In one of the more remarkable stories of 2023, CM Punk made a surprise visit backstage at the April 24th episode of WWE Raw.
The move comes less than two months before the star is expected to return to AEW as the major star of the new Saturday show Collision. It is believed that Punk is due to meet Tony Khan, Chris Jericho, FTR, and potentially others soon in an effort to work out a path to television.
This same report noted that Punk is expected to work with Jericho upon his return to action.
To add further intrigue to the situation, CM Punk famously left WWE in spectacularly negative circumstances, and in the aftermath remained adamant that he was done with professional wrestling.
With regard to his visit to Raw, it has been claimed that he was backstage for a time before being asked to leave. It has now been reported that while backstage Punk met with The Miz who he has previously clashed with on social media. The report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider states that Punk and Miz “cleared the air.”
In addition, Punk and Triple H briefly saw each other, and the AEW star was “greeted warmly” by talents who saw him.
In an interesting piece of trivia, the venue for Raw is where Punk famously defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank in 2011.
AEW Talents In Disbelief At CM Punk’s Raw Visit
Hot off the heels of Punk’s visit, it was reported that many within WWE believed it to be nothing more than a publicity stunt. In addition, the report from Fightful Select stated that “several AEW talents” were in disbelief at the news.