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Backstage Notes on Last Night’s WWE Raw, CM Punk Return Promo & Roster Plans

November 28, 2023 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
CM Punk WWE Raw 11-27-23 Image Credit: WWE

PWInsider has some backstage notes for last night’s WWE Raw, which featured a live in-ring promo by CM Punk to close out the show, and the promo ended up being surprisingly short. According to PWInsider’s report, the promo was originally planned to go longer to give Punk more time on the mic. However, timing issues caused Dominik Mysterio vs. Randy Orton to run longer than initially planned. As a result, some time on Punk’s Raw promo was cut.

PWInsider notes that this is an issue that routinely happens with WWE’s live TV programming, and it caused a more abbreviated promo than what was first planned. After the promo, Punk said a line to the camera, “I’m here to make money, not to make friends.” It’s unknown if this line was meant to be a shot at AEW, and PWInsider reports that no one they spoke to could say for sure if it was.

The report also states that many talents backstage were waiting to see “which CM Punk showed up,” and a grumpier, angrier Punk didn’t appear. Additionally, Punk was said to have been out in with everyone else in the locker room last night, and he reportedly spent time talking to a lot of people before the live broadcast began. WWE did not try sequestering him or hiding him away throughout the night. It’s also said that Punk didn’t come in acting like he was above the rest of the roster, and he was friendly to everyone he interacted with last night.

Someone also described Punk as looking like he was “happy to be there” last night. The current hope is said to be that remains to be the case for Punk’s latest WWE run. Another source informed PWInsider that Punk showed “no sigh of the version of the person we’d hear was so miserable in AEW.” Multiple people who were not exactly thrilled that Punk was back in the company later told PWInsider that after talking with Punk last night, they now feel better about him being back in the fold. So, his first real night back appears to be showing positive signs thus far.

Punk also referenced his wife, April Mendez, aka former WWE Superstar AJ Lee, during the promo. PWInsider reports that there are currently no discussions of having her appear on TV.

PWInsider reports that Punk is not currently slated for this Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. As noted, Randy Orton is being advertised by the venue for the event.

Lastly, CM Punk has reportedly not yet been assigned to any roster internally by WWE.

article topics :

CM Punk, RAW, WWE, Jeffrey Harris