A surprising new rumor suggests the individual CM Punk used to apologize to all Saudi Arabian fans for his previous comments may have been a plant.
At WWE Night of Champions, Punk made headlines for more than just his match with John Cena. During the pre-show in Saudi Arabia, CM Punk spoke to a fan named Mohammed and apologized to him for the harsh statement he made in 2020, where he slammed WWE for taking “blood money” to do events in The Kingdom.
“Mohammed, I sincerely apologize to you and all of Saudi Arabia,” CM Punk said. “I’m not proud of that tweet, and I’m man enough to admit that.”
But on a recent edition Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer questioned how spontaneous the apology really was. “That obviously was planted,” Meltzer said. “He’s not exactly the apologetic type… but it’s wrestling, and it’s to be expected.”
Speculation that the fan was a plant soon spread on the internet. However, Fightful Select reported that WWE personnel had no knowledge of an intended segment or setup for any fan.
The crowd reacted well and after the show, though, and Triple H praised CM Punk in a post-show press conference. “People grow. I was incredibly proud of him,” Triple H said. “To be here in Saudi Arabia, to stand in that ring and say that? That’s growth.”
Since returning to WWE in late 2023, CM Punk has been working to change his locker room image and his public image too. Once the guy who pushed back against authority and controversy, moments like this show a different side of the former world champion.
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