CM Punk Discusses Factors In His Decision To Return To WWE

CM Punk's return to WWE was one that most believed was far-fetched a decade ago due to the nature of the split between the two parties. The WWE star has opened up about his decision to return and what changed between him and WWE that led him to return.

Punk, who left WWE under acrimonious circumstances in 2014, quit pro wrestling before making a grand return with AEW in 2021. Following his exit from AEW, he re-joined WWE, which he believes wouldn't have happened if Vince McMahon were still in charge of WWE. Speaking on "The Rich Eisen Show," he attributed his return to the new regime in charge of the promotion, which he feels played a major part in it.

"I obviously, famously said that I'm never coming back. Never. And what does life do to you? Well, life humbles you. Life teaches you lessons. Life tells you, you never say never. I can confidently say that if it was the same place that it was, with the same people in charge, yeah, I don't think either side would have really reached out. It never would have happened. But amidst a shake-up of the hierarchy of the company, [it was] the right place, right time. Timing is everything in life and in sports, and it came to fruition. You know, it starts with an idea, it starts with that little spark, that little match, and it turns into a pretty big forest fire," said Punk.

"The Second City Saint" had previously highlighted that McMahon's exit opened the door for him to make a shock return to WWE. Punk, who had differences with Paul "Triple H" Levesque during his first run in WWE, also spoke about the two burying the hatchet in a face-to-face conversation, which further solidified his return to WWE.