CM Punk has never been one to follow the rules, and during a recent appearance at WWE’s San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel, he shared a backstage story that perfectly captures that rebellious spirit. While promoting a new action figure based on his 2003 SmackDown dark match against The Road Warriors, Punk explained how he ended up wrestling in that match, despite being officially banned from WWE’s list of extra talent just days earlier.

According to Punk, he had worked a match on Monday Night Raw the night before and was subsequently told he would not be welcomed back. However, rather than staying away, Punk showed up to the SmackDown taping anyway.

“That particular guy is a person who wrestled the night before on a Monday Night Raw, was put on the ban list. Then I went to SmackDown anyway cuz I was like ‘Well all right, might as well get my money.’ The Road Warriors were supposed to do a dark match.”

The ban, however, did not last long. WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter approached Punk backstage, impressed by how unimpressive the rest of the extra talent was that day.

“No offense to anybody else that was in attendance but all the rest of the extra talent were so rotten that Sgt. Slaughter came up to me and just said ‘You got your gear right kid? And I was like ‘Yes sir.’ [He said] ‘How would you like to work the Road Warriors?’ And I just said ‘Yes sir.’ I didn’t add ‘So I’m not banned anymore?’ It’s the fastest turnaround on a ban. I got to work the Road Warriors.”

The match turned into a chaotic moment for Punk, as he recalled watching his tag partner accidentally knock Hawk unconscious.

“I think they just released that in the vault. So you got to see that match. My tag partner knocked Hawk unconscious. So that action figure might come with like a heart attack because that’s what I had on the apron watching this all unfold.”

WWE has since released footage of the rarely-seen match, complete with an introduction from Punk himself, where he explains more about the circumstances surrounding his brief ban and what led to his unexpected debut against one of wrestling’s most legendary tag teams.