CM Punk is shedding new light on his rocky road back to WWE, revealing that he nearly returned to the company well before his role on WWE Backstage—and that it all fell apart after an unexpected cold shoulder from Vince McMahon himself.
Appearing on the My Mom’s Basement podcast, Punk spoke candidly about what really happened prior to his 2019–2020 stint on FOX’s WWE Backstage, denying the long-standing perception that he only turned to the studio show after being rejected by WWE.
“I think the Twitter and internet perception is that I tried to go back to WWE, they didn’t want me, so I did the FOX show,” Punk explained. “That’s not what happened at all.”
According to Punk, a series of messages from agents turned into direct outreach from Vince McMahon himself—leading to what he called a “hilarious, clandestine meeting” in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel.
“Vince just started calling me. He said, ‘Hey! I’m eliminating the middleman.’ And I’m just like, ‘This is insane.’”
The meeting reportedly resulted in a handshake agreement between Punk, McMahon, and Triple H, seemingly clearing the path for his long-awaited WWE return. But then… radio silence.
“We had a meeting, and we had a handshake agreement… and then he ghosted me. So that’s why it didn’t happen. Unbelievable,” Punk said. “I’m gonna write a book someday—it’s a fantastic story.”
The encounter also marked the first step in thawing Punk’s famously strained relationship with Triple H.
“Yeah, that would’ve been the first time me and Triple H started chipping away at any problems or drama from the past,” Punk admitted. “I was very much like, ‘Yeah, okay. Pay me, whatever.’ Years had gone by, and I was over it. I recognized it’s a business. You don’t want me to take it personally? Just pay me.”
While Punk eventually returned to WWE in late 2023 after a stint in AEW, this revelation adds yet another intriguing chapter to his complex relationship with the company.
Stay with PWMania.com for more CM Punk news and behind-the-scenes insights into WWE’s biggest stories.
