CM Punk has opened up about his nearly three-month absence from WWE television following WrestleMania 42, revealing that the time away had nothing to do with injury and everything to do with processing personal loss.
Speaking with ESPN New York, Punk explained that the break marked the first time in his wrestling career that he stepped away without being sidelined by an injury or surgery. “In my business, in this company, for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to injury or surgery is remarkable. It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to get surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife,” Punk said.
While Punk said he wouldn’t describe the past year as “rough,” he acknowledged that it was emotionally difficult after losing several people close to him while serving as World Heavyweight Champion. “I’m not going to say a rough year, you know, because suffering is relative. I was World Heavyweight Champion 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,” Punk said. “Each time, I was at work the next day. 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. So my time away was just to kind of reset.”
Punk said the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with his wife, former WWE star AJ Lee, was the biggest benefit of the hiatus. “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, and I’m on the road. I’m as full time as full time gets,” Punk said.
Punk also addressed any criticism surrounding his absence, making it clear he has no regrets about taking time to grieve. “If you’re upset that I was mourning some dead friends, I think that’s a you problem,” Punk said. “We should celebrate people taking some time for themselves.”
After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, Punk appeared on the following night’s episode of Raw in a confrontation with then-Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes before disappearing from television.
He returned on the July 6 edition of Raw, defeating Sami Zayn to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship for the third time. Punk is now set to defend the title against Rhodes at SummerSlam.
