CM Punk made an appearance at the beginning of the 2023 WWE NXT Deadline PLE and teased joining the NXT brand rather than RAW or Smackdown. Punk eventually joined the RAW brand.
According to Fightful Select, a source close to Punk told the outlet that Michaels’ public endorsement of him was not taken lightly. Prior to Punk’s return, Michaels stated that he had always enjoyed working with him and would welcome him back to NXT.
Punk and Michaels are said to be getting along behind the scenes, and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful also stated, “When Shawn Michaels publicly endorsed CM Punk, a lot of people rolled their eyes, and said, ‘yeah, I bet.’ Well, look at where CM Punk has been multiple times as of late. Going to NXT. Going there when he doesn’t have to, and working to help out. Maybe it’s just the honeymoon period, but it seems like that endorsement, whether or not that had anything to do with Punk going to NXT, couldn’t have hurt.”
