CM Punk went away for a reset.
The reigning WWE Champion’s extended absence from the company following his WrestleMania 42 loss to Roman Reigns was cause for many rumors. From concerning backstage behavior to potential AEW return, Punk was subject to all kind of reports before he returned to the company this month on the July 6 Raw and defeated Sami Zayn for the Undisputed Title.
The 47-year-old was asked about his time off while he spoke to ESPN New York to promote the July 18 Saturday Night’s Main Event from Madison Square Garden. CM Punk first confirmed that injury was not the reason for his time off:
In my business, in this company, for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to injury or a surgery is remarkable. It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to go get a surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife,
My Time Away Was To Reset: CM Punk
Explaining why he went away, CM Punk noted that his personal life was in turmoil while he enjoyed success on WWE TV as the World Heavyweight Champion. He went away to be able to properly grieve some close friends he lost on the lead up to WrestleMania 42:
You know, I had a… I’m not going to say a rough year, suffering is relative. I was Heavyweight Champion over on Raw for quite some time, and during that entire time I was champion, I had at least three or four people that were very close to me pass away. And each time, I was at work the next day.
I didn’t talk about it publicly. I showed up partially because it helped me, you know being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process. My time away was just to kind of reset.
CM Punk is set to defend his WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at the SummerSlam PPV. His match at Saturday Night’s Main Event could change the complexion of this bout, however. You can check out more about it here.
