CM Punk Explains Why He Took Time Off Following WrestleMania 42

CM Punk is back in WWE and at the top of the food chain as the WWE Champion on SmackDown. When the WWE Universe last saw Punk wrestle in a ring, he lost his WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.

After the loss, Punk disappeared from WWE television for months until returning earlier this month on an episode of WWE Raw from Chicago. Why did Punk take all the time away? He finally revealed the reason, and it's an important one.

CM Punk explains why he was absent following WrestleMania

The Second City Saint spoke to ESPN in New York ahead of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event and talked about his absence from the company. Punk said he needed a reset and was thrilled that he was able to get it without being injured or needing surgery.

"For me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to injury or surgery is remarkable," Punk said. "It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to get surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife. I had a - I’m not going to say a rough year, because suffering is relative ... I had at least three or four people who were very close to me pass away. Each time, I was at work the next day.

"I showed up partially because it helped me. Being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process. So, my time away was just to kind of reset."

Can CM Punk coexist with Cody Rhodes at SNME?

Punk returned to WWE with a vengeance. On his first night back, he defeated Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. The title win happened on the July 6 edition of WWE Raw, where Punk was a last-minute replacement for Cody Rhodes, who got taken out ahead of his title match against Zayn. Punk took the match on short notice and is now the champion. He is also scheduled to face Cody Rhodes for the title at SummerSlam.

This weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event, Punk will team with Rhodes to take on Gunther and Sami Zayn. If Gunther and Zayn are successful and win the match, they will get added to the Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam.

SummerSlam airs live from Minneapolis on August 1 and August 2. Other announced matches for the show include Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell.

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