WWE Survivor Series made it all the way to the trademark logo at the end of the broadcast without the much hoped for return of a certain Chicago favorite. But almost unbelievably, what happened next was something that hadn’t taken place for nine years.
CM Punk walked out to the familiar strains of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” dressed in a white t-shirt and soaking in the reaction of an absolutely bonkers crowd at the Allstate Arena just outside Chicago.
A comeback that had been kept a secret from just about everyone, and one that seemed highly improbable as recently as a few months ago, actually happened. How did it come together after lots of signs that it wouldn’t?
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said during the post-show press conference — after leading off with a joke about the big return of the night belonging to R-Truth — it’s because it happened fast.
“This is one of those lightning in a bottle moments that came together very quickly,” Levesque said. “But we are incredibly excited about it. It’s been a long time. In some ways, it’s been a long time coming.”
“This came together super quick, which is why I’m sure it stayed tight,” he added. “There’s a lot of speculation at that point. It was nothing but speculation for most of the time. It didn’t really start to come to fruition until everyone stopped thinking it was going to happen. Then, all of a sudden, it was happening.”
Levesque also mentioned that a lot of time had passed since things went south between Punk and WWE, who famously had a falling out that led to his release in 2014. It seemed for years that a reunion was unlikely, with Punk accusing the company of ignoring his medical issues at the time and firing him on his wedding day.
Yet Levesque said that no one, not him, not WWE, and presumably Punk, are the same as they were 10 years ago. Everyone, as he sees it, is “on the same even starting ground.
Punk didn’t do much except walk out on stage, so the obvious follow-up was what would be next for him. On that note, Triple H didn’t tip his hand, secure in the knowledge that whatever it is, the wrestling world will be buzzing about it.
“That’ll be interesting, won’t it? I’m interested to see that myself. I know whatever it is, it’ll be talked about, it’ll be exciting, and it’ll be a thrill ride for the WWE Universe no matter what it is. I’m thrilled, we’re all thrilled, to have him back here in WWE, cliché to say to have him back home in WWE. It’s where he belongs.”