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When news broke that CM Punk was being afforded a live microphone and the final segment of RAW to do with it as he pleased, fans, pundits, and AEW wrestlers braced themselves for what many assumed would be a Pipe Bomb 2.0 decimating Tony Khan, the Young Bucks, and everyone else who has “wronged him” along the way.
Would Punk call out TK for being a “Khan man” for selling a false bid of goods to an audience looking for an alternative? Would he tell friends like “Dax and Cash, Brody and Danhausen” that the grass is greener when their contracts expire a la mentioning the Young Bucks and Colt Cabana during his proposal pipebomb promo? Really, the opportunities felt endless, and excitement for the segment couldn't have been higher, even if some fans complained about the length of the show as a whole.
Well, with roughly seven minutes of time to speak his mind, CM Punk did just that, and over the course of his promo, he effectively laid out his modus operandi for this run in The Fed: This isn't about making friends, this is about making money.
HERE WE GO!@CMPunk is back on #WWERaw for the first time in nearly a decade. pic.twitter.com/Xu5XBr0Jfz
— WWE (@WWE) November 28, 2023
CM Punk wants fans to know he's home and ready to cash in.
After earning a very impressive reaction from the crowd in Nashville, Tennessee, a reaction he noted was strange, considering he's a Blackhawks fan in the Preditors' house, CM Punk got down to brass tacks, explaining his decision to return and his goals now that he's back.
“Looks like h*ll froze over. And when I mean h*ll froze over, I mean this is me standing in a WWE ring on Monday Night RAW with a live microphone in my hand. I don’t mean that apparently, a Blackhawks fan is universally loved inside the Predators’ barn. Okay, I’m sorry, I had to. You guys understand, I gotta be me, right? And lately, I’ve been feeling a little more like myself, ever since Saturday, which is a a career highlight for me. I’ve been trying to come up with the words and the language explain to all of you exactly how I feel. And I’ve come to two words, and I’m afraid to say them, honestly, and it’s not because they’re not true, it’s because I’m a little bit scared of how true they actually are. And it’s a little big corny, and it’s a little bit cheesy, and it’s not gonna sound like CM Punk, but I’ve changed. And once upon a time, an ‘American Dream' taught me that as long as you speak from the heart, you cannot go wrong, because it is the truth, and this is the truth: I’m home,” CM Punk told the crowd.
“I’ve come back to this familiar place, and I didn’t know how I was gonna react, and I didn’t know how it was gonna go, but it has made me feel like my old self, because this is where I belong. This is home, and I’ve been gone for ten years, and over ten years, you people never forgot me, even when maybe I wanted to forget me. And that’s powerful. You are all-powerful. A bunch of continents, countless countries, arenas all over the world, the people watching at home, the people in the building never stopped chanting my name. The voiceless found their voice, and I couldn’t be more proud of you, and I heard you, and that’s why I’m back, because I love you guys. I love you guys. I love you guys, and I missed you guys, and I missed all of this, and I wish I could say I never had to leave, but once upon a time, a ‘Wise Man' once told me for me to get everything out of this place, I’d have to leave and come back. Hate to say the ‘Wise Man' was right. But that’s why I’m back, to get everything I need out of this place. I’m back for you, because you are home.
“Saturday night was an amazing moment. Monday night is an amazing moment. Trying to have the words to explain to you how it feels, but in front of and behind the camera, it’s been nothing but love. It’s been nothing but hugs. It feels like a family reunion. Everybody back there is happy to see me, and it’s all smiles, a few people kissed me on the mouth. It’s ‘Welcome back, welcome home, we missed you, we’re happy to see you, by the way, how’s AJ?' And ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to tell you, AJ is fabulous, and she sends her regards. Everybody has welcomed me back with open arms. Well, almost everybody.
“Some people are afraid. They’re afraid of the truth. They’re afraid of what they don’t understand, but I understand. Everything I’ve ever wanted has always been here, the competition here, week in and week out competes to be the best in the world, but the best in the world has not been here for almost ten years. I understand being afraid. They’re afraid that I just set the bar to an unattainable level. They’re afraid that the brass ring is in my back pocket and they can’t grab it. They’re afraid that the most dangerous and controversial, feared man in this industry just walked through the front door, and there’s nothing they can do about it. Some people are afraid that tomorrow morning, when they wake up, they’re gonna have to come to terms with the fact that their best efforts at being the best in the world in this ring, on this microphone, even at commentary isn’t just false, but it’s a lie. Because the best in the world is back, and the best in the world is standing in the middle of the ring, live and in living color in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday Night, and his name is CM Punk.
“I’m back. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to make money.”
… that's it? No talk of AEW? No mention of brawls, feeling threatened, Superkick Parties, Collision, nothing? I get WWE doesn't want to acknowledge AEW too much, as they feel as though any publicity is good publicity for the second-biggest promotion in the world, but this is a performer who is known for not giving a hoot about authority and being a legitimate wildcard that fans of WWE can get behind because of his “realness.” This promo had no fire, no bite, and didn't even really have a clear emotional throughline; at points, it felt like Punk was saying his lines with conviction in an attempt to convince himself that he meant it, all the while the fire fans saw in his debut promo on Rampage was largely replaced by the aura of a tired man who has lost his fight.
Could this have simply been an off night for Punker? You bet, when he actually enters into a feud, it's safe to assume some of the energy relished during his run in AEW and even in WWE a decade prior will return, as there's a certain level of “taking things personally” that one can't feed off of when they are the only person on the screen but if you were truly expecting to see the “Best in the World” back in WWE you might be disappointed, as this feels more like Old Man Logan than Weapon X.
