Latest on CM Punk's Absence Following WrestleMania

Former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk didn't appear over the weekend at WWE Backlash.

CM Punk hasn't appeared on WWE programming since his face-off with Cody Rhodes on the Raw after WrestleMania, where, just 24 hours earlier, Punk dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns.

Fans were initially excited to see what was next for Punk following his interaction with Rhodes, but it quickly became apparent that nothing was next for the former champion, as he hasn't appeared since.

While some fans speculated he could return as Danhausen's mystery partner at Backlash, that clearly wasn't in the plans. So as the build to Clash in Italy begins tonight on Raw, will the Best in the World be part of the show?

CM Punk WWE — CM Punk and Roman Reigns | WWE

CM Punk isn't expected at WWE Raw tonight

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, not only was CM Punk not present backstage at Backlash on Saturday night, but he's not expected to be at the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, for WWE Raw tonight either.

After tonight, there are only two more episodes of Raw before Clash in Italy at the end of the month, which greatly decreases the odds that we'll see Punk back in time for that premium live event.

Following that, only Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on June 27 remains before the road to SummerSlam begins. While Punk should certainly be back by then, his absence following the company's biggest show of the year is certainly looming large over the red brand right now.

CM Punk is here. 👀@CMPunk | #RawAfterMania pic.twitter.com/6GHKOPHl2w
— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2026

CM Punk's absence following WrestleMania makes his argument against Reigns seem hypocritical

On the road to WrestleMania 42, CM Punk made countless shots against Roman Reigns for being a part-timer. Declaring he was there every week because he wanted to be there for the WWE Universe.

While Punk's statements seemed sincere at the time, his actions following WWE's biggest show of the year paint the former champion as a hypocrite rather than someone justified in his beliefs. If the plan was always for Punk to take some time off following WrestleMania, they probably shouldn't have made one of Punk's biggest arguments against Reigns about showing up to work.

It's really easy to appear weekly during WWE's hottest period of the year. However, when you disappear from programming without any explanation following the company's biggest show of the year, when WWE typically enters its down period for a few months heading into SummerSlam, it's not a good look.

At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words.

Add us as a preferred source on Google