Original Plans For CM Punk's WWE Return Revealed

Original plans for CM Punk's return to WWE would have seen him resurface on TV at the Royal Rumble.

Appearing on the MMA Hour, Punk detailed how his WWE return came together.

"Slight percentages over the years start that ball rolling, but to really get in. The action of it started the week of Thanksgiving. I had a CFFC show coming up. I got a call from Nick Khan, 'Hey, we want to talk to you.' 'Cool. On my way to the gym. I have CFFC coming up. You want to talk Monday? Great.' It was Monday, the week of Thanksgiving. Spoke to him. I think the call was more of, 'We want to talk to you about coming back. We'd love you for Royal Rumble.' They assumed that I probably had some sort of non-compete and were floored when I was like, 'No, I'm ready to go. Let's do it,'" Punk stated.

Punk then addressed burying the hatchet with Triple H, adding:

"Every single minute of all those days. It was, 'Hey, I want to talk to you about coming back.' 'Okay.' 'This is how I feel.' 'This is how I feel.' 'Great.' 'I'd really love to talk to Triple H.' Everybody calls him Paul. I'll go to Barclays after this, 'I was just talking to Paul,' for the entirety of the conversation I'll be like, 'Why is Paul Heyman....oh.' I always call him Triple H or Hunter. I spoke to him and that's when the ball really got rolling. I asked him if he wanted to talk on the phone. He said, 'No, I would rather FaceTime you so I can see you.' 'Oh, interesting.' We just talked about a whole lot of stuff. Stuff that was, at one point, serious to bother of us that is silly now. We just laughed and buried the hatchet. Then, we started talking business. I was like, 'It's Thanksgiving, I don't want to bother you. We can talk about it later,' but the show was Saturday. It all got done very fast. My lawyer was not stoked to be working OT on Thanksgiving. He gets paid handsomely."

Punk ultimately made his return to WWE at Survivor Series, making an appearance to close out the show. The 45-year-old has been presented as a top star ever since and he will be involved at WrestleMania 40 on commentary for Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre. Punk was originally scheduled to be in action at the show but he sustained a torn triceps at the Royal Rumble.

Since his return, Punk has only been receiving positive reviews within WWE.

H/T Fightful