To close out Survivor Series, CM Punk made his return to WWE.
Headlining the 2023 Survivor Series Premium Live Event was the men’s WarGames match. The bout saw Drew McIntyre and Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, J.D. McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio) taking on Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
Throughout the night, it was discussed amongst Rhodes, Zayn, Uso and and Rollins that they were unsure if Orton was going to appear or not.
During the match, WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley ran down to the ring with Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank briefcase and to allow Priest to cash-in on Seth Rollins. Before it could happen, Randy Orton made his return for the first time since 2022 following double fusion back surgery.
There was a point in the match when Rollins and Zayn threw McDonagh off the top of the WarGames cage and Orton caught him for an RKO. Cody Rhodes would eventually secure the win for his team.
As the team was celebrating their victory, Living Color’s ‘Cult of Personality’ played over the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. CM Punk is back in WWE for the first time since he left the company in 2014. The former multi-time WWE World Champion was fired from All Elite Wrestling following their All In event at Wembley Stadium after he had a physical altercation with Jack Perry.
The show went off the air with Punk celebrating with his hometown crowd.
Absolutely insane that CM Punk is back. The guy holds a bigger grudge than anybody else in the industry. Maybe he’s learned something from the backstage disaster at AEW …But I doubt it.
The videos of Seth furious to see him back because it doesn’t sound like anyone in the ring knew he was coming are crazy. How long until a fist fight gets one of them suspended? A week?
Only an absolute moron could have tuned in at the beginning of this show and not thought that Punk would appear by the end of it.
This can be a pretty stupid company at times, but there is no way they were going to be that stupid and tease Randy Orton not showing up, knowing what the fans would be thinking. It would have been the ultimate troll job, had he not appeared.
Welp then you must think that John and Wai are morons because they both said on RASD that they didn’t think Punk was going to show up. And I agreed with them. Of course there was a chance. But majority didn’t think it was going to happen.
Much like the last AEW run, I think most believe right from the jump that — one way or another — it’s not going to end amicably. Only question is if they get enough “net positive” out of it to make it worth it.
Based on early SRS reports, seems like there’s already some backstage negativity about it (some legit, some possibly worked). I get the part where they actually wanted this one to be a surprise, but it’s still never a good idea to work the boys.
I hope you’re right. That Seth knew and was acting pissed of setting up CM Punk vs Seth Rollins. That would be terrific. Because I couldn’t tell if he was acting. And when you’re not sure if it’s a shoot or a work is when wrestling is at its most magical.
I don’t think Triple H’s gonna be scared for his life from CM punk.
A lot of punks issue stemmed from the fact that he felt like he was the senior experience statesman and wanted to mentor these young guys. A lot of those guys in his minds hadn’t made it anywhere other than Indy shows in California so he thought they should listen to him. In their mind, they were already big stars because they started their own companies, etc. so that was never gonna work.
If that isn’t the same – I don’t think he’s walking in here under the delusions that he’s going to tell Roman reigns or, Randy Orton or Seth Rollins how to work.
No one is expecting him to be a leader, nor is he trying to mentor anybody. He’s simply coming in to contribute and show AEW that they made a mistake I suspect.
I think you’re right, as Rollins has always been huge company guy.
But this highlights my issue/concern with Punk. His real history is also his character at this point. So every promo, angle, etc. is about smarky BS stuff. At least for the first 6-12 months or so.
And theres already reports of people backstage being upset hes there, not including Seth which it looks like was story-line driven. Hunter obviously thinks the rewards far outweigh the risks
There are a few reasons why it can work. As you said, there is a management structure very familiar with egomaniacs and how to work with them.
But there are other reasons as well.
Scripted promos. Usually this is a negative and drives stars away from the company. But in CM Punks case it means that there likely won’t be anyone improvising any lines that he feels bury him or get too personal. CM Punks run seemed to be going fine in AEW until an improvised promo by Hangman started to create chaos. CM Punk loves to dish it but has paper thin skin as everyone has learned.
Schedule and style. I’m sure he got whatever schedule he wants just like in AEW.
Money. I’m sure he is making a lot of money.
But this is still CM Punk. He will find a way to blow up the bridge he is on sooner or later. Make a mountain out of a mole hill of an issue.
The second CM punk walked into AEW he was the biggest star that company had. I don’t even know who the second biggest - maybe Jericho? Like the gap was huge.
Just look at that Rampage number and PPV he drew. Never been close again.
I’m certain he knew that, and as such probably carried himself like that.
That’s not the case here. He is not walking in as he biggest star. He’s one of their biggest stars but he’s not Roman. They aren’t going to set
Record attendance and ratings of his back. They may be up a little bit but he’s not gonna be a game changer to that degree. They sold out Chicago without him lol.
So instead of coming in as the Queen, he comes in here more like a Knight or Bishop. He’s very valuable, but he’s not a big fish in a small pond anymore.
I agree that’s a dynamic that should help out for the short term. And maintain the stability and success of WWE long term.
But even if CM Punk is on good behavior for awhile he always considers himself the king of everywhere he goes. The best there is. The biggest ego. The wannabe biggest star. It will be interesting to see what stories come out after his first big loss. Or when he doesn’t main event WrestleMania what his mood is like.
Its very hard to argue these points after what happened in AEW and his past stint in WWE. The only thing that makes me believe this time MIGHT be different, is this is legit his final shot. He will not be returning to AEW anytime soon if ever, and if he burns WWE, then that means his best case scenario is TNA. With all due respect to TNA, I can’t imagine Punk envisioning himself wrestling in college gyms after just doing All In, and doing Mani at this stage in the game.