After being advertised to appear on SmackDown locally in the greater Cincinnati area, CM Punk did not ultimately appear on the Blue Brand for Night 1 of the 2024 WWE Draft.

With that being said, once the show went off the air, the “Best in the World” did ultimately make an appearance for the fans in the Heritage Bank Center and even cut a promo letting everyone know how he’s feeling and where he is in the recovery process following a torn triceps at the beginning of January.

“Big things going on here in the WWE. The Draft was today. The Draft continues Monday. I felt compelled to come out here and speak to my friends in Cincinnati. I have missed you. And take a moment to look around at this place. Y’all packed this house. We couldn’t do this without each and every single one of you, so on behalf of everybody backstage, in front of and behind the camera, we humbly thank you very, very much. I want to give a little update. My tricep is not 100% yet, but I am on track, and I promise, soon, I will be back, and I will be competing with all of the big, tough bada**es backstage,” CM Punk declared via 411 Mania.

“For me, it’s fun watching a lot of the young superstars mixing with the Hall of Famers out here to announce draft picks, but ladies and gentlemen, I am in Cincinnati. If we’re gonna talk about the Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, we’re gonna talk about Pete Rose! I’m going to use my platform to stump this. It’s not really a hot take. Pete Rose belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame!”

Oh, Punk, what a certified panderer, but hey, it’s okay, right? When you’re a heel, there’s no cheaper heat than to make fun of a local team or one of their players, and when you’re a babyface, I guess that same sentiment works in reverse, too. Good luck on the recovery process, Punk; it’s clear Drew McIntyre will be waiting for you when you’re back to full strength.

CM Punk off-air promo #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/d2mppfyQ0B

— Denver (@BWAMatt) April 27, 2024

Sami Zayn reveals where he stands with CM Punk in WWE.

Speaking of WWE wrestlers who have had ill feelings towards CM Punk, past or present, Sami Zayn recently stopped by the Gorilla Position podcast to talk all about his wrestling career and opted to discuss a recent conversation with the “Best in the World” where they opted to squash any previous beef in order to maintain a positive working environment moving forward.

“I’ve known him for a very long time. There’s been some ups, there’s been some downs. He showed up and I was like, ‘I just don’t want this to be weird. Say whatever you need to say.’ He said his piece, I said my piece. Clean slate. That’s it. You just can’t walk around harboring resentment. I just don’t want him to walk by and be like a black cloud,” Sami Zayn explained via Fightful.

“I work here, and vice versa. I don’t want him to see me and [groans]. Whatever happened, cards on the table, clean slate. Good? Good. Okay. That’s just it. That’s how I approach, not just him, but life. I’ve found in my experience that it’s kind of exhausting to hate people. The only person who is mad is you. They’re just walking around, and you’re under a cloud of negativity. I just don’t want that cloud. Has there been some weird stuff between us in the past? Sure, I think 90% of people you ask about Punk would say the same. As far as I’m concerned, we have to work together, you’re here, you’ve been through a lot in your life, let’s just clean slate and start over. That’s it.”

Why does Zayn dislike Punk? Well, he never went into specifics, but it’s probably not too dissimilar to why other performers from their era on the indies, like, say, Kevin Owens, have expressed dissatisfaction with their previous interactions with the “Second City Saint.” Are those feelings justified? Totally, but putting them aside so everyone can work together in a nice, peaceful way is honestly a very mature response from the current Intercontinental Champion, as letting those feelings fester will only lead to a greater internal struggle inside of the “Underdog from the Underground.” It’s better to leave that in the past and focus on the future, especially since there are already so many other WWE Superstars who have built their entire gimmicks around how much they hate Punk.