After being off WWE television for the past few weeks rehabbing a torn triceps, CM Punk made the rare return to RAW in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, to unload all his firepower on Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, and pretty much everyone else who has wronged him since he returned to the business.
Standing in the middle of the ring at the top of RAW‘s second hour, Punk unloaded the proverbial clip, talking trash in a profanity-laden promo that has already set the internet ablaze for more reasons than one.
“Oh, I’ve got a lot of things I wanna say, and a lot of business to get to, but before all that: Is it good to be alive in Chicago on a Monday night or what? Everybody’s asking CM Punk if he’s gonna be at WrestleMania. The short answer is yes. Everybody’s asking me how my elbow’s doing. It’s not great… I’m not medically cleared, but d*mmit, my mouth works,” CM Punk said.
“Not only are people asking me what I’m gonna do at WrestleMania, they got suggestions. They’re saying, ‘Are you gonna host WrestleMania?’ I don’t know. Ten years ago, if you would ask me that, I would have thought hosting WrestleMania was beneath me but, man I just wanna be in front of all you people… People ask me ‘Man, you’re great in the ring, you’re great on the mic, you’re great even at commentary, why don’t you try to be a referee?’ And I wonder, hmm… Is there a title match at WrestleMania that maybe needs the most impartial referee? I don’t know. Not only do people ask me a lot of questions, a lot of people talk about me… It seems there’s a lot of people that, even if they hate me – most of them love me – they certainly need me. They need to talk about me.
“Pat McAfee. Pat McAfee. Got yourself a little program, I understand. I apologize. I’m not a daily listener. I listen to the (Jim Cornette) ‘Experience’ and the ‘Drive-Thru,’ but you had a guest on your show by the name of Roman Reigns. And I sit back and I wonder why does a guy like Roman Reigns need to break a little one-armed CM Punk up? He’s earned that right, and I respect him for it, but I have a feeling that me coming back and climbing back up the mountain, and on Roman’s way back down the mountain, we’re gonna see each other pretty soon.
“Another guy that likes to talk about me is Seth Rollins. Now me and Seth, we go way back, we don’t see eye to eye, mostly because he wears high heels now, and he’s somehow magically taller than me. That’s a story for another time… Somebody who hasn’t talked about me, hasn’t said a word, The Rock. And I’d like to think that’s because ten years ago, he remembers coming face-to-face with the Second City Saint and realizing that his arms were just too short to box with God. And then, there’s Drew McIntyre. I haven’t said a word, I’ve been tight-lipped. That’s because I don’t perpetually terminally live on the internet. I handle my business live, in living color. When you got a problem in Chicago, you handle it face-to-face like a man.”
Ask, and you shall receive, as McIntyre emerged from the back and turned a monologue into a verbal Chicago Streetfight for the ages.
Guess who just interrupted @CMPunk on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/dsKVGu8dqV
— WWE (@WWE) March 26, 2024
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk exchange live fire on RAW.
Making his way down the entrance ramp, Drew McIntyre bypassed the ring for a spot at the commentary table, where he would spend the segment, avoiding what very well could have become a full-on fistfight.
“I would love to get to that ring right now and beat you’re a**e, but Punk, don’t you remember what happened last time we were in the ring together? I stomped that stupid little arm of yours because you deserved it, and I told you, I prayed for this, and it happened.” Drew McIntyre noted.
“Hey hey hey, are you a Scottish Psychopath in a kilt, or are you an internet troll in a skirt?” CM Punk responded. “Let’s find out.”
Amused by Punk's interjection, McIntyre fired back, taking things in an incredibly personal direction.
“This is 2024; you wanna get canceled for talking like that? No, no, today’s perfect. I could have prayed for this. You’re in the ring injured, Punk, we’re less than two weeks to Mania, we’re in Chicago, Drew McIntyre is in the World Title match. This is divine intervention, that’s what this is.
“You wanna know the most ironic thing about you, Punk? The straight-edge thing. You never drink, you never do drugs, yet you spend all your time in rehab. I can see in your eyes, you don’t like me too much, and you think I hate you like Seth Rollins, and maybe at one time I hated you, and maybe there’s issues that need resolving, but as of right now, I don’t hate you, Punk. You complete me.
“Oh hear me out: when I’m in the gym and can’t get that last rep, and I’m using weights you couldn’t have even imagined in your prime, I think about you and the weight goes up. I’m at Elimination Chamber, first man out, thirteen minutes in, ruptured eardrum, equilibrium off, can’t possibly win that thing. I think of CM Punk, and I get the job done. You’re my muse, man!”
After Punk requested McIntyre to meet him in the ring and talk like a man, McIntyre said no, noting that he wanted to avoid getting physical.
“I would love to get in that ring, but I know how the people of Chicago are like, you probably have a weapon in there, and you’ll try and take me out before WrestleMania,” McIntyre noted. “Listen, Punk, please, I know you want to be at WrestleMania bad, real bad. You don’t have to sneak in, I want you there. I want you to have a front-row seat at WrestleMania, because you honestly believe you should be in my position. But you shouldn’t, and everybody’s finally starting to realize what I’ve known all along: that Drew McIntyre has always been the true chosen one.”
“Chosen one, who chose you? Who? What was his name? Huh?” Punk responded. “You got the balls to say you’re the chosen one, tell me what paragon of good virtue chose you. It wasn’t the people of Chicago. Wasn’t the people in San Antonio where we went off the air on Monday Night RAW and they were saying ‘CM Punk.’”
Whoa, a Vince McMahon reference in Chicago ahead of WrestleMania 40? Did Tripe H okay that? Or is this a regular “Hangman” Adam Page situation? Either way, McIntyre got the last laugh before Seth Rollins joined them.
“Punk, please, keep going, get it in while you can, because you’re gonna be out for months still. This is your moment, this is exciting, I feel like a fan sitting here,” McIntyre declared. “But anyway, if you want to be part of the show, maybe – since I’m at the commentary desk – I’ve got an idea: I want you to have a front-row seat. You’re only good at talking, running that mouth of yours, so why don’t you maybe be the guest commentator for the World Title match and have to watch Drew McIntyre finally have his moment and raise that World Heavyweight championship with my fans in a stadium.”
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