CM Punk made his return to WWE SmackDown on Friday night, throwing barbs at Seth Rollins and indirectly referencing his biggest controversy of the year.
Punk cut a promo on SmackDown where he teased which brand he might sign with, noting that he had spoken with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis already and would discuss the matter with Adam Pearce and Shawn Michaels about RAW and NXT before announcing his decision on next week’s episode of RAW.
Punk mentioned several members of the SmackDown roster during his fiery promo. The Second City Saint acknowledged Roman Reigns but reminded the Tribal Chief that he was the original Paul Heyman guy.
Punk then discussed his history with Randy Orton and weighed in on the possibility of teaming up with Kevin Owens against The Bloodline. The 45-year-old wrestler didn’t hesitate to indirectly reference his backstage fights in AEW, both at All Out 2022 and his altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023.
Punk said, “Kevin’s a little bit prickly and him and I are probably too much alike. And I don’t know who would feel comfortable working with somebody who randomly just punches people in the face backstage. I mean, it’s 2023 ladies and gentlemen! You just can’t be doing stuff like that. That’s insane!”
Punk also addressed Seth Rollins without naming him. The former AEW World Champion declared that everyone was happy to have him back in WWE “except that one guy,” referring to the World Heavyweight Champion as a “bad apple” and saying that “he’s not even ‘The Man’ in his own household.”
You can check out Punk’s promo below:
