Daily Mail: WWE backstage chaos during CM Punk return - everything we know so far

Story from Daily Mail:

CM Punk made his shock return to WWE on Saturday night to close their Survivor Series premium live event, and while his hometown crowd of Chicago was elated to see him, it appears precious few of his peers were as excited.

The former five-time world champion had long been linked with a WWE return once he was officially released from AEW. Having a major WWE pay-per-view in the biggest Punk hotbed only served to intensify the rumours.

Still, no wrestling reporters posted Punk's return. MailOnline only heard of small circle meetings the day before the show. And even at the point where the secrecy was raising eyebrows, there was nothing to suggest they had secured a deal for Punk.

Seth Rollins was seen berating Punk from the floor as the current world champion had to be held back by the announce team of Michael Cole and Corey Graves - a long time friend of Rollins - among others, while reports that Drew McIntyre was upset backstage were swiftly followed by claims that Rollins had to be dragged away by Triple H himself.

So what really happened? Here's everything we know so far.

It's no secret that Rollins is not a fan of Punk. He hasn't been shy about sharing as much in interviews over the years.

At a WWE live event on Sunday night, Rollins addressed the fans after his match: 'I'm not going to waste any more breath on anyone who has been gone for eight years, has done nothing but try to tear this place down,' he said. 'I want to use my breath to talk about the people who worked to make WWE the hottest ticket in town.'

Despite working together in the past during Punk's first stint in WWE, the two had fallen out by the time Punk joined AEW.

From Punk slating Rollins online to Rollins warming his enemy to stay away from the WWE and branding him a 'cancer', they weren't the best of friends. That being said, Rollins told Logan Paul's Impaulsive Podcast earlier this year that he had received an apology and was willing to work with Punk in a professional environment.

'F*** you. F*** you. All I'm saying is he better get the f*** outta by the time I get back there, I'm gunna knock him the f*** out', Rollins reportedly screamed at Survivor Series before being removed from the building however after being held back in the arena he was held back.

He was then removed from the building.

There have been suggestions that Rollins has been acting as part of a potential storyline, but it remains unclear. Monday Night Raw may make things a little clearer, with Punk and Rollins both scheduled for the show.

As 'The Game' said himself, it was a cold day for hell to freeze over as he and Punk decided to work together once more following an extremely frosty departure nine years ago.

They had a very underwhelming feud in 2011 - bar one promo that saw Triple H really rise to the occasion - and then Punk was openly upset that his termination papers were sent on his wedding day, something he believed was a deliberate move from Vince McMahon and Co.

But, all of that is water under the bridge, apparently. The deal came together very quickly and MailSport understands Triple H himself and Nick Kahn were instrumental in making it happen.

'This was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments that came together very quickly, but we are really excited about it, Paul Levesque, Triple H's real name, said after Survivor Series.

'It's been a long time and in some ways it has been a long time coming. You can say this about CM Punk; love him, hate him, positive, negative, whatever you want to say, people talk about him all the time. He is a magnet for that.

'He is a conversation starter... And for me, if our fans want it, if the WWE Universe is excited to have it, then let's go, and we'll figure out the rest of it from there.'

He also said that people can change a lot in 10 years. We'll see if Punk can stay on the boss's good side in the coming months.

'The Scottish Warrior' was said to be visibly upset backstage after the War Games main event at Survivor Series. While Fightful Select have reported that isn't all to do with CM Punk returning, it has also been said McIntyre was less than impressed when he was pulled aside before the match to learn of his return.

McIntyre has been embroiled in a contract stand-off with the company for the last six months with his deal believed to be up next year. MailSport can confirm that the two sides are yet to agree on a new deal and it's believed to be a 'work in progress' with some key details to be ironed out, but there is hope both sides will be able to do just that.

Report suggest McIntyre made it very clear he was unhappy after the show and was slamming his locker as he loudly made his exit. He did wrestle the next night at a house show, noting in a promo before his match 'you've heard things about me on the internet'.

McIntyre will also feature on RAW on Monday, an, portraying his new villainous character, may have an on-screen say on Punk's return.

Wondering why some WWE superstars are so upset with CM Punk? Well, he's had a lot to say since he departed in 2014.

He has said he was wasting his time in WWE, slammed their shows in Saudi Arabia, made digs at their wrestlers and plenty more has been said recently too.

When Vince McMahon retired in 2022 - before his U-turn - Punk let loose. He said: 'I don’t think the culture there changes at all. It is what it is. I’ll put it to you like this. Oh boy, people are going to be real f****** mad about this, but f*** it. Mercedes [Sasha Banks] and Trinity [Naomi] leave, they announce on SmackDown that, "gosh darn, we are so disappointed in them, they really let our fans down."

'Brock [Lesnar] splits. Comes back, obviously, I think he worked the show. Where is Michael Cole saying, ‘Brock Lesnar really let these fans down?'

'I walked out. They went on TV and called me a quitter. What’s changed? What’s the difference? You’re going to attack these two poor women who had enough and walked. They have bigger balls than everybody there. What’s changed? There’s nothing much that has changed.'

16 months later, he has signed a multi-year deal with the company.

There are more examples, too. He branded the WWE 'creatively bankrupt', slammed the company for allowing WrestleMania 36 to go ahead behind closed doors and called their shows 'awful television'.

To be honest, the list is probably endless. But it helps understand why Saturday's return was such a shock.

AEW boss Tony Khan was pretty much booed out of the building when he announced in Chicago that Punk had been fired from AEW less than three months ago.

His arrival two years earlier was dubbed the biggest signing in the history of the company. Khan made Punk AEW world champion twice, kept him on after suspending him and pretty much made a whole new show - AEW Collision on Saturday nights - to accommodate his peaceful presence.

But a second real-life backstage brawl in just a few months appeared to give the American little choice but to let his prized asset go, firing him despite keeping on Jack Perry, the man Punk had brawled with.

Khan was asked about Punk's return after WWE smashed AEW in the ratings again on Saturday, with Survivor Series receiving an all-time high viewership figure, with AEW's Rampage show down at 233,000.

'Can't talk about that, nor do I think it's the time or the place,' Khan said. 'But I appreciate you asking and I'm very excited about AEW All In at Wembley Stadium. Not to dodge or duck your question, it's something I just can't legally talk about.'

Time will tell if AEW feel the hit of letting Punk go, but WWE is certainly on top right now in the battle of the businesses.