Rollins & McIntyre address CM Punk’s WWE return in house show promos

There were (and continue to be) a lot of reactions to CM Punk’s return to WWE at Survivor Series on Saturday night (Nov. 25). Two have received more attention than most. Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre’s.

When Punk returning to the company he walked away from in 2014 became a topic of discussion in the wake of his behind-the-scenes feud with The Elite in AEW, Rollins loudly voiced his opposition to a reunion. He later tempered his dissent a bit, but it still made sense — possibly in reality and definitely in story — that he’d be upset to see “Chicago Phil” grab the spotlight after his team’s WarGames victory on Saturday night.

He was still unhappy, or selling being unhappy, while addressing the crowd at WWE’s Peoria, Illinois house show on Sunday. Seth asked the fans if they saw WarGames, and got a “CM Punk” chant. After pausing to scratch his head, the WWE World Heavyweight champion said:

“You already know how I feel about that. I said as much last night. I’m not gonna waste any more breath on somebody who’s been gone for eight years, has done nothing but try to tear this place down. Instead, I want to take my time… talking about the people who’ve been here all along. That’s everybody in the back who’s made WWE the hottest ticket in town. And that’s every single one of you who are here tonight in Peoria.”

Rollins then said he didn’t want to end the night on a sour note, and led the crowd in singing his theme song.

That promo came after Rollins retained his title in a Triple Threat with Shinsuke Nakamura & McIntyre. Rumor has it Drew left Allstate Arena in a huff after Survivor Series, which could have been due to Punk, his contract status, or a combination of the two. He didn’t get too into it during his promo from backstage earlier in the night setting up the main event. But McIntyre mentioned the online scuttlebutt, and didn’t deny it:

“I didn’t win the World Title match recently — WarGames last night. My stupid team lost the match for me. You’ve heard things probably on the internet. Not in a great place, but there is one thing that can turn frown upside down, that can change things for me — it’s getting that World Title. I can’t think of anywhere better than for Big D to finally raise his first world title in front of live fans than right here in Peoria, Illinois. Cheap pop.”

Wherever Punk goes, worked shoots are sure to follow.

We’ll see how all this continues to play out on Raw tonight, and in the weeks to come.

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