CM Punk’s removal from several WWE European Summer Tour advertisements appears to be nothing more than a scheduling change.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE pulling Punk from multiple June Raw dates and parts of the overseas tour is not tied to any injury or backstage issue.
“CM Punk has been removed from the advertising from the European tour and several other Raw dates in June. We were told there is nothing more to this than a schedule change,” Meltzer wrote.
WWE had originally promoted Punk for the full European stretch running from May 28 in Liverpool through the June 22 episode of Raw at The O2 in London. He has since been removed from the house show loop during that run.
Despite the changes, Punk is still being advertised for several major Raw episodes later this summer, including July 6 in Chicago, July 13 in Dallas, July 20 in Detroit, July 27 in Los Angeles, and August 3 in Des Moines. WWE is also continuing to list him for the June 22 Raw at The O2, along with the May 18, May 25, and June 15 editions of Raw in the United States.
Punk has been absent from WWE television since the April 20 episode of Raw following WrestleMania 42, where he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. That same episode featured a tense face-to-face moment with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, teasing a possible future rivalry that WWE has yet to revisit.
There had also been speculation surrounding Punk appearing at Backlash as Danhausen’s mystery partner after commentary hinted the partner would be someone who “loves money.” Instead, Minihausen ended up teaming with Danhausen on the show.
Notably, Punk previously stated on the Raw after WrestleMania that he was not planning to take time away from WWE.
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