CM Punk Suffers Triceps Injury During Royal Rumble Match, Will Miss WrestleMania 40
CM Punk made his long awaited return to a WWE ring during the Royal Rumble match this past week, where upon entering at number 27, he lasted until the final moments before being eliminated by Cody Rhodes. However prior to the conclusion of the match, Punk suffered an injury, that was confirmed to be a torn right triceps that will see him out of action for roughly 4-6 months, ruling him out of WrestleMania 40.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that the injury likely occurred when Drew McIntyre executed the Future Shock DDT, causing Punk to exit the ring under the bottom rope, avoiding elimination, and communicate with referees before returning to the ring for the remainder of the match.
Punk would address the situation on RAW two nights after the Royal Rumble. Wearing a sling, Punk confirmed he had torn his triceps and that WrestleMania is off the cards. Punk would be interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who showed great pleasure in the fact that Punk was hurt, before attacking Punk and targeting the injured area. Sami Zayn would make the save, setting up that night’s main event match, and a possible match between Punk and McIntyre in the near future.
Punk suffered the same injury to the left triceps during his time working for All Elite Wrestling. This injury occurred at the AEW All Out Pay-Per-View in September 2022, leading to an absence that would see Punk return 9 months later in June on the inaugural episode of AEW Collision.
