The return of Punk wasn’t an Vince McMahon call.
CM Punk was back in WWE after The main show of the Survivor Series premium live event. Punk left AEW after All In when he was dismissed after a backstage altercation in the ring with Jack Perry.
The build-up
The incident occurred after there were numerous reports suggesting that WWE had not brought Punk back, and did not want to making that happen. There were also Punk mentions on television.
The majority of the reports were accurate as Triple H said at the after-event press conference that the deal was done quickly. Top talent was told straight up that Punk didn’t have a place in the Survivor Series when they asked earlier in the week.
The deal
In an interview on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer pointed out that WWE the president Nick Khan made the call to reinstate Punk with the help by Triple H, but Vince McMahon did not have a say.
“He agreed to a long-term contract. The agreement was signed just a few days ago. The details were kept from the majority of people. Paul Levesque [Triple H] claimed that the TKO people learned about it via the television and I thought it was absurd until I inquired about it and heard the exact same thing.”
Meltzer was informed that the TKO personnel are in place to concentrate on business and to make money, not to be creative. This is like how the UFC operates.
Meltzer said, “It was a Nick Khan call at the final. Vince was not involved with the decision. Paul Levesque obviously had a part in the whole thing, and they were the two men who were the “point guys.” Meltzer was informed that in the event that WWE believed that there was a need for Punk to return and they didn’t want to fight it.
