Add as a preferred source on Google CM Punk spent roughly two and a half months away from WWE programming following WrestleMania 42, a rare stretch of time off that wasn’t due to injury or surgery.
The Best in the World’s final appearance before the hiatus came on the April 20 episode of Raw, where he spoke about the personal losses he had endured in the months prior. He returned on the July 6 episode of Raw, defeating Sami Zayn to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship for the third time — his first reign with the title in 13 years.
In a recent interview with ESPN New York, Punk revealed that he needed to step away to process his grief and spend more time with his wife, AJ Lee.
“In my business, in this company, for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn’t due to injury or surgery is remarkable. It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to go get a surgery or be injured.”
“I just hung out with my wife. You know, I had a, I’m not going to say a rough year. Suffering is relative. I was heavyweight champion over on Raw for quite some time, and during that entire time I was champion, I had at least three or four people who were very close to me pass away.”
“Each time, I was at work the next day. I didn’t talk about it publicly. I showed up partially because it helped me being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process.”
“So, my time away was just to kind of reset. And one day away from my wife is one day too many. I’ve been with her like every single day, and now that I’m back, I’m champ and I’m on the road. I’m as full-time as full-time gets.”
Punk had dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 42. Even after his reign ended, he appeared on the following night’s Raw and thanked the fans for helping him get through that difficult period.
Now, the reigning champion is back to working full-time. This Saturday, July 18, he’ll team with Cody Rhodes against Gunther and Sami Zayn at Saturday Night’s Main Event at Madison Square Garden. Punk is also set to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes at SummerSlam.