When CM Punk showed up to WWE Monday Night Raw in Chicago, it caught a lot of people off guard, but as details continued to come out, the picture became clearer as he was there to visit.
As previously reported, Punk spoke with several wrestlers, cleared the air with The Miz, and briefly spoke with Paul “Triple H” Levesque. A lot of people were surprised in both AEW and WWE that he was there. Some people in WWE believed he was there testing the waters for a return.
Pwinsider has a detailed report regarding Punk being at the show.
Punk flew with WWE talent from Florida as he was doing commentary for Cage Fury Fighting Championships over the weekend and just so happened to be on the same flight with them. On the flight, he found out WWE was in Chicago, close to his home.
He arrived at the venue with other WWE stars, so that’s how he got into the building and remained in the common area in full view of anyone who walked by. He was never in a private room. They shook hands. Regarding his chat with Triple H, Punk asked if it was alright if he was there and if Triple H had time so they could talk for two minutes. Triple H allegedly said he had to make sure with the “big guy” if it was okay that he was there, a reference to Vince McMahon.
Punk stayed in the area the entire time and talked with several wrestlers. Within 20 minutes, security told Punk to leave, and Punk did so respectfully, reportedly a decision from McMahon.
Although there was a belief that Punk was asked to leave because he was under an AEW contract, one WWE source pointed out that other AEW stars, such as Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo, were allowed backstage and sitting with their wives at the WWE Hall of Fame recently. Another source stated that Punk is in a different situation due to his legal history with the company.
The report noted, “For those who have asked if this was Punk trying to gauge WWE interest, we are told no.”
Punk, who is still under contract with a “lengthy” amount of time left and can’t negotiate with WWE at this point, is reportedly slated to return to AEW on June 17 for the Collison show.
The initial reaction within WWE was disbelief that he was there except for those who saw him.
The report noted, “One person under contract to WWE who saw Punk there said it came off as if Punk was just trying to kill whatever past heat there was between himself and Miz and theorized that may have been why he wanted to speak with Levesque as well.”