For nearly three months, fans wondered why CM Punk vanished from WWE television after the Raw following WrestleMania 42. Now, the Undisputed WWE Champion has finally revealed what was really going on.
Speaking with ESPN New York, Punk explained that his time away had nothing to do with an injury or surgery—something he admitted was a first in his WWE career. Instead, he stepped away because he needed time to grieve after losing several people who were incredibly close to him while carrying the World Heavyweight Championship.
“Yeah. In my business, in this company, for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to an injury or a surgery is remarkable. It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to go get a surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife.”
Punk revealed that, despite everything happening in his personal life, he never stopped showing up for work. During his championship reign, he said at least three or four close friends passed away, yet he was back in the locker room the very next day each time, choosing to keep those struggles private instead of talking about them publicly.
“You know, I had a… I’m not going to say a rough year, because suffering is relative. I was Heavyweight Champion over on Raw for quite some time, and during that entire time I was champion, I had at least three or four people who were very close to me pass away. And each time, I was at work the next day.”
Looking back, Punk admitted being around WWE helped him cope with those losses. Spending time with his “road family” and performing in front of fans gave him something positive to focus on, but eventually he realized there were emotions he couldn’t simply work through while staying on the road every week.
“I didn’t talk about it publicly. I showed up partially because it helped me. Being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process.”
That became the real reason for his disappearance. Rather than recovering from another surgery, Punk spent his time at home with his wife and focused on resetting mentally before making his WWE return. Now that he’s back, he says he’s fully committed to life on the road once again.
“So, my time away was just to kind of reset. One day away from my wife is one day too many. I’ve been with her every single day, and now that I’m back, I’m champ, I’m on the road, and I’m as full-time as full-time gets.”
Punk also had a blunt response for anyone who criticized his absence. After months of speculation about why he disappeared, he made it clear he has no regrets about taking time away to mourn the people he lost.
“If you’re upset that I was mourning some dead friends, I think that’s a you problem.”
Punk returned on the July 6 episode of Monday Night Raw, where he defeated Sami Zayn to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship. So,his comments finally put an end to the speculation surrounding his absence, revealing that the break had nothing to do with his health and everything to do with taking time to grieve.
What do you think about CM Punk’s explanation for his time away from WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
