This past Saturday night, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk closed out the Men’s WWE Royal Rumble match going blow-for-blow for a chance to main event WWE WrestleMania 40. Ultimately, Rhodes came out on top and made his intentions clear during the post-show press conference that he intended to challenge Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While Punk did not have the world buzzing in regard to a win coming out of the big multi-man match, there was some concern that he had injured himself after he began clutching his arm in the waning moments.
The Wrestling Observer was the first to report that, based on those they have spoken to within WWE, Punk was injured during the Men’s Rumble. The speculation inside WWE is that he suffered a torn tricep. There was said to be a spot in the Rumble where a referee went to check on Punk, and he responded to the official saying, “My tricep.” The moment where the referee checked on Punk looks to have taken place after he took a Future Shock DDT from Drew McIntyre. Punk is apparently expected to address his health tonight on WWE Raw.
PWInsider is adding that they have heard Punk suffered a torn tricep and is likely headed for surgery. The belief is that he will be out of action for at least four to six months. Prior to Punk’s injury, the plan had been to have Punk take on Seth “Freaking” Rollins for the WWE World’s Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 40 Night One. If Punk is going to require surgery and need an extended period of time off to recover, his ability to compete at Mania are likely be off the table.
If these reports are accurate, this would not be the first time Punk has torn his tricep in action, as he suffered the same injury at AEW All Out 2022 during his match against Jon Moxley. It resulted in him requiring surgery and being taken out of action for nine months. That nine months also coincided with others being taken off AEW TV due to a backstage altercation that ensued after the All Out media scrum. Punk later returned to the promotion, briefly, as the central focus of AEW Collision before another altercation at AEW All In led to his termination.
For his part, Rollins is also injured, having torn an MCL and partially torn his meniscus. Despite the recovery timeline his doctors have given him, Rollins has made it clear he still plans to compete in the WWE WrestleMania 40 main event.