“I would’ve never left,” CM Punk implicitly drags Vince McMahon-led regime for why he walked out of WWE in 2014
CM Punk is all for letting the sleeping dogs lie as he nears in-ring return.

CM Punk and Vince McMahon [via- WWE]
CM Punk doesn’t want to delve into his previous experiences with WWE. However, it’s something he can’t let go of with ease. Which is why he spoke at length on a variety of topics including his WWE return in Chicago last year. Not only that, Punk told Denise Salcedo how the company is different today than it was about a decade ago.
The Best in the World said he would’ve never left WWE in the first place had the backstage ambience been as jovial as it is today. Whatever was aching him, then, be it WWE’s medical staff turning a blind eye to Punk’s plea for timely treatments, creative disparities, or the higher-ups taking him for granted, that doesn’t exist now, said the 45-year-old. Vince McMahon was the prohibitive authority figure circa 2014, the year in which Punk walked out of the company.

In the same conversation as above, the Second City Saint affirmed that McMahon’s WWE ouster provided an impetus for him to come back. Last year, when an episode of Raw emanated from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, CM Punk made a surprise visit backstage. However, it was learned that the Chicagoan was escorted out of the building as soon as Vince was made aware of it. Clearly, the 78-year-old couldn’t stand him.
Honestly, if WWE was the place it is Today back then, I never would’ve left. All the things that happened, all the arguments and all the butting of heads, and being injured and burnt out, and feeling like people in a managerial role weren’t listening. That doesn’t exist in the current atmosphere.CM Punk via interview with Denise Salcedo
But as Punk kept mentioning in the interview, stars aligned—a lot, to be precise—for him to eventually return to WWE. In a recent update, it was stressed that he signed a three-year deal with the Stamford-based promotion on the day of Survivor Series. That would take his agreements to November 2026, minus injury time. The two sides are now working on staying together as long as they can. The former AEW star said he wants to be in WWE for the rest of his career.
Drew McIntyre takes another dig at CM Punk
Last Monday on Raw, CM Punk announced that he’s medically cleared to compete again. And now it’s official: he’ll take on Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam with Seth Rollins as the special guest referee. This match has been months in the making.

McIntyre has put his heart and soul into traumatizing his arch-nemesis. And he’s at it again. In a now-deleted post on X, the Scot shared a picture with current AEW star Jack Perry. The latter’s the one with whom Punk was involved in a physical altercation at All In pay-per-view.
That incident instigated Tony Khan to defenestrate the real-life Phil Brooks from All Elite Wrestling. What a domino effect it has had on The Best in the World’s reconciliation with WWE! Had it not been for that stampede at Wembley last year, The Straight Edge Superstar would’ve stayed with AEW.
In case you missed it:
- Current champion breaks silence on competing at SummerSlam for the first time despite being signed to WWE for more than a decade
- Tony Khan accuses WWE PR of getting involved in AEW-related business