Backstage Notes on CM Punk Making a Surprise Appearance at WWE NXT Deadline

UPDATE: PWInsider has some additional tidbits on CM Punk appearing at NXT Deadline. The appearance at Deadline was reportedly an idea that was pitched last night at WWE SmackDown. Punk was reportedly “immediately” down to appear at the NXT premium live event.

A story that was circulating about Punk “missing his flight” was said to be a creative reason to explain his apperance and have fans anticipating his appearance on social channels with Punk, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H posting about it on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

ORIGINAL: As previously reported, CM Punk made a surprise appearance at tonight’s WWE NXT Deadline premium live event, sharing a segment with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, where they took a selfie photo. During the segment, Punk asked Michaels if the DX catchphrase “Suck It” was something they could no longer say on the air. Michaels laughed and then said, “Hell, I forgot.” According to a report by Haus of Wrestling, a WWE source said that Michaels is still allowed to say “Suck It” on WWE programming. There are also details on who was backstage at the event and how thinks went with Punk behind the scenes.

However, it seems the catchphrase did not fit the moment tonight. Punk cut off Michaels during the segment when he was asking the fans “Are you ready?!” which in WWE’s old DX segments usually precedes, “Let’s get ready to suck it!”

According to Haus of Wrestling’s report, Punk was at the Total Mortgage Arena for most of the day. Punkw as reportedly described as behaving “great around everyone.” Additionally, WWE Chief Creative Officer Triple H (aka Paul Levesque) was reportedly in the building for the event. It’s said that Punk’s interactions with Triple H today were “legit” good.

Also, Haus of Wrestling reports that sources close to Punk are continuing to talk about how happy the wrestler is since returning to WWE, and he’s currently looking to continue riding the wave following his return. The report notes that Punk’s surprise appearance during the event caught “many off guard,” and it looks like it was not well known behind the scenes, despite Punk teasing that he was in Bridgeport and might appear on the show earlier today.

CM Punk was also on last night’s WWE SmackDown in Providence, Rhode Island.