3 mistakes WWE has made with CM Punk since his return

CM Punk made his shocking return to WWE exactly one year ago at Survivor Series. A year later, it’s safe to say his comeback has been a resounding success.

Despite suffering an injury earlier this year that kept him out of WrestleMania XL, Punk has been involved in some of the most memorable moments of 2024. One such moment occurred during the latest episode of SmackDown when Paul Heyman brought him back to join the OG Bloodline. The Second City Saint is now set to team up with Roman Reigns against Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline inside WarGames at Survivor Series later this month.

While Punk’s return has been filled with iconic moments, there have also been some issues with his booking. Here are three mistakes WWE has made with CM Punk since his return.

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#3. Costing Drew McIntyre the win at the 2024 Clash at the Castle

Drew McIntyre faced Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash at the Castle in 2022. It seemed the Scottish Warrior was moments away from dethroning The Tribal Chief before a debuting Solo Sikoa interfered, costing McIntyre the victory.

Two years later, McIntyre had a chance at redemption, competing for the World Heavyweight Championship at the same event, this time held in his home country of Scotland. Once again, it seemed McIntyre was on the verge of triumphing, this time over Damian Priest until CM Punk had other plans.

In the closing moments of the match, the referee was taken out. Punk made a shocking appearance wearing a referee’s shirt and cost McIntyre the win in front of his hometown fans. While the finish was undeniably creative, it arguably backfired. The fans in attendance were visibly displeased, expressing their frustration with loud boos after the show.

McIntyre deserved his crowning moment in front of his home crowd. In hindsight, WWE might have been better off avoiding CM Punk’s interference in the outcome.

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#2. CM Punk not winning the 2024 Royal Rumble

Earlier this year, CM Punk revealed in an interview that the original plan heading into WrestleMania XL was for him to face Seth Rollins. However, an injury to the Second City Saint forced WWE to alter those plans.

At the 2024 Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were the final two competitors in the Men’s Rumble Match. Ultimately, The American Nightmare emerged victorious. He went on to finish his story at the Grandest Stage of Them All by dethroning Roman Reigns.

In hindsight, Rhodes winning the Rumble made perfect sense. However, considering that WWE initially planned for Rhodes to give up his spot to The Rock, this decision felt questionable at the time.

“If people knew the real plan for me, they’d be even more angry. I can’t share the real plan for you, The Rock plan, whatever it may be. That was going to be on my mind in terms of how do we make that work? How do we accomplish that? I had a really good team of people around me. That’s where DDP hit me with the famous, whatever happens to you will be the best thing that ever happens to you line, and I thought, that’s insane, that’s madness," said Rhodes. [H/T Fightful]

Instead, CM Punk could have won the Royal Rumble Match for the first time in his career in his first match since coming back to the Stamford-based company.

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#1. Not main-eventing WWE Bad Blood

CM Punk’s feud with Drew McIntyre was arguably the rivalry of the year in 2024. Their trilogy of matches culminated last month at the Bad Blood Premium Live Event inside Hell in a Cell. In what was one of the most brutal matches of the year, the two delivered one of the greatest Hell in a Cell matches of all time.

Despite a valiant effort from McIntyre, CM Punk had the last laugh, emerging victorious in their grueling showdown. However, the only drawback to such an exceptional match was its placement on the card as the opening bout of the night. This decision impacted the rest of the event, as no other match was able to live up to its intensity.

It will be interesting to see what WWE has planned for the Best in the World going forward.