CM Punk seemingly takes a shot at former WWE CEO Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon is no longer associated with WWE, and perhaps the best thing to happen due to his lack of involvement may be the return of CM Punk. Punk left WWE in 2014 in acrimony and stayed away until Survivor Series 2023.

In late 2023, fans clamored for CM Punk like never before. This was in the wake of his AEW firing, and the Survivor Series: WarGames show happening in his home state at Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque called Punk and buried the hatchet, leading to his unprecedented WWE return after a decade.

Speaking on The Rich Eisen Show, CM Punk briefly touched upon his comeback to the place he swore he would never work for again. The Chicago native said nobody would have reached out if the company had not drastically changed in the last few years. This was about Vince McMahon stepping down and TKO merging WWE and the UFC.

"I, obviously, famously said that I'm never coming back," CM Punk began. "And then what does life do to you? Life humbles you. Life teaches you lessons. Life tells you, 'You never say never.' I can confidently say that if it was the same place that it was, with the same people in charge, yeah, I don't think either side would have reached out, and it never would have happened," he noted, seemingly taking a shot at the former WWE CEO, Vince McMahon.

Punk and McMahon had unresolved issues, but the 79-year-old veteran no longer had the power to be deeply involved in the decision-making by the time he was the former returned.

"Amidst a shakeup of the hierarchy of the company, right place, right time - timing is everything in life and sports - it came to fruition. Starts with an idea, starts with that little spark, that little match, and then it turns into a pretty big forest fire," he said. [From 1:12 to 1:58]

Vince McMahon still had some degree of influence in 2023, per recent reports, which revealed his involvement in some controversial booking decisions in WrestleMania 39.

However, by January 2024, McMahon's legacy was tainted when former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him, alleging s** trafficking, among other allegations.

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CM Punk and Vince McMahon met after his WWE return

CM Punk largely succeeded even when Vince McMahon was running things in WWE, but they had some lingering issues that stemmed from Punk's dissatisfaction with how the company treated him.

The Rock and John Cena were viewed as bigger stars, despite the former being a part-timer, while The Best in the World had a record-breaking 434-day reign as WWE Champion.

During a tell-all interview last year on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, CM Punk revealed he had met Vince McMahon after he signed with the company in November 2023. According to The Straight Edge Superstar, McMahon hugged him and said "Welcome home," adding that they needed to catch up.

But they never met again, with Punk joking that something had come up, referring to Janel Grant's lawsuit.

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