CM Punk will likely not compete at WrestleMania 40. According to multiple reports, the former WWE Champion suffered a significant injury during the Royal Rumble on Saturday. Mike Johnson of PWInsider, says Punk suffered a torn triceps during the Royal Rumble match, and the belief is he would likely need four to six months of recovery and physical therapy. The torn triceps was then confirmed by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.
Punk reportedly suffered the injury during a spot with Drew McIntyre. He is seen holding his right arm after being hit with a DDT by McIntyre and told the referee about his triceps during the match. WWE has not confirmed the injury, and Fightful Select said Punk is scheduled to appear on WWE Raw tonight and will address the issue. Meltzer said that Punk was internally scheduled to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40. Rollins is currently dealing with a torn MCL and meniscus.
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Punk has torn his triceps before. While in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2022, Punk tore his tricep in a match against Jon Moxley. He had surgery and was out of action for more than nine months. Punk could have returned earlier, but AEW may have held off his return to have his debut on the new show Collision.
Punk entered the Royal Rumble match at No. 27 and was the last person eliminated. Cody Rhodes won the men’s Royal Rumble and will likely face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in a rematch from last year. Punk returned to WWE in November 2023, making a surprise appearance at Survivor Series: WarGames. It was the first time he appeared in WWE since leaving the company in 2014.
In an interview with Jimmy Traina with Sports Illustrated, Rollins talked about his issues with Punk. “A lot of it is personal. A lot of it is stuff I don’t really want to get into. For the most part, I just think he’s been really selfish when it comes to his perspective on the industry,” he said, per TJR Wrestling. “I think he’s been extremely self-serving, has played the martyr role to a tee and has, for someone who, when I met the guy, and look, I have a lot of good things to say about parts of my relationship with him. He helped me in places when he didn’t have to, whether that was for his own good or not, I’m not entirely sure. Regardless, it helped me get where I needed to go and do the things I needed to do.”
