5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Survivor Series 2023 (Results & Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. The Prodigal Punk Returns

WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2023 CM Punk
WWE.com

What can you say about CM Punk’s return to WWE? Rumors had been flying from the moment AEW terminated his contract in early September, with fans noting that Survivor Series in Rosemont, right next to Punk’s hometown of Chicago.

Despite those persistent rumors, a deal between Punk and WWE didn’t come together until very shortly before the PLE. As Survivor Series looked to be going off the air, “Cult of Personality” hit and Punk walked out the entrance onto the stage, drinking in a deafening roar that filled the Allstate Arena. He posed, hugged fans and called out to them before the show went off the air for real.

There’s not a whole lot else to say from the show itself, as everything from here on out is more speculation and fantasy booking than anything else. What brand will he end up on? Who will be his first feud? Is he wrestling full time? How will he factor into existing storylines with the Bloodline, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and others?

The bottom line here is that CM Punk is back after nearly 10 years, and that alone is a seismic shift in the wrestling industry.

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.