CM Punk returned to the WWE universe at Survivor Series and, in the weeks since, has firmly found himself back at the top of the card. His initial presence brought about the ire of Drew McIntyre and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freaking” Rollins, with whom he has since shared promo exchanges in the ring. Prior to going word-for-word with those top stars, he came out on the WWE Raw after Survivor Series to let fans know he was home.
On a recent episode of The Jackie Redmond Show, Punk was asked if he was nervous before his comeback address on Raw, his first WWE promo in a decade.
“One hundred percent CM Punk was was nervous,” he said. “Returning to wrestling is one thing; returning to WWE is like a completely different animal, you know? And I didn’t know how things would go, and it’s not like I was off TV for a super long time. So, but you still, as a performer, you’re still like, ‘Are they going to remember me? Are they?’ You know? And I was legit, like, in an arena that had not been kind to me throughout my career. My first UFC fight was in that building.”
“I ran out of things like bad things like, uh, a lot of bad things have happened to me in this building,” he continued. “You know what I mean? I got beat up here, you know? But I think it was also, like, hugely cathartic because I’m very much a guy who, if you ask me if I’m ready, I’m going to tell you no because part of the juice is being in front of the live crowd.
“I’m the old guy on the ice now where, like, I can stretch, and I can warm up, and I’m not going to be ready until I’m on the ice, the whistle blows, and the puck drops. Now I’m ready. So I need to be in front of the crowd, and I need to see the red light on the camera. And then it’s like, okay, now it’s go time.”
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