Professional wrestler CM Punk is actively pushing to make his televised return to WWE programming during the Monday Night Raw episode on July 6, 2026, in his hometown of Chicago.
The performer has been absent from television since the Raw after WrestleMania 42, where he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns.
Rumors of Backstage Heat Debunked
Rumors of backstage frustration stemming from that creative decision have circulated across wrestling media.
However, Fightful Select reporter Sean Ross Sapp addressed the speculation during a recent Q&A session.
"We already have. We spoke on those rumors a couple weeks ago.
Those are the ones that he’s talking about. It’s just we’ve gotten nobody to confirm that.
Nobody on the creative team, nobody in WWE, nobody that even disliked him," said Sapp.
Sapp reached out to various internal contacts, including individuals who historically had difficult relationships with the wrestler, finding that none of them had heard the rumors before he raised the topic.
"I reached out to people that I knew disliked him to see if they even heard that hot goss.
They had not heard that. Like, it was news to them when I brought it up," Sapp added.
He also noted that the pay cut rumors were not being believed by anyone. "So if it’s true, people in WWE just had not heard it.
It’s always possible. It’s true.
I will say, usually CM Punk news gets out there pretty swiftly, but him being off this long was definitely not the plan," Sapp said.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that despite the push to appear at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, his presence on the broadcast is not fully guaranteed as he remains unadvertised for the show.
Long-term corporate plans involve moving him to the SmackDown brand to balance star power between rosters and initiate a future program with Cody Rhodes.
WrestleVotes on Fightful Select previously reported that the performer was simply utilizing planned time off, reassuring fans about his long-term creative trajectory.
"He'll be back in no time, right back on top of the card. It is not true that they have no plans for CM Punk," reported WrestleVotes.
The July 6 episode of Raw features a WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, providing a potential narrative entry point for the returning star.
