After nearly a decade, CM Punk is back in WWE.
The 45-year-old made a surprise appearance at the end of WWE Survivor Series in his hometown of Chicago on Saturday. Our own Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed all the details regarding Punk's return on last night's edition of
Wrestling Observer Radio.
"The deal came together about 10 days ago. Obviously, (it) was kept secret from almost everyone," Meltzer said. He also noted that Punk has signed a multi-year agreement.
TKO executives were also kept in the dark regarding Punk's return, something Meltzer said he was surprised to learn.
"I wouldn't be surprised if some of them knew but I was told basically that it's not their gig. They're there to do business deals and make money and the creative is in the hands of WWE."
"It was Nick Khan who made the call," Meltzer continued. "Vince McMahon had nothing to do with it. Paul Levesque had, obviously, a lot to do with it."
In this week's edition of
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer wrote that WWE was "not completely opposed to (Punk returning) if the idea is it’s something they have to do in regard to fan response." He added that the current WWE management team does not want to be combative with the fanbase in the same way Vince McMahon often was.
After Survivor Series went off the air, an angry Seth Rollins was seen being held back and flipping off Punk on the stage. However, Meltzer says everyone working the main event on Saturday was informed ahead of time that Punk returning would close the show.
"As far as the Seth thing goes, that was all an angle," Meltzer said. The idea was to play off an interview Rollins gave in January where he referred to Punk as a "cancer."
It has also been reported that Drew McIntyre was upset at the end of the PLE. He is said to have "stormed to the back" and left the arena quickly. It's not clear what McIntyre was upset about but Meltzer addressed what he has been told about the situation.
"He was very upset. As the night went on, he was less upset. As far as the reason he left - I don't want to give any wrong information - I will say that within the company, people in the company have told me (they) thought it had to do with Punk. I cannot confirm that, only that's what people in the company thought but he was legitimately upset about something."
McIntyre's WWE contract is believed to expire around WrestleMania 40 after having time tacked onto it due to injury. A recent report from
PWInsider stated McIntyre has not signed a new deal and is open to taking a break from wrestling after his current contract expires.
Punk is scheduled to be in Nashville on Monday for Raw, PWInsider and Fightful have reported.
