WWE Scheming HUGE CM Punk Move To SmackDown (WWE News)
Recent rumours say CM Punk will jump from Raw to SmackDown upon his return.
Wrestling Observer chief Dave Meltzer reports that CM Punk has been off TV because he's readying a jump from Raw to SmackDown. In other words, it's one of those old 'creative has nothing for you right now' situations. This news comes in the wake of intense speculation about exactly what was going on between Punk and WWE behind the scenes.
According to Meltzer, there's nothing major to worry about. At least not right now. Instead, management made the call to whip Punk off screens shortly after his World Heavyweight Title loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42 so they could refocus on plans for his SmackDown leap.
That's likely to include a top-billed feud opposite Cody Rhodes, which is something the writing team have been teasing for a while. Ideally, Punk will be just the tonic Cody needs over the summer months on Friday nights. That'll perhaps coincide with the blue brand dropping from 3 to 2 hours in early-July, so fans should strap in for some rowdy episodes.
However, the Observer has been slinging a 6 July return date around for Punk. That's a Raw show, not a SmackDown one, but it will take place in Chicago so anything is possible. Maybe WWE fancy giving CM one last hometown pop on Mondays before he jets off to work with the blue brand crew.
Meltzer added that bosses remain keenly aware of how star-laden Raw is right now. They want to balance things out a little better by shifting Punk over to Friday nights ASAP.