411’s WWE 2024 Preview Special Report: CM Punk Talks Return & Seth Rollins, More

-I planned on doing this when it aired live, but I got home late and had to make dinner for my family. That means, less sleep as it’s near midnight in SW PA, but I wanted to see this show and get this done. Let’s get to it!

-Run Time: 52:00

-Megan Morant welcomes us to the show and she is joined by Matt Camp. They are in the WWE Studio where RAW Talk and The SmackDown LowDown take place. We are told that CM Punk will be joining the show later, among others.

-They quickly recap the high points from RAW, including The Rock’s surprise appearance and subtly calling out Roman Reigns.

-To the video from RAW as we see highlights of Seth Rollins’ successful World Title defense against Drew McIntyre. Good match that teased a Priest cash in and had a great near fall off a Claymore where Drew hurt his own cause by accidentally putting Seth’s foot on the ropes to force a break. Seth gets the pin after a Pedigree on the announce table and then a Stomp.

-Back to the studio where CM Punk joins Megan and Matt via satellite. Apparently, Megan and Punk went to the same high school. Punk gets a chuckle out of that and is happy to be here. Camp asks Punk what the moments were like for him walking back out at Survivor Series in Chicago.

-CM Punk: “God, how much time we got? I feel like I can take up the whole show, just talking. Everything happened that day so fast. So I was….you should never text and drive, ladies and gentlemen. I was trying to drive to the All State Arena, and let everybody that deserved to know, that was in my orbit, know what was about to happen. I’m texting my sisters. You know, because nobody knew. You know! That’s how you get things done in this business. You keep things close to the vest. You don’t leak stuff and that’s where the magic happens. It was a magical moment and there were so many things going through my head. The nerves. People I hadn’t seen in ten years. You know, I had questions, concerns, maybe even worries that all dissolved the instant that song hit. The Cult of Personality and I walked out in front of my hometown. I couldn’t hear the song anymore and I didn’t know my cues. As a performer you try to hit your cues based on the song like where we are at. Where’s Corey Glover at right now? Okay, I am going to do this. This is when I say clobbering time and all of it went out the window because I couldn’t hear the song. I just heard the people and it was a very magical moment.”

-Megan brings up Punk returning to the ring at MSG and then again Los Angeles. Punk jokes he is old because he still calls them house shows even though they are Live Events now. They are his bread and butter where TV is a nervous ball of energy. “When I am on house shows, I don’t have a boss and I get to have fun.” It brings him back to why he wanted to be a wrestler in the first place and he got to punch Dirty Dom in the face.

-Camp jumps to The Royal Rumble and mentions this will be Punk’s seventh Rumble and it will be nearly 10 years to the day since his last televised match at the 2014 Royal Rumble. That was in Pittsburgh, and I was there for that match. Funny enough, I thought I saw the last match for Edge (Mania XXVII), Michaels (Mania XXVI), and Punk and all of them ending up coming back. Shawn obviously the closest to actually staying retired. Punk says there are a lot of ghosts he is trying to put to bed. For Punk this is finishing what he started, ten years wiser. His plan is to win The Royal Rumble and Main Event WrestleMania. He knows there are 29 guys trying to stop him, but he is confident.

-Camp brings up that Punk started that 2014 Rumble at #1 and the man that was #2 is the current World Champion, Seth Rollins. Punk is asked how he viewed Seth back then. He says Seth was someone following in his footsteps. He knows a lot of guys are in the WWE now for better or worse because they looked up to someone like him. He has always liked to thank the veterans that helped him like Terry Funk, Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, Tracy Smothers, and Chris Candido among others. He knows he would not have gotten the opportunities if it wasn’t for them. He doesn’t think Seth would have gotten the opportunities he has gotten, if it wasn’t for him. That may hurt feelings, but facts are facts and “I don’t care about your feelings.”

-Megan brings up Seth saying he hated Punk. Punk notes he doesn’t care what Seth feels about him. He says Seth may be jealous, but the good thing is there is a ring, and they can settle things. The Rumble is in his future and if Seth is still Champion maybe they can settle it then.

