CM Punk coming back to WWE seemed like an impossible dream just a couple of years ago. In wrestling, we have this saying: “Never say never.” But time and time again, wrestlers and promoters have proven that if there’s an opportunity to do huge business together, they’ll almost always push their issues aside and work together.
Punk returning to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 doesn’t seem all that shocking in hindsight, considering that countless wrestlers in the past have done the same. The Cult of Personality infamously walked out of WWE after the Royal Rumble 2014. One of the biggest reasons for this was CM Punk’s backstage feud with Triple H. Eventually, these stars made amends with each other.
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CM Punk Reached Out To Triple H After His Heart Condition Was Revealed
CM Punk appeared on a recent episode of the All The Smoke podcast, where he recalled reaching out to Triple H after he suffered a cardiac arrest in September 2021.
Punk says that watching Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior forgive each other made him realize that keeping grudges isn’t worth it. Shortly after this, Punk reached out to Triple H and they buried the hatchet.
“My favorite thing is when Triple H isn’t at RAW. Not because the boss is away. It’s because I know he’s at a daddy/daughter dance or at his daughter’s football game. It’s wholesome. We’ve had the conversations. It’s how we got to a point where, ‘What’s it look like? Can we get you to come back?’
After a while, I reached out to Triple H and I was just like… I knew he had this heart condition thing. I had seen a clip of [Hulk] Hogan and the [Ultimate] Warrior, and everything we do is filmed. So ‘what’s real, what’s not.’ And it’s Hogan, so you don’t know what’s the truth. But they’re just having this conversation and they’re kind of apologizing and forgiving each other. And then a couple days later, Ultimate Warrior dies. It just made me realize this sh*t ain’t worth it and I don’t care.”
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In 2021, WWE revealed Triple H’s heart condition. It was initially reported as a “cardiac event.” This caused Triple H’s retirement from wrestling, with his final match taking place at a live event against Robert Roode & Samoa Joe, in which he teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura.
It’s safe to say that both CM Punk and Triple H share a deep respect for one another today.
Main image credit: IMAGO / Future Image
Ishaan Sharma has been following wrestling ever since he was 8. That was over a decade ago. He loves to write about this pretend sport and has worked with online publications such as Sportskeeda and TheSportster, where he shared his insights about the wrestling business.