CM Punk created quite a stir last night when he popped up backstage at WWE Raw from the All-State Arena in Chicago. Early reporting noted that The Second City Saint spent time speaking with The Miz as well as WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque. While some in WWE viewed his presence backstage as some kind of publicity stunt, others in AEW were generally in disbelief over the ordeal.
PWInsider has released a more detailed report regarding Punk’s appearance backstage at the show, along with how it came about. According to their report, Punk was taking a flight back to Chicago from Florida after doing commentary for a Cage Fury Fighting event. On the flight back were several WWE stars along with a producer for the company. This is when Punk realized that WWE Raw would be taking close not far from the home he has in The Windy City.
Punk was said to arrive at the All-State Arena before the show started and was escorted by some talent, it was not specified who. Punk’s conversation with Levesque looks to have been brief, at best. After exchanging pleasantries, Punk asked if it was alright that he was there and requested a couple of minutes of Levesque’s time for a personal conversation. Levesque responded by saying he needed to make sure it was okay with the “big guy,” aka Vince McMahon, before parting ways with the former WWE and AEW World Champion.
Following the exchange, Punk hung out around that same backstage area, at which time he began a conversation with The Miz. The two men have exchanged words on social media in the past and used the chance meeting as a means to clear the air between them. In general, it sounds as if Punk was greeted warmly by the WWE locker room, even if some people were confused by his presence.
For those interested, Punk was always in a common area during his visit and never went behind closed doors for a “secret meeting.” After about twenty minutes, he was asked to leave the venue, which he did without incident after exchanging a few goodbyes. Fightful notes that some of the other talent Punk spoke with included Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, and Tamina.
It does not appear Punk was attempting to create inroads for a WWE return, as he is still under an AEW contract for what is believed to be a lengthy amount of time. Most, if not all, of AEW was caught off guard by the move and it does not look to be some kind of planned publicity stunt on behalf of Punk or WWE’s rival promotion.
On the surface, it would seem Punk just wanted to squash his beef with The Miz, and possibly Levesque as well. During Punk’s exchange with Levesque, a source overheard them say something along the lines of “Isn’t nine to ten years enough time of carrying whatever bad blood there is?”
Stay with Haus of Wrestling for all the latest CM Punk news.