CM Punk reveals “handshake agreement” over WWE return in 2018-19; but was “ghosted” by Vince McMahon

CM Punk returned to WWE in 2023 after nearly 10 years away from the company

CM Punk’s stunning WWE comeback at Survivor Series 2023 was one of the most talked-about moments in modern wrestling. But according to Punk himself, that moment could have happened years earlier, if not for Vince McMahon.

In a candid interview with Robbie Fox on My Mom’s Basement, CM Punk lifted the lid on a secret meeting he had with McMahon and Triple H that nearly led to his return in 2018 or 2019. What followed, however, was pure chaos and typical of the unpredictable world behind the curtain at WWE.

Vince McMahon “ghosted” CM Punk

Punk revealed that while fans believed he only came back into the WWE fold through FS1’s WWE Backstage, a Fox property, not a WWE one, that wasn’t the full story.

“I think the Twitter and the internet perception is I tried to go back to WWE and they didn’t want me so I went and did the FOX show. That’s not what happened at all. I had a hilarious, clandestine meeting in the Borgata in Atlantic City with Vince (McMahon) and Triple H.

I don’t even know now. What is it? It’s 2025. This has to be 2018 or ’19, and it’s just because Vince just started (calling).

I had agents, they were telling me, ‘Hey, they wanna talk to you’ and I was like, ‘Whatever, I’m not interested’, and then Vince just started calling me.

He was like, ‘Hey! I’m eliminating the middleman’, and I was just like, ‘This is insane’, and it just so happened that, ‘Oh, well, I’m gonna be here’.

‘Alright, we can get there’. You know, ‘Okay, alright’ and we had a meeting and we had a handshake agreement and then he ghosted me.

The former WWE Champion admitted he was initially uninterested when agents reached out, but things shifted once McMahon got involved directly. That moment could have changed wrestling history.

Punk and McMahon reportedly agreed to terms for a return, but the WWE Chairman suddenly stopped returning calls. The shocking twist left Punk, who had begun to let go of personal grievances, stunned and disillusioned.

“So, that’s why it didn’t happen. Unbelievable. I’m gonna write a book someday… It’s a great story. It’s a fantastic story. Yeah, that would have been probably the first time that me and Triple H probably started chipping it away at any problems or drama that we had in the past.

That was the first instance… Yeah (I was open to a return at the time). I was very much just like, yeah, okay. Pay me, whatever. I took some stuff personally. Like, years have gone by. Alright, I’m over it, recognised that it’s a business. You don’t want me to take it personally? Just pay me.” CM Punk said.

Despite the setback, the meeting wasn’t a complete loss. Punk noted it helped him and Triple H begin to repair their long-fractured relationship. That reconciliation would eventually pave the way for Punk’s 2023 return.

CM Punk will be facing Gunther at WWE SummerSlam 2025

Fast forward to 2025, and Punk is now on the cusp of another historic milestone. He’s set to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. If he wins, it will be his first world title in WWE since 2013.

Looking back, the ghosting by McMahon may have delayed the inevitable, but it couldn’t stop it. Punk is back, and this time, the WWE Universe is along for the full ride.

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