CM Punk’s absence from WWE television is due to a schedule change and a creative shift, per a report from False Finish, corroborated by Fightful Select. Punk has not appeared since the April 20 episode of Raw — the night after WrestleMania 42 — when he had a face-off with Cody Rhodes.
According to the report, WWE’s decision to move Gunther to SmackDown and bring Jacob Fatu to Raw to feud with Roman Reigns required a restructuring of Punk’s schedule and creative plans. He is currently waiting on new direction before returning to television.
Separately, WrestleVotes has reported that Punk is part of WWE’s plans for SummerSlam 2026 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 1-2, and could return as early as Saturday Night’s Main Event XLV on July 18 at Madison Square Garden.
