This past Monday night, CM Punk delivered his first promo since his dramatic return to WWE in the closing moments of Survivor Series. The Second City Savior kept things to the point in his address, noting how happy he was to be back “home.” While his homecoming promo underwhelmed some fans, it did not create any controversy, which dogged him during his time in AEW.
Fightful reports that Punk was in good spirits backstage and seemed happy from those they have spoken with. Throughout the day, Punk was seen getting official promo shots taken for WWE and having non-official photos taken with fellow talents and fans. As anticipated, Punk was said to be on his best behavior, but that may not have been out of the goodness of his heart. Some who Fightful spoke with said they were told by higher-ups in the company that Punk has a “behavior clause” attached to his new contract, but that has not been confirmed.
It was also noted that our report from yesterday about Punk not doing a victory lap in the closing moments of Raw is accurate. Many fans had taken to social media to speculate that Punk was mocking The Young Bucks, who infamously did a victory lap in the AEW Collision ring the day he was terminated. As was reported, Punk was merely engaged with the moment and was not taking a shot at The Bucks, as he has no intention of referencing AEW in any capacity moving forward.
As for Punk’s WWE brand status, internally, he is apparently still listed as a free agent. His show closing segment did not have a producer attached to it but did have to be cut short due to Randy Orton and Dominik Mysterio’s match going long. Punk was said to be okay with having some of his time cut, and he was expected to avoid addressing AEW or any drama that took place there.