CM Punk has been consistently featured on WWE programming ever since he returned to the company back in November of 2023, but he’s been off TV for a few months now.
The Second City Saint last stepped into the ring when he dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, and he was last seen on TV when he appeared on the Raw after WrestleMania. Over the last week or so numerous rumors regarding Punk’s status have been making the rounds as fans have been waiting for his return.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the plan for CM Punk is for him to join the SmackDown brand when he returns. It’s being said that this is basically a balancing act as Raw has Reigns, Rollins, The Usos, Fatu, Femi, Logan Paul and Breakker, so adding Punk to a top tier of names like Rhodes, Gunther, Ripley, Orton and McIntyre on SmackDown makes more sense. It was also noted that CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes has been a direction.
The Observer was told that Punk was simply off TV due to creative reasons and the idea was that they would bring him back when it was time for his angle to start. CM Punk is currently being advertised for the July 6th episode of Raw, and although he’s set to join SmackDown, Punk’s return on that episode of Raw would make sense because it’s in Chicago.