During the August 12th episode of Monday Night RAW, General Manager Adam Pearce informed Drew McIntyre that CM Punk wouldn’t be attending the show due to travel issues.
Despite the announcement, McIntyre remained focused on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and expressed frustration that Randy Orton from SmackDown was given a title shot against GUNTHER.
Later in the show, GUNTHER and Orton had a heated confrontation, exchanging insults and personal remarks about Orton and his family.
Just as Orton was about to respond, McIntyre entered the scene. Shortly after, Punk made a surprise appearance, attacking his arch nemesis and using his leather belt to strike him multiple times before swiftly leaving.
Fightful Select is reporting that the travel problems Punk supposedly experienced were part of the storyline.
However, it is to be noted that wrestlers have been facing legitimate travel issues in recent weeks.
For instance, WWE talent faced travel difficulties last week before RAW in Baltimore, as their flights were canceled due to Tropical Storm Debby. Similarly, TNA talent could not attend Slammiversary 2024 due to the global technical failure that led to thousands of US flights being grounded.
