14-time World Champion breaks character to welcome CM Punk back to WWE

A WWE veteran broke his character today to welcome CM Punk back to the company. The controversial star returned at Survivor Series 2023 after he was fired by All Elite Wrestling last September. Another superstar who returned on the same night as Punk was Randy Orton.

Punk appeared last Monday night on WWE RAW at Allstate Arena in Chicago. The 45-year-old got a thunderous ovation from the crowd and it was announced that he would be serving as the special guest commentator for the World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania XL.

On the other hand, the 14-time World Champion returned to the company at Survivor Series 2023 after spending over a year on the shelf with a back issue. Orton is currently scheduled to face Kevin Owens and Logan Paul for the United States Championship. The Viper and Punk recently rewatched their bout at WrestleMania XXVII on WWE's official YouTube channel and Orton noted that he was happy to have the veteran back during the video.

"This would have been like last summer or last fall, when I knew for sure that you were leaving. I legitimately was like, 'Oh f***, he needs to come back. He needs to come back. This is where you belong, and I think you re-iterated that, you were like, 'Yeah, you are right, I need to come home'. And I am glad you did dude, yeah. Love you man, give me a hug," said Randy Orton. [From 00:09 - 00:34]

WWE Hall of Famer praises CM Punk's promo on RAW

CM Punk made an appearance on last week's episode of WWE RAW in Chicago and had a great promo with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins ahead of WrestleMania.

Punk tore his right tricep during the Men's Royal Rumble Match but has kept his rivalries with McIntyre and Rollins alive during his injury. Speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine show, Teddy Long praised the promo on last week's edition of the red brand.

Long said it was an outstanding segment and noted that the three superstars looked comfortable during the promo.

"That was just outstanding," Long said. "That was well written, and it didn't take a lot to write it because I could see that some of it was not written. Some of it was actually real. Those promos were outstanding. Everybody was on time. There's certainly a change there, and the change looks good. You can see in the guys like Punk, Drew, and them, when they were cutting their promos, they were so comfortable." [From 06:02 – 06:29]

You can check out Long's comments in the video below:

After missing last year's WrestleMania, Orton will be looking to make a strong comeback by winning the United States Championship in Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see if The Viper can capture the title at The Show of Shows this weekend.