Major clarification on CM Punk's WWE deal - Reports
WWE Survivor Series ended with CM Punk's WWE return, and some fans are still trying to gather their thoughts after the surprise. Dave Meltzer opened up about how the deal came about, clarifying that CM Punk's comeback was confirmed internally about ten days ago.
To its credit, WWE did a great job keeping CM Punk's appearance a secret, as Dave Meltzer revealed that nobody was informed about the Survivor Series moment, barring Triple H and a few other top executives.
Initial reports that circulated online stated that the agreement between WWE and CM Punk was a last-minute development, as it was made official on the day of the premium live event.
The situation backstage, however, seems to have been different. Meltzer had even asked about Triple H claiming multiple TKO officials were in the dark about Punk's return, and he recevied a rather interesting answer, as he revealed below:
"The deal came together about ten days ago, obviously kept a complete secret from almost everyone. Paul Levesque said that the TKO people found out while watching the TV, which I thought was ridiculous until I asked around, and was told the exact same thing." [From 00:37 onwards]
How did WWE execute CM Punk's return at Survivor Series: WarGames?
The CM Punk-related rumors were quite a thing heading into the recent WWE PLE, but most fans were sure the return would happen based on what was being said backstage.
What can best be described as a closely-guarded secret, Triple H and team clearly wanted CM Punk showing up at Survivor Series to be a big deal. Survivor Series was headlined by the Men's WarGames Match, and as expected, the babyfaces picked up the victory after a great contest.
Just as the copyright logo came on screen and the viewers were about to tune out of Survivor Series, with the faces celebrating in the ring, CM Punk's music played. The former AEW star came out to a massive ovation from his hometown crowd.
The talents in the ring also looked stunned as Punk stood on the ramp, with Seth Rollins grabbing all the headlines for his angry reactions. If you're wondering about the truth regarding Rollins' shenanigans, you can find out more here.
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