-Camp asks about Punk’s dog Larry (this is what we all want to know) and how he is recovering from his ACL surgery. As some of you may know, I have worked at a vet office for the last 26 years and I had a dog that had ACL surgery. I am curious what surgery Punk’s dog had as there are different methods to repairing a torn ACL in a dog. Punk says Larry is doing so much better and tries to call for him, but thinks “his better half” his Larry locked away to keep from bothering this video call. He then regrets not bringing Larry. He notes Larry has had a string of good days but had a rough couple of months. It seems he hurt himself jumping on the couch and they have to watch him when he tries it now.

-Megan asks about winning The Rumble and what it would mean to Punk to Main Event WrestleMania. He thinks it all get set off with Shawn’s boyhood dream. He only had goals of being a wrestler and then a goal of wrestling every weekend. Your goals start to grow as you learn something new every day in the business. He set goals early in his career that were terrifying, and he learned that being away from WWE for 10 years he had to grow as a person to achieve those goals. Punk talks Rumble and he wants them to bring back the Tumbler where guys picked their numbers. BRING IT BACK! He is training his ass off to come back in the best shape possible.

-Megan wraps things up with Punk and that was enjoyable. It also makes me want Austin sitting down with Punk for an episode of Broken Skull Sessions.

-Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Bianca Belair, Montez Ford, and Paul Heyman are all scheduled guests this show.

-New Year’s Revolution tomorrow night on FOX!

-Megan brings up that HHH shared the news on X that Money in the Bank (along with SmackDown and NXT Heatwave) will be in Toronto, July 5-7. So, Heatwave will be on the 28th anniversary of Hogan’s heel turn.

-Megan and Camp hype up NXT Vengeance Day (Feb 4th) and NXT Stand and Deliver (April 6th).

-To the video as we go back to NXT New Year’s Evil and see highlights from Trick Williams vs. Grayson Waller. Carmelo Hayes comes down to cheer on Hayes, which looks like it may backfire, but here is Kevin Owens to punch Waller in the face. Trick hits the high knee and gets the win.

-Trick and Hayes join the show via split screen. Camp ask Trick how he is handling everything. He is ready for his Title Match and can’t wait for Dragunov to get healthy. He even sent him a card. Melo is asked about the rumors he attacked Trick and Melo shoots them down. Trick says they both have put their foots in their mouths before and Melo was just excited when he put Trick’s Title Match on the line against Waller. Trick notes they train for all possibilities, so he was prepared for Waller. Hayes is asked about KO, and Hayes says he learned a lot from KO and was able to get his feet wet on SmackDown. The focus right now is getting the NXT Title on Trick.

-Elimination Chamber: Perth on Sat, Feb 24! I hear that’s close to Samoa!

-Rhea Ripley is here and is asked about Ivy Nile. Rhea says Ivy held her own and she was impressed by her. She caught her off guard a few times, but in the end, she got the win. Camp asks about Priest not being able to cash in on Monday. She won’t say what the plan was, because they may try to run it back. She notes they all discuss a plan and run it by each other. Megan asks about Truth and if he is in Judgment Day. Rhea says no, and she has had it up to here with him. She enjoyed seeing Awesome Truth together and wants them to stay together, but leave Judgment Day alone. She apologizes to the fans when she says again that Truth is not in Judgment Day.

-Camp asks about Rhea a year ago before she won The Rumble. She feels she has grown so much, and it has been wild to see what she has accomplished and what Judgment Day has accomplished. She likes being a dominant Champion and makes fun of people who complain she doesn’t the title enough. She is running business and running RAW, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. She is asked about the match at Mania with Charlotte and how some have called it The Match of the Year. Rhea loved the match, and it is one of her favorite matches of all time. She is proud of the connection she has with Charlotte inside the ring. She feels she will be fighting Charlotte for the rest of her career until one of them is out of the business. She talks about the differences with this match and their first match at WrestleMania: No Fans! She was able to take back everything she lost that night.

-Backlash: France! Saturday, May 4th!

-Bash in The Berlin! Saturday, August 31st!

-No word on SummerSlam’s location, but I have heard rumors it could be in Cleveland at either Browns Stadium or the baseball stadium where The Guardians play. If that is the case, I may have to go to SummerSlam. My best friend has family in Cleveland and we make the drive up there every 4 years when the 49ers play in Cleveland.

-Peacock commercials!

-WrestleMania XL: April 6 and 7: Philadelphia! I am still trying to figure out if my friend still wants to make the trip.

