CM Punk’s WWE Undisputed Championship victory may have set off plenty of arguments online, but backstage, it sounds like the reaction was nowhere near as explosive.
Punk defeated Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the July 6 episode of RAW in Chicago, ending Zayn’s reign after only nine days. The title change immediately sparked questions about how WWE talent felt about Punk being placed back on top of the company.
During a Fightful Select Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp was asked directly about the backstage reaction to Punk winning the championship. According to Sapp, there was no widespread uproar behind the scenes.
“It didn’t cause some big uproar like a lot of times it is online. That’s just it. If it would have come in 2023, immediately upon him arriving, yes, it would have.”
Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series in November 2023 after a controversial exit from AEW. Had WWE immediately handed him its top championship, Sapp believes the decision would have caused a much stronger reaction inside the locker room. That did not happen. Punk spent years rebuilding his place in WWE, working major programs and establishing himself as one of the company’s biggest stars before finally capturing the title.
Sapp acknowledged that not everyone backstage has forgotten Punk’s past issues. Some wrestlers still have negative feelings toward him, but most of the roster now deals with Punk professionally and understands that WWE views him as a major player.
“There are still some people with sour feelings to this day, but the large portion of talent just work with him amicably and know he’s going to be a big part of the company. There’s just not a lot to really go off of here. Maybe some eye rolls—nothing too bad.”
Punk’s championship win had been planned well before he returned to television. It was previously reported that WWE always intended for Sami Zayn to drop the title to Punk once the Second City Saint was ready to come back.
Zayn shocked fans by defeating Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions, but his reign was never designed to last long. WWE removed Rhodes from the July 6 title match after GUNTHER attacked him backstage and powerbombed him through a table onto the concrete floor.
Adam Pearce promised that Zayn would still defend the championship, but refused to reveal his replacement opponent. Punk then walked out in Chicago to a massive hometown reaction and received an immediate title opportunity.
Zayn pushed Punk to the limit and even hit him with his own GTS. Punk eventually fired back with a Helluva Kick and another GTS before pinning Zayn to become Undisputed WWE Champion.
The title change may have produced a few eye rolls backstage, but there was no locker-room revolt. Punk is now firmly positioned as one of WWE’s top stars, and most of the roster appears to have accepted that he will remain a major part of the company moving forward.
What do you make of WWE’s backstage reaction to CM Punk winning the world title? Did the company wait long enough before putting Punk back on top? Let us know in the comments below.
