There’s been a few bumps in the road for CM Punk since his return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023, but nobody can say it’s been a bust. On the contrary, Punk has delivered major moments since his comeback, including some big wins and, perhaps more importantly, some massive crowd reactions.
Love him or hate him, Punk is “over like rover” as the saying goes, and that’s what’s best for business, which is a topic Bully Ray talked about on “Busted Open Radio.”
“They have creatively handled Punk extremely well since his comeback,” wrestling veteran Bully Ray said. “They have not overexposed him, oversaturated him, and when he’s out there, it’s for the right reasons and everything makes sense. Punk is becoming one of those solidified top-tier stars. We know he’s a top-tier star, but a solidified one.”
Fueled largely by his words, Punk has become one of WWE’s most unlikely “attraction” stars. Not even a triceps tear at Royal Rumble and a seven-month recovery derailed Punk’s momentum, as he was effectively utilized outside the ring to escalate a white-hot feud with Drew McIntyre. Punk’s only televised singles loss came against McIntyre in their first meeting at SummerSlam, but he evened the score at Bash in Berlin before sealing their feud at Bad Blood.
His huge main event win against Seth Rollins on the Netflix debut of “WWE Raw” seems to indicate WWE’s faith in him despite past controversies. Ray said that while Rollins’ promos contained truths about Punk’s character, they didn’t seem to resonate with fans. He suggested other wrestlers not tread the same waters.
“You can’t cut that same old promo on CM Punk anymore,” Ray said. “‘You took your bat, your ball, and you went home.’ Whoever says that, [fans] are gonna be like, ‘We’ve heard it all before. It hasn’t worked. He’s won.'”
