CM Punk made his grand WWE televised in-ring return at the Royal Rumble PLE this past weekend where he entered the match at No. 27. Not long after he made it inside the ring he took a DDT from Drew McIntyre. Upon landing to the mat he clutched his left arm and rolled over to the other side of the ring to talk to officials.
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Reports emerged earlier this afternoon that Punk had apparently torn his tricep during the move and according to Bryan Alvarez the injury was so severe that it was “off the bone.” An injury of that magnitude will keep Punk out at least four to six months after he gets surgery, which reports state could happen as soon as he leaves WWE Raw for his scheduled appearance. It is believed that Punk will address his injury on the air. The surgery and recovery would put Punk out until at least May through July.
In a new video which shows much of Punk’s immediate reaction that wasn’t on television, he is seen trying to move the injured arm, likely to see if he could continue or not. Punk of course does continue through the rest of the match where he is eliminated by Cody Rhodes who becomes the first consecutive Rumble winner in 26 years.ย
This isn’t the first time Punk has torn his tricep since he’s made his return to wrestling three years ago. In AEW after he recovered from a foot injury in a title match with Hangman Adam Page, he returned to television to set up a match with Jon Moxiey who was the interim champion. It was a squash and Punk would lose the title only to set up a rematch at AEW All Out 2022 a few weeks later. He won the title back in his hometown of Chicago but in the events following would be forced to drop it once again.
What Does This Mean for Seth Rollins?
An angry Seth Rollins had a lot to say when Punk made his WWE return at Survivor Series in November. After Punk decided to appear exclusively on WWE Raw, he was confronted by the World Heavyweight Champion who made his thoughts about him very clear. In that moment, Punk said that if he won the Rumble he may just go after Rollins and his title. It set up a scenario where even if Punk didn’t win because of Rhodes, he could still enter the Elimination Chamber and win it, earning a title shot against Rollins where they could headline WrestleMania. Well, Rollins has a grade 2 tear on his MCL and a partially torn medial meniscus that he sustained during a recent title defense against Jinder Mahal on Raw. While he will likely be back in time for WrestleMania, Punk would not be. There is still more than enough time to put a contingency plan into place, including with Gunther, the current Intercontinental Champion, who confronted an injured Rollins onย Raw ahead of the Rumble.ย
