CM Punk makes emphatic return to WWE at end of Survivor Series: WarGames in Chicago

He’s back.

After nearly 10 years away from WWE, CM Punk made an emphatic return, coming on at the end of Survivor Series. After the end of the men’s WarGames match, “Cult of Personality” blared through the Allstate Arena speakers and sent the crowd into madness as the hometown star returned.

It was Punk’s first time in front of a WWE crowd since January 2014, and he did his signature “It’s clobbering time” before celebrating his comeback with some of the people in the crowd.

Punk was last with AEW after signing with the promotion in 2021, but was fired with cause in September after he was involved in a backstage altercation following “All In” in London.

It remains to be seen if Punk will return to the ring for competition, but it represents one of the biggest comebacks in recent years for WWE.

WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque said in the post-event press conference that the decision to bring Punk back was a last-minute addition to the show, and “it didn’t come to fruition until everyone thought it wasn’t going to happen.”

“This is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments that came together quickly,” Levesque said.

There had been animosity between WWE and Punk during his tenure with the company, which ultimately led to his departure. Levesque said he and Punk have grown since, and it was “a long time coming” to bring him back.

“Love him, hate him, positive, negative, people talk about him,” Levesque said.

And if anyone is trying to guess what’s next for Punk, fans will have to tune in to find out.

“What’s next for CM Punk? That will be interesting, won’t it?” Levesque said.