9 months ago
33 ARTICLE AD
The Royal Rumble match is a transformative one. Alliances are broken, feuds are set up, and at the end of it all, the winner is cemented in history with a guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania. CM Punk was transformed by this past Royal Rumble match, but not in a positive way.
Punk opened up the latest edition of "WWE Raw" with a sobering announcement regarding a speculated injury. "The Best in the World" confirmed that he tore his right tricep during Saturday's Royal Rumble match, and that despite attempts to perform in spite of his injury, he is slated to miss not only Elimination Chamber, but WrestleMania 40 entirely.
Despite being expected to miss most, if not all, of this year's road to Wrestlemania, Punk did not leave the Tampa crowd wanting. He cut a promo targeted towards the masses, and acknowledged the struggles of those with cancer and pedestrian jobs such as teachers and garbage workers. He reassured the WWE Universe of an inevitable return by comparing himself to the Chicago Cubs, and claimed that there was "always next year".
Drew McIntyre interrupted Punk near the tail-end of his speech. McIntyre acknowledged Punk's grit, but said with glee that he would take Punk's place on this road to WrestleMania, and "live CM Punk's dream again". McIntyre then assaulted the injured Punk, and it took interference from a recently-returned Sami Zayn to defuse the situation. The segment ended with Zayn helping Punk to his feet.
This is not the first time Punk's tricep specifically has been injured. At AEW All Out 2022, Punk tore his left tricep after his match with Jon Moxley.
