Brock Lesnar being caught up in Vince McMahon's latest lawsuit means WWE has already had to make major changes to the WrestleMania card (The Beast was originally set to face Intercontinental Champion Gunther) and, with Seth Rollins dealing with an injured MCL, it's clear the card remains in flux.
Unfortunately, we can now confirm that CM Punk will also miss the Show of Shows.
After returning to WWE during Survivor Series: WarGames last year, he wrestled Dominik Mysterio at a couple of non-televised live events and made his "official" in-ring return at this Saturday's Royal Rumble PLE in the annual 30-man match.
There was chatter heading into RAW that he might have been injured after taking a Future Shock DDT from Drew McIntyre and he confirmed as much during an emotional promo last night.
Confirming his right tricep has been torn, the Best in the World announced that, despite the fact he was able to finish the Rumble, he won't be cleared to wrestle at either Elimination Chamber or WrestleMania.
After sharing some emotional comments with the Tampa crowd, he reassured the WWE Universe that he would return and pointed out there's "always next year."
The plan had been for Punk to challenge Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Showcase of the Immortals, likely fulfilling his longtime desire to main event WrestleMania. Rollins is expected to be cleared in time for April and we're expecting WWE to now return to its original plan by having him battle Gunther.
Near the end of Punk's promo, McIntyre made his way out and relished his role in injuring the babyface. He then vowed to take the Second City Saint's place at WrestleMania before attacking him. Luckily, Sami Zayn made his way out to save the babyface and fend off the despicable Scottish Superstar.
This, unfortunately, isn't the first time Punk has injured one of his triceps. He tore his left one in a match with Jon Moxley at All Out in 2022. Check out some highlights from RAW below.
Footage has also surfaced showing the immediate aftermath of Punk's injury during the Royal Rumble match: