The WWE Universe was taken aback by CM Punk’s return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. The whole arena erupted when his entrance theme music started playing. Fans wholeheartedly cried out of happiness to see their beloved superstar return.
Punk made a shocking comeback to the Stamford-based promotion after a decade. His history with the company has not been that good, and therefore, his comeback was not expected. After his release from AEW, there was speculation about his return to the Triple-H-led promotion.
Apart from fans, WWE superstars also had their own opinions of CM Punk’s return. The opinions of the superstars seemed varied on the issue. While some of them seemed genuinely happy with the 45-year-old wrestler’s return, others were seen infuriated with the same.
5 WWE superstars who were happy about CM Punk’s return
Various Superstars were happy to see CM Punk in the Survivor Series. Some of them even congratulated him backstage, and others expressed their happiness through interviews and on social media.
5. Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes shared his wrestling journey with CM Punk long ago, since his early days in WWE. After that, both of them also competed in AEW at the same time. They have a close and friendly relationship outside the ring.
In the press conference after the Survivor series, Cody said, “If he can help with where we’re going and what we’re doing, absolutely. Welcome aboard. I have a feeling that the CM Punk that potentially we’re getting is hungry, and that’s the best”.
He talked about Punk being ambitious and hungry to end his story after his return, and he believes that this is for the best. Cody seemed excited to have his old friend back and potentially meet him in the Royal Rumble 2023.
4. Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley also seemed to be positive about Punk’s return. In an interview with ‘The Ten Count,’ he said, “If he [Punk] comes back and he helps out the show, that’s the business side of it … I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of prove his loyalty to the business and some of the people in there“.
Bobby admitted the fact that he lacked any kind of personal relationship with punk but highlighted the fact that his popularity was amazing and good for business. Lashley believes that Punk has an opportunity to get to the top and use it wisely to prove his loyalty to the company.
3. Jey Uso
Jey Uso regarded his stature as equivalent to Roman Reigns and said that he was one of the best in the business. Mr. Main Event stressed the fact that there is no reason why WWE won’t sign The Best in the World.
In an interview with The Bump, he said, “Like, why wouldn’t we sign CM Punk? I know he got a whole bunch of haters or whatever. If we’re going to be honest, he’s a superstar, first and foremost. People talk about him, and if it got anything to do with wrestling, his name’s in it. He’s like on some ‘Tribal Chief’ status“.
Jey said that Punk is a top guy in the business, no matter what is going on. ‘Mr. Main Event’ welcomes ‘The Best in the World’ and talks about the possibility of having his run with the Superstar.
2. Kofi Kingston
One of the few Superstars who greeted CM punk backstage was Kofi Kingston. He seemed pretty happy about his old friend returning to the business. On the December 11 episode of RAW, Kofi, along with Chad Gable and Ricochet, were seen greeting Punk backstage.
CM Punk: JAMAICAN-ME CRAZY!
Kofi Kingston: I don’t do that anymore!
LMAOOOOOO 😂😂😂 Wholesome and hilarious all at the same time #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/CxYb31b90Y
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) December 12, 2023
CM Punk was thrilled to see his old friend and yelled, “JAMAICAN-ME CRAZY!”. To which he hilariously replied, I don’t do that anymore. After which he added, “I’m glad you’re here man”. Kingston has been a Tag Team Champion with Punk in the past, and both of them share a close bond.
1. Bayley
One of the top female superstars, Bayley, was seen congratulating Punk on his return. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful said in his Survivor Series/CM Punk Q&A that he heard about Bayley being one of the superstars who greeted punk behind the scenes.
Bayley was quite close to CM Punk’s wife, AJ Lee, and that may be one of the reasons she greeted him. With Punk’s return, she might suspect Lee’s return to the company.
3 superstars who seemed frustrated with CM Punk’s return
CM Punk’s return made a solid impact on the WWE Universe and received loads of positive reactions. But not everyone was joyful about the Superstar’s return, and there were some WWE Superstars who did not seem happy with Punk’s return. When ‘The Best in the World’ made his grand entrance into the Survivor Series, Randy Orton was seen waving his hand at CM Punk as he welcomed him back into the business.
3. Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins, who often criticizes CM Punk, was seen frustrated on his return. He was shouting and expressing his displeasure at Punk’s return. He was held back by Mike Rome and other officials as he kept cussing and showing aggression towards Punk.
A different angle of Seth Rollins’ reaction to CM Punk’s return tonight at #SurvivorSeries:
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) November 26, 2023
Rollins told Adam Pierce to wait until Punk showed his true colors, as he labeled him a hypocrite and worthless. ‘The Visionary’ vented out on RAW, complaining to Adam to get ‘The Best in the World’ out of his system as he did not want to waste any of his time or energy on such a person.
2. Drew McIntyre
Another big Superstar, Drew McIntyre, was seen visibly angry at CM Punk’s return and stormed out of the arena even before Punk could return. Fans recorded the furious superstar moving out of the arena after losing the match.
Angry Drew McIntyre storming out after Judgement Day lost.#wwe #SURVIVORSERIES pic.twitter.com/nvRbvD6MRR
— Christine (@ShiningPolaris) November 26, 2023
McIntyre said on the episode of RAW, “Apparently you can get fired, released, leave, do what you want for a bunch of time, come back to the company, and you’re instantly forgiven these days,” where he seemed to target Punk on his return indirectly. He even interacted with CM Punk backstage in one of the episodes of RAW, where he said he did not care about Punk finishing his story; instead, he was only interested in finishing his own story.
1. Rhea Ripley
On the list of superstars not happy with Punk’s return, Rhea Ripley seems to have made her place. During the End of Men’s WarGames Match, when CM Punk made his entry, Rhea made an unpleasant reaction, which was caught on camera. She flipped the bird at The Best in the World and made a weird face.
Rhea Ripley also took to her X account and posted a video where she performed CM Punk’s Go to Sleep move and took a dig at the superstar by calling herself the Best in the World.
There were mixed reactions to CM Punk’s return, and while some of his old friends seemed thrilled about his return, others were not very happy. Punk has been signed to RAW, and it will be interesting to see what plans WWE has for ‘The Best in the World’ as his final chapter is about to unfold.