CM Punk has been missing from WWE television for a while, and Sean Ross Sapp has now offered more context on what could be behind it.
During a Fightful Select Q&A, Sapp was asked where Punk has been. He said Punk was originally planned for WWE shows after WrestleMania, but those plans changed and Punk suddenly was not around.
“Where the heck is CM Punk? Well, he was planned for shows following WrestleMania and then all of a sudden he just wasn’t.”
Sapp said it was surprising that Punk was not part of the European tour, especially because Punk is still a major draw. However, he made it clear that he has not heard that Punk is injured.
“Now it’s very surprising for me to not see him on the European tour because he’s a big draw. I haven’t heard of an injury of any sort. That doesn’t mean that one can’t exist.”
Sapp explained that if Punk had a clear injury, word probably would have started making its way around WWE by now. As it stands, Punk simply has not been around for nearly two months.
“Usually by now, where we’re going into, was it two months without CM Punk? It’s something that we would have heard about or word would have made its way through WWE if so. But as things stand, he’s not been around for a while.”
From there, Sapp made it clear he was speculating, not reporting it as confirmed fact. He said Punk may be healing up nagging issues and WWE may also be managing a limited number of dates on his contract.
“I would assume, one, probably healing up some nagging injuries. Two, probably has, you know, a limited number of dates on his contract.”
Sapp pointed out that Punk wrestled 38 matches last year when he was healthy. This year, he already had 11 matches by the end of February, which would be a fast pace if WWE is trying to spread out his dates.
“So he was healthy all of last year and he wrestled 38 matches. Right? They got through February and he already had 11 matches. So that’s roughly a third of the matches in just under two months.”
That could explain why Punk’s schedule slowed down so much. Sapp noted that Punk has wrestled only one match since the start of March, with no matches in May or June so far.
“So you space that out. He doesn’t wrestle at all in March. He wrestles once in April, none in May, hasn’t wrestled in June. All of a sudden it’s less daunting to kind of fit those dates in.”
He added that WWE could bring Punk back later in June or July and still have plenty of matches left for him through the rest of the year.
“So you bring him back in mid-late June, whenever it is, or even July, and you’ve still got two dozen matches that he can do over the last six-ish months of the year.”
This follows earlier talk that Punk’s absence was tied to a schedule change and creative being shifted after WWE moved Gunther to SmackDown and Jacob Fatu to RAW for a feud with Roman Reigns. Dave Meltzer also previously noted that WWE sources said there was nothing more to Punk being removed from June dates than a schedule change.
For now, the latest update is that Punk’s absence does not appear to be tied to any confirmed injury. The working theory is that WWE may simply be giving him time, spacing out his dates, and waiting for the right creative window to bring him back.
What do you think about CM Punk’s WWE absence possibly being tied to limited dates and recovery time? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
