Several news websites are reporting that WWE superstar CM Punk walked off the job on Monday and has left the company.
We reported last week that Punk had said in a recent interview that he wasn’t sure that he would re-sign with WWE at the end of his current contract, which expires in July. Punk in the interview cited fatigue from being in WWE for the past decade with a travel schedule that has him on the road 250-plus days a year.
Punk reportedly asked for some time off, then told WWE CEO Vince McMahon on Monday backstage at Monday Night Raw that he was “going home.”
He had been advertised for the SmackDown taping Tuesday night in Toledo, Ohio, but did not appear at the live venue or at the taping.
WWE has removed Punk from its listings for upcoming live events, though at the moment he is still listed on the Elimination Chamber main page.
There is a bit of caution in reporting this news that it could be a work. Punk has been cast as an anti-authority figure in WWE storylines dating back to a 2011 program in which he quit on-air. The difference this time is that Punk’s character has not been vocal about any desire to leave the company, though he was being built up for a match against Kane, a member of the storyline group The Authority, at WrestleMania 30.
A departure by Punk could be played into a storyline for that match, but it’s not apparent at this time that this backstage news is part of any planned storyline.
Share
Chris Graham
