Though he's officially been out of action for the better part of a month now following a torn triceps at the 2024 Royal Rumble, CM Punk remains a hot topic of conversation heading into the “Road to WrestleMania,” with Drew McIntyre refusing to go a week without trashing the “Second City Saint.”

Now granted, some of this is to be expected, as Punk was clearly planned to be a featured performer at the “Showcase of the Immortals” in Philadelphia later this year, and as a result, it takes some time for WWE to course correct it's booking and media strategy but still, with each passing interview its worth wondering what would have happened if he left Tropicana Field unscathed.

Well, fans now have at least a better idea of just that, as, in an interview with TNT Sports at UFC 298, Punk was asked about how his 2024 plans have shifted and let it be known that he fully expected a main event spot at WrestleMania 40.

“You know, fingers crossed, yeah, I was going to headline WrestleMania. Obviously, now I'm not. But, you know, it's sports. It's what happens to athletes. Mentally, I think it's harder because the physical pain is whatever. But I look at it just like a bump in the road. This is an occupational hazard. It happens, and I'll be back bigger and better. I'm a clumsy idiot. I tore my left triceps about two years ago, so the right one was jealous,” CM Punk told TNT Sports via Ringside News.

“I'm like an old cobbler. I'm like a 72 Nova, you know what I mean? We have to change some parts every now and again. So once we fix up all the parts, the engine's still strong, we'll still be good to go. We're thinking maybe six to eight months, but I'm not really in a rush to get back to compete. I'm in a rush to get healthy. I'm in a rush to get better. The sooner I do that, the better I'll be when I come back.”

Whoa, so is Punk actually saying he expected to headline the show as in he read a little further ahead of Paul “Triple H” Levesque's book? Or is he talking more in a metaphorical sense, with “fingers crossed” serving as a stand-in for “if I win the 2024 Elimination Chamber?” Either way, it sounds like if Punk returns at all this year, it'll probably be a full-circle moment at Survivor Series, with his first year back comprising of a few great promos, some backstage segments, and one televised in-ring appearance at the Royal Rumble. That's… something, right?

CM Punk further explains why he opted to return to WWE.

Elsewhere in his conversation with TNT Sports, the official partner of WWE in the UK, CM Punk was asked about his return to the promotion and how it all came together.

While the basic story is practically old news at this point, Punker did provide some interesting insight into his time away, which is one of the few times he's discussed the “cool stuff” he did in his decade away.

“I think it's just time. Timing is everything. I wrestled for a very long time before I signed a WWE contract. I was on the road for ten years, zero time off. That takes its toll. I think one of the things that I never did before was try to balance everything out. I think a lot of fighters, a lot of wrestlers do that. Balance is kind of key. But when you're young and you wanna go and you have to take every opportunity that comes your way, you can't say no. Then after a while, you burn out,” CM Punk told TNT Sports via Fightful.

“So I burnt out 10 years ago. I left. I did some other things. I got to do a lot of cool other stuff and then time heals all wounds. You slowly start to realize that a lot of the stuff that happened 10 years ago doesn't matter. Different people come and go. Different people are in charge now. Maybe I can go back and it kind of fits like an old slipper. It's good to be back and I'm super happy it happened. The way I came back and how big it's been never could have been what it was without all the other crap. That's just life. I woke up this morning, so it's a good day.”

Is CM Punk actually this happy to be back in WWE, or is he simply out of other options and has to make the best of his current situation? That depends on who you ask, but even if it's the latter, at the end of the day, if it gets over with the fans, does it really matter?