By their own admission, CM Punk and Triple H didn't always get along, and their tension was palpable on television during their 2011 rivalry. However, the two men buried the hatchet upon Punk's return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023.

Speaking at the Clash at the Castle press conference, Triple H opened up about his relationship with Punk.

"There is a change and there is a new era, a new atmosphere, all those things. Absolutely, in some ways, they are things he was asking for and started a long time ago. At a time that, maybe he and I, for a lot of reasons, just saw things differently from each other. We saw eye-to-eye, but it was angry eye-to-eye. It was opposition eye-to-eye. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have him back. I cannot tell you how exciting it is for me to see the Phil Brooks that I wanted to see then. While maybe my efforts to get that were taken wrong and it's what led to friction, I always knew the Phil Brooks that I see today was inside there. Just couldn't express it in the right way. As much as this has changed, he has changed. I have got to tell you, it's amazing. I am excited for the future and I'm excited to not just work with him, but to be around him. He's a pleasure to be around in the locker room, a pleasure to be around as a performer. He's a pleasure to be around, helping other guys to grow to change, to impart what he has learned, not only as a performer, but also as a person that was on the wrong side of things but maybe figured it out along the way. That is valuable information that he can share with another generation that is coming behind him. I'm thrilled and excited to have him here, and I'm thrilled and excited to not only work with him in a talent role but work with him to create the WWE that both he and I always wanted it to be," he said.

Punk was active at WWE Clash at the Castle, donning a referee's shirt to controversially not count the pinfall for Drew McIntyre.

Triple H gave CM Punk his flowers in the #WWECastle post show press conference. 💐 pic.twitter.com/F5HpTdHrAI

, Best of CM Punk (@BestOfCMPunk) June 15, 2024