CM Punk's Rumored WWE Return May Come With a Surprise Change

All signs are pointing toward a CM Punk return to WWE programming in the coming weeks, and a change of scenery may greet him upon his arrival.

Punk has not been seen on WWE television since the night after WrestleMania 42, when he spoke to the Las Vegas crowd about losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. He then had a face-to-face with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, with the two of them teasing a match against each other down the line.

Perhaps the wheels are being put in motion for the match to take place, as Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that whenever Punk does return, he'll do so as the newest member of the Blue Brand.

CM Punk will reportedly move to SmackDown upon his return to television

"The plan right now is for him to return on Smackdown, which is basically a balancing act. The belief is with Raw having Reigns, Rollins, The Usos, Fatu, Femi, Logan Paul and Breakker that Punk made more sense on Smackdown with a top tier of Rhodes, Gunther, Ripley and soon to be Punk, Orton and McIntyre," Meltzer wrote in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Punk's name has been in the news quite a bit recently, despite his absence from the spotlight. Unsubstantiated rumors about his time off have been met with pushback from sources within WWE to multiple outlets.

Regardless of the reasoning, word surfaced on Thursday that WWE was eyeing the first week in July to bring Punk back into the creative mix.

The July 6 edition of Monday Night Raw is set to take place at the Allstate Arena in Punk's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Dave Meltzer says an appearance by the self-proclaimed "Best in the World" at that show is definitely still possible, despite the impending brand switch.

"The return date of 7/6 Raw in Chicago makes sense, although that is a Raw date, not Smackdown, but that’s really not material in the sense Chicago does make sense for him to appear."

If Punk does ultimately move to SmackDown, he would become the latest star to flip to the blue brand in a post-WrestleMania 42 roster reshuffling. Both Gunther and Finn Balor were shifted over to SmackDown in recent weeks, as was Rhea Ripley after she won the WWE Women's Championship.

Adding another star, especially one of Punk's caliber, will strengthen the already tremendous roster depth for a show that's getting ready to lose an hour of programming.

SmackDown will be dropping it's third hour when the calendar flips to July, and it won't come back until early 2027.

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