This past Monday night on WWE Raw, CM Punk confirmed that he tore his right tricep during the 2024 Men’s WWE Royal Rumble. His injury will take him off the WWE WrestleMania 40 card and out of the main event picture. Prior to getting injured, the reported plan was for Punk to face Seth “Freaking” Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. With Punk no longer able to compete, Rollins attempted to convince Cody Rhodes, the Men’s Rumble winner, to challenge him to a match at WWE WrestleMania 40 instead of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Rhodes has yet to pick who he will face on the grandest stage of them all.
WWE has released a video on social media of Punk and Rhodes sharing a moment backstage at WWE Raw. Punk has his arm in a sling and is visibly emotional, shedding tears as he and Rhodes approach each other. The two men embrace with a big hug before Punk gives Rhodes a low five and, with a smile creeping through his tears, tells him, “Finish your story, bro.”
In the past, Rhodes has made it clear that the only way to finish his story is to defeat Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Despite the tease of a match against Rollins, many still believe Rhodes will choose to go after Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 40. The only other potential opponent for Reigns that has teased is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
With the marquee name value of Johnson, it is always possible he gets the call to help fill the void Punk and Brock Lesnar are leaving behind. Lesnar was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the WWE stars embroiled in the Vince McMahon scandal. Due to the allegations former WWE employee Janel Grant appears to be making against Lesnar, he was reportedly pulled from the WWE Royal Rumble and may never return to the company.