CM Punk tears triceps during return to WWE at 2024 Royal Rumble, likely to miss WrestleMania in April
CM Punk’s dream of headlining WrestleMania will almost certainly have to wait another year. After making a surprise return to WWE at November’s Survivor Series event, Punk wrestled his first televised or streamed match since his return when he participated in Saturday’s Royal Rumble. Punk made it to the final two in the match, being eliminated by Cody Rhodes, but tore his triceps during the match, as previously reported. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer And this was later confirmed by multiple outlets, including ESPN.
Punk confirmed the news during the opening segment of WWE Raw on Monday evening. After coming to the ring with his right arm in a sling, Punk congratulated Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes before getting into details of his immediate future.
“During the Rumble, I tore my right tricep,” Punk said. “As much as I tried and asked if maybe I could tape it and go to Elimination Chamber and try to win it and get my main event at WrestleMania, it’s just not in the cards right now.”
Later in his promo, Punk confirmed that he was not intending to retire due to injury, saying, “It’s just a bump in the road. I’m going to keep doing this until the wheels fall off. “
Punk returned to WWE after a controversial split with AEW, in which he was part of several backstage brawls that turned physical. He was terminated from his AEW contract on September 2, 2023.
Punk’s return at Survivor Series was his first appearance for the company since 2014. At that time, he had left due to increasing frustrations with the promotion as well as increasing injuries, causing additional stress for the Chicago native.
Soon after his return, it became clear that WWE was projecting Punk as one of the potential challengers for Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins also suffered an injury recently, Tore his MCL and meniscusHowever, he intends to work at WrestleMania, where he is expected to drop his championship.
One of Punk’s many disappointments in his first WWE stint was that despite being a two-time WWE Champion and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, he was never placed in the main event of a WrestleMania, including in 2011 when WWE held a Kept untitled. A match between The Rock and John Cena as the headliner of Punk’s WWE Championship defense against Chris Jericho.
When Punk left WWE in 2014, he remained retired until debuting with AEW on August 20, 2021.
Punk’s AEW career was plagued by injuries as well as the aforementioned backstage skirmishes. During his first run as AEW Champion, Punk suffered a foot injury which forced him to take some time off.
Punk’s second AEW Championship run ended after a backstage altercation with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, both on-screen talents and executive vice presidents of the company. After Punk was stripped of the title, he underwent surgery for a torn triceps.
