CM Punk has been the talk of the wrestling world once again as he made his return at WWE Survivor Series 2023.
The return didn’t leak to news outlets beforehand and was a genuine surprise, but did WWE stars themselves know Punk was arriving?
Punk appeared directly after the men’s WarGames main event, meaning the participants in that match were still ringside when he came onto the stage.
Well, except Drew McIntyre, who had “stormed off” legitimately upset.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the talent in the WarGames match were indeed told beforehand that Punk was returning at the end of the night.
Meltzer said:
“The guys in the match knew. It wasn’t like he came out and nobody knew, the guys in the match knew.
“I think some would have been very, very upset if they didn’t know because it would be like the company swerving them. And I think they don’t want to do that to their talent.”
If you use this transcription for any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.
Other than that though, it was a very closely withheld secret.
According to Fightful Select, Triple H took over directing the production of the show right before Punk’s return because none of the other production personnel knew it was about to happen.
Triple H himself said that it was only really him and Nick Khan who knew, and even higher ups in TKO would have been surprised by it.
Meltzer also reported that Vince McMahon had no involvement in the decision.
It’s also been reported by Meltzer that the incident between CM Punk and Seth Rollins after Punk’s return was “100%” planned as part of a storyline.
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