Below are some top WWE news stories of the day, involving CM Punk, Triple H and Michael Cole.
• After returning at Survivor Series, CM Punk appeared on this Monday’s RAW and cut his first WWE promo in almost 10 years.
While Punk appeared on the red brand, that doesn’t mean he’s exclusive to it.
According to PWInsider, Punk is listed as a “Free Agent” on the internal WWE roster sheet, which means he can appear on any brand (RAW, SmackDown, NXT).
As we noted earlier, Sports Illustrated reported that Punk will eventually feud with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, so it makes sense that WWE wants Punk to have the ability to appear on all brands, since The Tribal Chief is exclusive to SmackDown.
• WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H was absent from this week’s episode of RAW, a surprising development given the show’s importance with the fallout from Survivor Series.
The episode featured the returns of CM Punk and Randy Orton, with Orton opening and Punk closing the show with a promo on his WWE comeback.
Bruce Prichard ran the show in Triple H’s absence, who was reported to be away on “other WWE business”.
According to PWInsider, Triple H and WWE President Nick Khan were in Los Angeles working on securing the media rights deal for RAW ahead of its expiration next fall, with multiple potential suitors in the mix.
• As reported by multiple sources, only Triple H and Nick Khan knew about CM Punk’s return to WWE.
Triple H then told the Men’s WarGames match participants just minutes before the main event that Punk will return at the end of Survivor Series.
It looks like longtime WWE commentator Michael Cole was told about Punk’s return ahead of time as well, judging by how he waited for Punk’s music to hit in the following reaction video that WWE released:
Michael Cole was just jamming to CM Punk’s entrance 😭 pic.twitter.com/WG75cAJUH0
— Teffo (@Teffo_01) November 27, 2023
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