CM Punk Returned To WWE, Sort Of, On FS1’s WWE Backstage

Nearly six years after he wrestled his last match, CM Punk returned, sort of, to WWE last night. As far as we know, he’s not working directly for WWE, but he has joined the cast of the FS1 talk show WWE Backstage.

At end of last night’s episode, Renee Young, standing in the squared circle set along with co-hosts Booker T and Paige and guests Samoa Joe and Adam Cole, announced she had a surprise. ‘Cult of Personality’ hit and Paige questioned, “Is this a rib?” It wasn’t a rib; it was CM Punk, who entered the ring and told the camera, “It’s as simple as this: just when they think they got the answers, I change the culture. I’ll see you here next week.”

Punk, who according to Fox, will appear on WWE Backstage “periodically” starting next Tuesday, had talked about the possibility of him joining the show in the past. He has also said repeatedly that he’s done wrestling, but now that he’s a character in the expanded WWE universe, there’s sure to be an uptick in speculation about CM Punk returning to the ring – especially since he may have secretly already returned last spring.

Though it may not result in, say, a surprise #30 in the 2020 men’s Royal Rumble match that makes everyone lose their minds, Punk joining the late-night FS1 talk show could give it a boost in the ratings that it could probably use; WWE Backstage premiered with a live cable audience of about 49,000 people.