CM Punk Absent from Raw Chicago Preview Amid Unconfirmed Backstage Tension Reports, Original SummerSlam Plans Revealed

Questions surrounding CM Punk’s status within WWE are swirling ahead of Monday’s Raw in Rosemont, Illinois, with a combination of unconfirmed backstage rumors and a notable omission from official promotional materials fueling speculation.

Dave Meltzer, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, described what he characterized as “minor issues” involving Punk within WWE, suggesting these stem from his World Heavyweight Championship loss at WrestleMania earlier this year. Separately, Fightful Select has also been circulating rumors of backstage friction connected to Punk dating back to WrestleMania, though the outlet stressed it has not been able to independently verify any of those claims and that nothing has changed from a report it published the previous week. At this point, no outlet has been able to nail down what, if anything, is actually happening behind the scenes.

Adding a layer of intrigue, Punk does not appear in WWE’s official preview for the July 6 Raw at the AllState Arena in Rosemont — a Chicago-area show where his presence would typically be a marquee selling point. Complicating matters further, AllState Arena itself had previously included Punk in social media promotional material for the event, leaving his actual appearance up in the air.

Meltzer also shed light on what WWE’s original SummerSlam creative direction reportedly looked like. According to him, the company had intended for Punk to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. “The plan was Cody Rhodes defending the title against CM Punk. That absolutely was the plan,” Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio. Those plans were upended when Sami Zayn captured the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions in June, reshaping the road to SummerSlam.

With Zayn now holding the top title and uncertainty swirling around Punk’s backstage situation, the picture heading into the summer’s biggest event remains genuinely unclear. How WWE navigates both the championship picture and Punk’s standing over the coming weeks will be worth watching closely.