-They bring in Peter Rosenberg to talk WrestleMania. Camp notes that WrestleMania XV was in Philly with Rock and Austin. This year has a lot to live up to. Not really, as that Mania sucked! Rosenberg talks about how Mania gets bigger every year and nobody thought anything would be able to top WrestleMania III. You shut your mouth, as Hogan/Andre is still the biggest match in WWE history.

-They talk Rumble and Rosenberg says it is impossible to guess what will happen. Well, that makes for a boring talking head segment. They discuss Punk and Rosenberg admits he was wrong as he never thought Punk would return. He says Punk looked like a new man when he saw him wrestle Dom at MSG. He sees a sparkle in Punk’s eye and anything is possible. He wants Seth and Punk for The World Title at WrestleMania! Rosenberg says he will be roaming the streets of Philly during WrestleMania weekend.

-Bianca Belair and Montez Ford are here next from their home. They have a new reality show coming out this year. Bianca notes they wanted to pull the curtain back a little bit and has been using her Instagram account to give fans a small peak into their lives. Megan asks Ford who it was having cameras on him all the time. He says it was bothersome when he had to use the bathroom or do something intimate. Other than that, it was fine, and he is excited for fans to see a different side. Bianca says the guy we see in the ring, is the same guy she gets 24/7 at home. She says he is a little more chill at home versus her WWE personality.

-Camp asks if they reached out to anyone else that had a reality show from WWE. Bianca notes the definitely reached out to Miz and Maryse. It is different as they are used to being in the ring with a red light on, but now it is on them at home during the build to WrestleMania. They hope their show is just as successful as the one Miz and Maryse have. Megan asks about Bianca’s goal of wanting to have a family while wrestling. Bianca says she is at the height of her career and wants to be relatable to women at home they are also wanting to balance want of a family with a career. They decided to be open about that conversation and she wanted to share that with women at home. She hopes women will learn to take their life into their own hands and doing it their own way. Have a conversation with the people in your life and make the best decision.

-Ford says the biggest take away was that there will always be highs and lows, but you have to trust and have fight that you will get to the end. Their scenario is one out of trillions that are out there. This is how they handle their situation, and they won’t say it’s the best way, but it’s their way.

-Love and WWE drops Feb 2nd on Hulu!

-Shop WWE commercial!

-We are promised two people will declare for the Royal Rumble!

-We cut to the back with a bloody Becky Lynch, who notes the last time she suffered a bloody face she won The Royal Rumble and she will do it again.

-We cut away and now it is Nakamura that is declaring for The Royal Rumble. He is going to take Cody’s dream and do what he couldn’t do: “Finish my story.”

-They throw to Cathy Kelly, who is standing by with Cody Rhodes. She asks Cody what he is most looking forward to in 2024. Cody mentions all the International PLEs and the link his family has with Florida (home of The Royal Rumble). Cody is about New Year’s Resolutions and Cathy says hers was to eat less cookies at catering, but she isn’t sure how that is going to work out. Cody wishes her good luck on that as it is tough. Cody wants to be the best father and husband personally. We all know the three words for his professional goal, but for the company he expects the WWE to have an even better year.

-This Monday on RAW: Cody vs. Nakamura!

-Paul Heyman up next!

-Peacock commercials!

-Megan and Camp run down the matches for SmackDown: New Year’s Revolution: Pretty Deadly vs. Butch and ???; US Title Tournament Finals: KO vs. Santos! WWE Women’s Title: Iyo vs. Michin! #1 Contender Match: AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton!

-Cathy Kelly is with Paul Heyman and she asks how Roman keeps up the momentum all year. Heyman compliments her on the question and thinks she should be an attorney. He says Roman will do it the only way he can. He will ascend the Escalator of Relevancy for as long as he wants and runs down the men that have failed against Roman: Cody, Brock, Jey Uso, and John Cena. No man on the face of this planet can stop the momentum of Roman Reigns!

-Megan notes she has learned the hard way that you never pick against Roman Reigns. One more plug for SmackDown tomorrow and we are out.

-This was a solid show as I enjoyed the interviews. This was what RAW Talk and The SmackDown LowDown should be with longer interviews and less recap of what we just saw, but that’s not going to happen. Definitely check out the Punk interview and I enjoyed Bianca and Ford as well. Thanks for reading!