Despite an injury throwing a wrench into things, CM Punk’s return to WWE has been an across-the-board success, both for WWE and for Punk. Punk is currently in the middle of one of the hottest stories in WWE thanks to his rivalry with Drew McIntyre, and it’s a bit crazy to think that last year Punk was in the midst of chaos after a backstage altercation at AEW All In. The road to that eventual Punk and WWE reunion started while he was still in AEW, as Punk was invited backstage to a WWE Raw. He was eventually asked to leave, but during his brief time backstage he ended up speaking to The Miz. In a new interview on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Miz was asked about that discussion and if Punk apologized, and Miz confirmed he did and that the talk ended with them burying the hatchet.
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Mending Fences
“Yeah, it was in Chicago. I was just walking down the stairs and he was just standing there and we locked eyes. Well, remember, he left a long time ago and has never been back right? And it always felt like it was a never going to happen type of thing,” Miz said. “And to see him backstage I was like what? And so we ended up having a really good conversation, and it was one of those moments where just two guys talking and we kind of just buried the hatchet I guess you could say.”
That meeting happened during the April 24th, 2023 edition of Monday Night Raw, and reports (via Fightful) indicated that in addition to Miz, Punk had also interacted with Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, Tamina, and Triple H while he was there. The interaction with Triple H was short but by accounts went well and they shook hands. He was asked to leave by the head of WWE security shortly after, though it went smoothly and Punk departed.
Burying the Hatchet
While Punk and Triple H didn’t speak much that night, they would have a much longer conversation later on, which occurred ahead of his eventual WWE return at Survivor Series. In an interview with the MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, Punk gave more details on that discussion and what they talked about. Punk revealed that they kind of laughed at some of the things that had been issues between them in the past, and then things turned to making his surprise return happen in a relatively short amount of time.
“I asked him if he wanted to talk on the phone, and he said, ‘No, I would actually like to FaceTime you so I can see you,’” Punk said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ We just talked about a whole lot of stuff and about stuff that was, at one point, probably serious to both of us that is silly now. We just kind of laughed, buried the hatchet, and then we started talking business. I was like, ‘Man, this is Thanksgiving. I don’t wanna bother you, you’re with your girls, we can talk about it later.’ But then I was just like, ‘Ah well, Friday, and then the show’s Saturday.’ It all got done very, very fast.”
What do you want to see next from Punk in WWE? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
