CM Punk was off WWE television for nearly three months after WrestleMania 42, and with the company never giving a reason, fans filled in the gap themselves. Punk has now explained it, and he says it came down to grief and needing to reset.
Speaking to ESPN New York, Punk said the break itself was a first for him.
“In my business, in this company, for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to injury or surgery is remarkable. It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to get surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife,” Punk said.
He said the stretch before it had been heavy, without wanting to overstate it.
“I’m not going to say a rough year, you know, because suffering is relative. I was World Heavyweight Champion on Raw for quite some time, and during that entire time I was champion, I had at least three or four people who were very close to me pass away,” Punk said. “Each time, I was at work the next day. I didn’t talk about it publicly. I showed up partially because it helped me. Being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process. So my time away was just to kind of reset.”
Punk said the time with his wife, former WWE star AJ Lee, was the priority. The two have been married since 2014, and he made clear the break was about being home.
“One day away from my wife is one day too many. I’ve been with her every single day, and now that I’m back I’m champ, and I’m on the road. I’m as full time as full time gets,” Punk said.
He closed with a message for anyone who took issue with the absence.
“If you’re upset that I was mourning some dead friends, I think that’s a you problem,” Punk said. “We should celebrate people taking some time for themselves.”
Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, appeared on the Raw the next night in a face-off with then-Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, and then went quiet. He returned on the July 6 episode of Raw and beat Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, his third reign with that title. He defends it against Rhodes at SummerSlam.
