CM Punk opens up about suffering career-threatening injury; severity of it

CM Punk’s highly anticipated return to WWE was abruptly put on hold earlier this year after sustaining an injury. In a recent revelation, he has disclosed more information about the extent of his injury and the exact events that occurred in the ring that night.

In December, The Voice of the Voiceless made their return to the WWE ring at non-televised live events, where they were victorious over Dominik Mysterio on two separate occasions. Punk’s first televised in-ring appearance since his return took place at the Royal Rumble, but unfortunately, he sustained a torn triceps during the main event. Drew McIntyre and his use of the Future Shock DDT were held responsible for the injury.

During his appearance on The MMA Hour today, Punk discussed the events of the Royal Rumble main event and revealed that he had suffered a triceps injury, the same one he had previously experienced in AEW. Despite the pain, he clarified that his previous injury did not hurt at all. In response to Ariel Helwani’s question, Punk confirmed that the injury occurred during the Men’s Royal Rumble and shared his thought process at the time.

“Yeah. It made me optimistic because I was, like, ‘Oh, well certainly I didn’t tear it off the bone like the other one. Maybe I just… I don’t know,’ Because, it hurt… I mean, it hurt. I knew immediately. I was just like, ‘Oh, this isn’t good,’”CM Punk said. [From -03:09:58 to -03:10:51]

Helwani inquired about the exact timing of Punk’s injury and when it took place during the match. The #27 entrant confirmed that he was hurt in the early stages of his 21-minute and 45-second performance, until being eliminated by Cody Rhodes. The Chicago native also made a humorous reference to the concussion he sustained during the 2014 Royal Rumble.

“Oh yeah, yeah. 100%. I mean… not that far into it. I still had a bit to go, you know. You make split-second assessments, I think, in situations like that, you know, and I have famously been in Royal Rumbles before, where I, you know, probably should’ve been taken out of them. But this wasn’t a concussion, and this was one of those things where I grab my arm, dig my finger right in there where my triceps is supposed to be, and there’s just a big hole, and I just go, ‘OK, alright. So, it’s gone, it can’t get any worse.’ You just kinda… power through. That’s a situation where I think it’s acceptable to make the call as a wrestler. Like, most other times I just want everyone else to make the call,”CM Punk said. [From -03:10:52 to -03:12:40]

It was rumored that Punk was set to face Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL, but due to Punk’s injury, the match was changed to McIntyre vs. Rollins. As a result, Punk will now be making a guest appearance as a commentator for the match.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre Calls Out CM Punk on WWE RAW

Tonight’s episode of RAW will be broadcasted live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NC, as WWE prepares for WrestleMania XL with the red brand’s go-home build.

Rumors suggest that CM Punk may make another appearance on the final RAW before WrestleMania 40. Although he is currently advertised for the show, WWE has not officially announced his appearance due to his ongoing injury and age of 45.

Drew McIntyre went on X today to mock his opponent. He proudly displayed his own official hashtag emoji for WrestleMania and used two disrespectful emojis to symbolize Punk.

“I have my own emoji, #DrewMcIntyre[X’s Drew McIntyre emoji]. So does #CMPunk [clown emoji] [poop emoji],”he wrote about CM Punk.

The match for the World Heavyweight Championship between McIntyre and Seth Rollins has been officially announced for the second night of WrestleMania 40. CM Punk will be providing commentary at ringside during the event.