Unlike last week’s episode of WWE Raw, CM Punk is not currently advertised for the show. This week, Punk will be gracing Friday night’s Tribute To The Troops-themed episode of WWE SmackDown, where he will likely find himself face-to-face with his former advocate, Paul Heyman. It is an interesting time for Punk in WWE, as many are as interested in his off-screen antics as they are in his on-screen. Fortunately, unlike his run at AEW, the focus decidedly seems to be on what Punk will do next on WWE TV, as he has yet to make any backstage waves.
Earlier today, WWE shared a video compilation from Punk’s return promo this past Monday night.
“@cmpunk returned on #WWERaw for the first time in nearly a decade!” they exclaimed.
“Spiritually still living in this moment, Saturdays moment, and looking forward to Friday,” Punk replied in the comments section.
Punk’s final thought about looking forward to Friday would indicate that he has no plans to pop up on WWE Raw tonight. A confrontation with Heyman on SmackDown is expected due to the line he dropped in his return promo about a “wise man” giving him good advice before he initially left WWE ten years ago. The landscape of WWE is much different than when Punk left. While Heyman has given Punk good advice in the past, he may likely give him some different advice this time: Stay away from the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship picture.
Of course, until Punk does make his next on-screen appearance, it is merely speculation regarding what he could do next. Several top names on SmackDown would likely enjoy promo time with Punk, including LA Knight, who has had the rocket strapped to him this year. After being screwed out of a win over Reigns at Crown Jewel, Knight has made it clear his sights are still set on gold, and if he has to make that case to Punk as well, he surely won’t have a problem doing so.