CM Punk sends message to Rhea Ripley ahead of WWE RAW

CM Punk has sent a message to Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley ahead of tonight's edition of WWE RAW.

Tonight's episode of the red brand will take place at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Punk and Cody Rhodes are set to go face-to-face. The two former All Elite Wrestling stars will also both be battling in the Men's Royal Rumble match this Saturday night.

Earlier today, Cody Rhodes was named the cover star for WWE 2K24. Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley were also revealed as the cover stars for the Deluxe Edition of the game.

Punk took to his Instagram story to send Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley a one-word message. He congratulated the two stars on being featured on the covers for the Deluxe Edition of the game, as seen in the image below.

Punk sends message to Ripley and Belair on Instagram.

Vince Russo criticizes WWE for not booking CM Punk on last week's RAW

Former WWE writer Vince Russo was not happy that CM Punk did not appear on last week's edition of RAW.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW show, the wrestling veteran criticized the promotion for Punk not making an appearance on the show. Russo noted that the company could have had the controversial star record something on his phone and send it in for the show.

"If you've got a schedule with CM Punk and he's only gonna be there for certain days, you can't have this guy record something on his phone and send it in? Not hearing from CM Punk is like, are you freaking kidding me, bro? Everybody has one of these [mobile phone]. Everybody can do it. My God, for him just not to be there." [From 3:47 onwards]

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

Tonight's edition of WWE RAW is the final episode of the red brand before Royal Rumble 2024 this Saturday night. It will be fascinating to see if any more superstars declare for the Royal Rumble matches during tonight's show in New Orleans.

Which WWE Superstars are you hoping to see win the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.