapp
SRS additionally revealed that WWE wanted to avoid fans purchasing tickets with the expectation of seeing CM Punk, and with most of the tickets having been sold prior to rumours circulating, this appears to have been largely successful.
Earlier this month, our very own Ibou (AKA BackupHangman) reported that he was told by those close to Punk that the Chicago-native wouldn’t be working Survivor Series. Fightful have since followed up on this, revealing that WWE’s reps and higher-ups’ stance on the matter hadn’t changed as recently as this past Monday.
One of the biggest indicators that Punk could make an appearance at Survivor Series in the mind of some fans is that WWE are perceived to have been teasing a potential appearance themselves, particularly through the recent actions of Shinsuke Nakamura, who notably hit a GTS on WWE TV before beginning to call out a yet-to-be-revealed opponent.
Regarding this, SRS stated regarding said speculation around perceived teasers that Triple H has told some within WWE that fans have been finding things that simply aren’t there to be found.
“Triple H had told some in the company that fans were finding things that weren’t there.”
-Sean Ross Sapp
As for what those within the company have heard on the matter, Sean Ross Sapp is reporting that top talent were outright told that Punk wasn’t coming in for Survivor Series upon asking, whilst key names within creative have also heard the same, adding that there is currently zero knowledge of any creative plans in place for his return.
“Key names in creative have outright been told that he’s not coming in, and there are no creative plans for him that are known by the rest of the team.”
-Sean Ross Sapp
Interestingly, SRS added that Punk recently told at least one person close to him that he was speaking to a WWE higher-up recently, although no context of that conversation has been provided as of yet.
Additonally, Sapp was asked whether Punk had met with WWE Board members, to which he noted that he’d confirmed that this isn’t and was never the case with WWE’s side of things, whilst Ibou additionally had this denied on the Punk side of things.
Sapp then added that he’d since confirmed that Punk had told people close to him that such a meeting was never planned. Furthermore, WWE no longer has its own Board of Directors, with TKO’s Board providing over both WWE and the UFC following the completion of their merger.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on CM Punk’s status and the prospect of a WWE return as soon as we hear more.
