It's been reported that WWE has made it a point not to make mention of former superstar CM Punk on TV.
The ex-wrestler and MMA fighter returned to the wrestling scene in a new capacity late last year, joining the WWE Backstage crew on the FOX Network. He has since been the subject of rumors as it pertains to an in-ring return at the Royal Rumble but it appears that the promotion isn't thrilled with the show host at the moment.
WWE talked up Becky Lynch's appearance on the show, with the female star appearing in a photo alongside Renee Young, Paige and Christian, but no mention was made of Punk.
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Punk hasn't been on Backstage since December but the WWEonFOX Twitter account has confirmed that he will make his return this week. The folks at Wrestling.co take this to mean that WWE is actively avoiding name-dropping Punk and it's probably a legitimate extraction from the company not mentioning him when they announced on SmackDown that Lynch would be a special guest on the show.
There's nothing official on this and there's no information as to why, if they are indeed snubbing his name. But it's very likely that this has everything to do with the vulgar but since-deleted tweet in which Punk lashed out at The Miz.
“Go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia you f**king dork,” Punk tweeted at the SmackDown star recently. And, given WWE's plans to host another show in Saudi Arabia next month, they wouldn't want to put any additional strain on their relationship with the Kingdom after the major incident stemming from Crown Jewel last year.
WWE Couldn't Have Enjoyed That One
There's no way WWE would be pleased with Punk's tweet and he would have probably been handed a hefty fine had he been under their employ and not FOX's.
While most of the tweets coming from WWE stars and other affiliated personalities are sanctioned, there's very little to suggest that WWE approved Punk's shot at Miz.