For the first time in almost 10 years, CM Punk competed inside a WWE ring last night. Punk faced off against Dominik Mysterio on WWE’s annual Boxing Day live event in Madison Square Garden, New York where he emerged victorious despite regular interference from Mysterio’s Judgement Day ally Rhea Ripley. Afterward, Punk briefly spoke to the fans in attendance and vowed once more that he would headline WrestleMania 40 after winning the Men’s Royal Rumble.
Despite not everything in the match going according to plan, Punk’s in-ring return was ultimately a success both in terms of the bout itself and business-wise for WWE as a whole. Fightful Select reports that internal live event reports claim that last night’s Madison Square Garden event was sold out and even broke the company’s record for the highest-grossing domestic non-televised event of all time. WrestleTix provided more insight into the achievement, noting that 15,831 tickets in total were distributed for the event and that the company’s premium pricing strategy played a part in them breaking the record.
Alongside Punk’s match, the Madison Square Garden event also featured Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre in the main event and Cody Rhodes taking on Shinsuke Nakamura in a Bull Rope match. Additionally, the show featured defenses from Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Judgement Day, WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley, and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.
For those who weren’t able to attend the Madison Square Garden show, Punk is expected to make his televised WWE in-ring return at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event next month. At the time of writing, the former WWE Champion is one of two men confirmed to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. The other is Cody Rhodes who won the bout and headlined WrestleMania 39 against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as a result.