CM Punk dropped a tease about a return to WWE SmackDown during his appearance as color commentator for CFFC 156 on June 26 in Illinois. When asked by CFFC if he’d be available for a future Friday night event, Punk replied: “Is that a Friday? I don’t know if I can make it.” SmackDown airs on Friday nights.
Per Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Punk has been pushing hard to make his WWE return on the July 6 Raw in the Chicago area, even though he is earmarked for the SmackDown brand. Meltzer also addressed reports of tension between Punk and WWE, taking a more measured position than previous reports: “His departure was basically to get him ready for moving to SmackDown and eventually a program with Rhodes, but to say there are no issues at all, that wouldn’t be correct. It’s not as bad as some have made it out to be, but it’s not like there aren’t any issues at all.”
Punk last appeared on WWE programming on the April 20 Raw, where he confronted Cody Rhodes following WrestleMania 42. Rhodes defends the Undisputed WWE Championship tonight at Night of Champions in Riyadh.