"People were still making s*** up!" - CM Punk on fans thinking AEW stars would appear at the Royal Rumble

AEW star CM Punk has commented on recent rumors that he and a number of AEW performers would appear at the 2022 Royal Rumble.

2022 is the first year that the Royal Rumble has taken place since Punk returned to professional wrestling in August 2021. Punk famously quit the business the night after the 2014 Royal Rumble, citing burnout and frustration as the main reasons why he ultimately left WWE.

Rumors started swirling as to who might show up for the big event. The combination of Cody Rhodes' uncertain future and Seth Rollins' mention of Jon Moxley on Smackdown led many fans to speculate that AEW stars might compete in the battle royal. But in the end, nobody from Khan's promotion appeared at the premium live event.

Speaking with Abe Kanan on a live Twitter broadcast, Kanan mentioned how much of a fan he was about Punk's "trolling" of the wrestling world leading up to the Rumble. The former WWE star previously dropped some playful teases about the show, and when asked about it, he described why he decided to have fun with the situation.

“Well listen, from my perspective, when I left, that’s what it was every year, and this is the first year they’ve had the Royal Rumble that I have been back in wrestling and I work somewhere else and people were still making s*** up saying that I was going to be in the rumble, or Cody was going to be in the rumble, or Moxley was going to be in the rumble. Like I get it, people want to get excited about it but you know, if you want to watch us watch AEW." (21:17-21:55)

As Punk pointed out, fans have often speculated that he could return to WWE at the Royal Rumble, and he decided to lean into the buzz now that he's a member of Tony Khan's promotion.

CM Punk has bigger things to worry about than the Royal Rumble

While a portion of the audience may have been disappointed that The Second City Saint didn't compete in the Royal Rumble match, fans can certainly look forward to his upcoming match on AEW Dynamite.

After months of pipebombs and powerbombs, CM Punk will finally get his hands on MJF this week on AEW Dynamite. MJF has avoided a one-on-one confrontation with Punk up until now, but he has nowhere to hide this Wednesday. The two stars will finally wage war on Wednesday night.

What do you think about CM Punk's comments? Sound off below.

Please credit Abe Kanan and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the quotes from this article.