CM Punk claims he was "ghosted" by WWE; could have returned 4 years earlier

CM Punk recently claimed that he was ghosted by WWE several years ago and could have returned to the company sooner. The Second City Saint returned to the promotion at Survivor Series 2023 after a tumultuous stint in All Elite Wrestling.

The veteran appeared on Robbie Fox's My Mom's Basement podcast and revealed that he had almost returned several years ago. Punk shared that he had a secret meeting with Vince McMahon and Triple H, resulting in a handshake agreement that he would be returning. However, the former AEW World Champion stated that McMahon ghosted him following the meeting.

"I had a hilarious, clandestine meeting in the Borgata in Atlantic City with Vince [McMahon] and Triple H. I don’t even know now. What is it? It’s 2025. This has to be 2018 or ‘19, and it’s just because Vince just started calling me. He was like, 'Hey! I’m eliminating the middleman,' and I was just like, 'This is insane,' and it just so happened that, 'Oh, well, I’m gonna be here.' 'Alright, we can get there.' You know, 'Okay, alright' and we had a meeting and we had a handshake agreement and then he ghosted me. So, that’s why it didn’t happen. Unbelievable. I’m gonna write a book someday… It’s a great story. It’s a fantastic story," he said. [H/T: Fightful]

CM Punk won a Gauntlet match this past Monday night on RAW and will be challenging Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship next month at WWE SummerSlam 2025.

Vince Russo reacts to CM Punk's match on WWE RAW

Former WWE writer Vince Russo commented on CM Punk earning a title shot against Gunther this past Monday night on RAW.

Speaking on this week's edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW podcast, Russo stated that the company made a mistake by not having Gunther on commentary for the Gauntlet match. He noted that The Ring General can talk, and the promotion missed an opportunity.

"The winner of this faces Gunther at SummerSlam. Why wasn’t Gunther on color commentary throughout this match? Why do you have him sitting up there by himself like a jabrone when the guy can talk? Why was he not on color during this match? Unbelievable. Unreal." [36:08 onwards]

You can check out the video below:

CM Punk failed to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship from John Cena last month at Night of Champions. It will be interesting to see if Punk can defeat Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam.