CM Punk hasn’t been on WWE Raw since the post-WrestleMania 42 episode, when he was confronted by Cody Rhodes less than 24 hours after Rhodes lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. With Punk routinely positioned as a major face of Raw during t
CM Punk hasn’t been seen on WWE Raw since the post-WrestleMania 42 edition of the show. It was only days—really. less than 24 hours—after Cody Rhodes lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. and that was the moment Rhodes chose to confront Punk. Seeds were planted for a future match, presumably with the Undisputed WWE Championship at stake. The only thing that hasn’t been made clear is when Punk will finally step back into Raw’s noise.
Punk’s hiatus was overdue. and it’s easy to see why WWE wouldn’t keep him on the road as a weekly fixture. Still, the absence has felt oddly unurgent. The result is a TV product that’s missing a familiar jolt—one that fans are already trying to map out with fantasy booking. asking the same question in different ways: when does CM Punk return to Raw. and who does he hit first?.
Punk is a Raw mainstay in a way SmackDown hasn’t been able to match. Since resurfacing in WWE after a decade away in November 2023. he has firmly been part of the Raw roster. with Monday nights effectively becoming his home. During the Netflix era, Raw has positioned him as a face of the brand. That matters because the audience doesn’t just remember Punk as a standout—it remembers him as a consistent engine: the rivalry with Drew McIntyre. the verbal sparring with Seth Rollins. and the world heavyweight title win on two occasions.
The larger reason his return hits harder now is what’s happening on the other side of the card—because staying on Raw only makes any eventual switch to SmackDown bigger. In the middle of a period where multiple Superstars are changing shows. the idea that Punk could move as soon as he’s ready from his hiatus is suddenly more than a long-term thought. It’s something fans are weighing against the current blue-brand picture after recent moves. including Gunther heading to SmackDown and Finn Bálor following.
That leaves Raw with its own problem: its top world title scene heading into SummerSlam season doesn’t have the same clean. open space it used to. After WrestleMania, Raw added Jacob Fatu. But after failing to beat Reigns at Clash in Italy. Fatu has been relegated to a lackey role. with nothing suggesting a serious world title push is coming anytime soon. Reigns remains the World Heavyweight Champion until SummerSlam. and that means Raw’s story momentum still sits inside the Bloodline vortex.
In that setting, Punk wouldn’t have to be involved in the title picture from the jump to change the temperature of the show. He’d still be a breath of fresh air—another incentive for viewers to tune in—at a time when the main event landscape is uncertain and heavily absorbed by Reigns’ orbit.
There’s also the matter of timing and sharpness. Punk “has yet to lose that edge that has always made him must-see.” He’s also reportedly had a clear sense of direction at each stage of his run. so keeping him away for a few months can make his return feel fresher instead of forced. That approach also explains why WWE didn’t need him in the King of the Ring tournament if he wasn’t going to win it.
The next creative door opens after Night of Champions on June 27. After that date, Punk can be brought back to television and the storyline build for the two-night SummerSlam event can finally start to tighten.
What makes the situation feel especially tense is the mismatch between the stakes for Reigns’ title and the lack of obvious challengers who could force the show to widen its focus. Raw is still orbiting the Bloodline. with Reigns secured as champion until SummerSlam. while Jacob Fatu’s recent booking after Clash in Italy hasn’t positioned him as a challenger again. Even when names like Oba Femi and Bron Breakker would have made sense as opponents. both appear to be busy with other programs. leaving the SummerSlam horizon tilted toward repetition rather than escalation.
That’s exactly why Punk reads as a solution even before his plans are fully visible. His return could bring the show back into a rhythm where Raw’s main event feels less like a waiting room and more like a stage with multiple ignition points.
Punk’s most straightforward path is also his most logical: unfinished business with the World Heavyweight Championship. along with a long-running score to settle involving Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. It would almost be “illogical” for him to want anything else because he never received a rematch for the title after losing it. Still, WWE has run WrestleMania rematches at SummerSlam in years past, and running Reigns vs. Punk again at the 2026 installment wouldn’t be ideal.
Reigns vs. Rollins for the world heavyweight title looks like the play for The Biggest Party of the Summer. especially because their originally scheduled WrestleMania match falling through shifts the focus toward SummerSlam. That means Punk likely has to wait longer to settle his score with The Visionary.
If that’s the lane WWE chooses. Punk’s Raw return could still create a major ripple through a few other matchups. Breakker is one possible opponent: he was cooled off considerably following his loss to Punk on the first Raw of 2026. If Breakker is done with Rollins prior to SummerSlam. rekindling his rivalry with Punk—and avenging that loss—would put both men on a meaningful collision course.
Another option sits with Jacob Fatu. Punk has never crossed paths with him one-on-one, and a shift in focus could give Fatu a prominent spot at SummerSlam while giving him a momentum boost if he wins.
But arguably the most compelling opponent is LA Knight. Over the last year and a half. Knight “hasn’t benefited in the slightest from feuding with The Bloodline and The Vision.” The limited face-to-face interactions they had late last year only scratched the surface of what they could do. especially on the mic. If WWE is willing to let that relationship play out differently. it could turn Punk’s return into the kind of storyline that actually changes someone’s trajectory—rather than just placing them as another body in the same orbit.
A championship clash with Rhodes also isn’t fully off the table. But WWE would be wise to hold off on that marquee match until WrestleMania 43 at the earliest, especially with a heel turn from either Cody Rhodes or Punk potentially making the dynamic far more exciting.
For now, one thing is clear: Punk’s return to Raw feels imminent. What he does when he’s back—and which targets WWE chooses first—remains open. Still, the absence has already made Raw feel thinner than it should. Ahead of SummerSlam, WWE TV is expected to be infinitely better off with CM Punk back in the frame.
CM Punk WWE Raw SummerSlam WrestleMania 42 Cody Rhodes Roman Reigns Seth Rollins Night of Champions Jacob Fatu Bloodline LA Knight Drew McIntyre Gunther Finn Bálor Bron Breakker Oba Femi