Last night, CM Punk gave General Manager Adam Pearce good news when he announced he was signing with the WWE Raw brand. His promo building up to the moment reflected on his initial run in WWE, his decision to leave, and what he plans to do now that he is back. As he looked back on his early days with the company, he noted that it was in Cleveland, where Raw was being held, that he had his first-ever WWE match.
Punk recalled that he had former WWE Women’s and Diva’s Champion Mickie James on his arm. The contest went so well, tongue in cheek, that WWE decided to send him down to Louisville, KY, to get seasoning in OVW. Shortly after Raw went off the air, James took to social media to comment on the shout out from Punk.
“That’s my brother,” she wrote. “That’s my Friend. @CMPunk”
Serendipitously, James’ is married to Nick Aldis in real life, who currently serves as the General Manager of WWE SmackDown. Punk chose not to sign with the blue brand, forgoing a chance to land on the same night as James’ husband. Now that he is on Raw, The Second City Savior seems to be on a months-long collision course with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freaking” Rollins.
Following his decision to sign with Raw, Rollins interrupted Punk, who joined him in the ring and stared him down for several seconds. After the staredown, Rollins grabbed a microphone and cut a promo on Punk that reminded many of “Hangman” Adam Page’s infamous promo on AEW Dynamite that jumpstarted so much drama. Punk responded, warning Rollins that there could be trouble the next time he got out of line. He also announced that he is entering the WWE Royal Rumble, and if he wins, he may set his sights on the Raw champion.