Backstage Update On Potential For CM Punk In-Ring Return At WWE SummerSlam 2024

Despite suffering a triceps injury in the 2024 Royal Rumble match, CM Punk has made it his mission to make the man who injured him, Drew McIntyre, feel as miserable as possible. Since the two initially crossed paths, Punk has attacked McIntyre after his big win at WrestleMania 40, leading Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on him and steal the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk then screwed McIntyre out of winning the belt from Priest in his home country at Clash at the Castle, and also attacked him at Money in the Bank after McIntyre cashed in his contract during Priest's title match against Seth Rollins.

All of this is building to the eventual showdown between Punk and McIntyre, which many people believe will take place at SummerSlam on August 3. However, things aren't that simple, as it is unclear if Punk will be medically cleared in time. According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Punk not being cleared is the reason why he and McIntyre have been kept apart on WWE TV. However, it is believed that Punk will be cleared in time to wrestle at SummerSlam, with his recent visit to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida being part of the process to do so.

Meltzer also noted that there will likely be a backup plan in case Punk isn't cleared in time, but details on that remain a mystery at the time of writing. If Punk was to wrestle at SummerSlam, it would only be his fourth WWE match since returning to the company at Survivor Series 2023, with the other two matches outside of the Royal Rumble in January coming against Dominik Mysterio during WWE's Christmas tour at the end of 2023.