CM Punk is currently awaiting a creative direction for his return to WWE television, with his absence linked to the roster reshuffling that moved Gunther to SmackDown and brought Jacob Fatu to Raw, according to False Finish.
False Finish reported the following.
“As Fightful Select has mentioned, CM Punk being absent from TV is due to a ‘schedule change.’ Sources tell False Finish that CM Punk is currently awaiting creative to return to WWE TV. Punk’s schedule and creative were shifted after WWE made the decision to move Gunther to SmackDown along with bringing Jacob Fatu to Raw to feud with Roman Reigns.”
Punk has not appeared on WWE television since the April 20 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania 42, when he had a face-to-face segment with Cody Rhodes that teased a future program. Nothing has been built on it since.
The update adds context to a separate report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last month, in which Dave Meltzer revealed that WWE had considered an alternate finish for Punk’s WrestleMania 42 match against Roman Reigns on Night Two.
“It was possible and apparently talked about that Punk could beat Reigns and then lose the title at Backlash, so they’d be ‘even’ when it was over but Reigns would end up as champion, as a way to protect Punk’s position. But the decision in the end was for Reigns to win here.”