Jason Burgos
In a new interview, CM Punk revealed why he really returned to WWE, and the answer may surprise his fans.
There is no doubt that CM Punk will go down as one of pro wrestling’s greatest performers. However, his road to legend status has been tumultuous at times. When the Chicago native arrived in WWE in 2006, he was nothing like the stars they pushed at that time. Yet, he put his head down, exceeded expectations, and developed a sizable fan base.
But on the road to becoming a multi-time world champion in the biggest wrestling promotion of all-time, he often clashed with management. Things eventually came to a head in 2014, and his frustrations with the bosses pushed him to take the bold step of leaving WWE and the wrestling business behind for seven years.
Yet, he couldn’t stay away from his first passion for long and eventually returned to the industry in 2021 with All Elite Wrestling. It seemed like a match made in heaven. However, he again ran into problems. But instead of with management, it was with some of his co-workers, including vice presidents Matt and Nick Jackson.
Eventually, that relationship fell apart, and he was cut loose by the promotion in 2023 after being one of its top stars.
CM Punk came back to WWE just to main event WrestleMania?
It immediately created speculation on whether the unthinkable could happen. Could CM Punk go back to WWE? And to the surprise of many, he did in November 2023. Since then, there has been a ton of speculation on the why. Was it the money, or the chance to fix his damaged reputation, or because he simply loved the industry so much?
Well, it seems it was none of the above. In an interview with WWE Now, Punk claimed that if he had been in the main event of WrestleMania at least once during his original run in the company, he would not have come back to the promotion three years ago.
Getting to be in the main event of WrestleMania and being passed over for part-time stars like The Rock was a major sticking point for Punk before he left in 2014. It was then a major part of his story upon his return and the road to WrestleMania 41 last year.
Now, next weekend, he will be one of the headlining bouts for the mega event for the second year in a row.
