WWE Rumors on CM Punk Backstage, New Championship and Vince McMahon's Raw Creative

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Details on CM Punk's WWE Raw Backstage Visit

The wrestling world was buzzing Monday amid reports that AEW-contracted star CM Punk paid a backstage visit to WWE Raw in his hometown of Chicago.

While the exact nature of what happened when Punk visited with some of his former colleagues are based in second-hand reports and rumors, video surfaced that appeared to show Punk in the parking lot of Allstate Arena with WWE Superstar Tamina:

Per PWInsider.com (h/t WrestlingInc founder Raj Giri), Punk spoke with several WWE talents and even WWE creative head Triple H before being asked to leave the building and doing so without incident.

It is reportedly believed that WWE chairman Vince McMahon remotely asked for Punk to leave due to the fact that Punk is under contract with a competing company.

PWInsider.com (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) added that Punk was greeted "warmly" by people backstage, many of whom had not seen him in person since he left WWE in January 2014.

Among the people Punk spoke to was reportedly two-time WWE champion The Miz, who had some negative interactions with Punk on social media in the years since Punk departed WWE.

Per PWInsider.com (h/t Upton), it is believed that Punk and Miz "cleared the air" and squashed any issues they had in the past.

Punk has been out of action since getting injured during his AEW world title win over Jon Moxley at All Out last September, and with rumors and speculation on Punk's AEW return picking up steam recently, the timing of his WWE visit got fans talking.

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WWE's Reported Plan for World Heavyweight Championship

Triple H introduced a new world title on Monday night's episode of Raw called the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the belt design clearly drew inspiration from the famous "big gold belt."

As part of his announcement, Triple H noted that Roman Reigns will remain the WWE universal champion on the brand that selects him as part of the WWE draft, while the World Heavyweight Championship will go to the other brand and be defended on a regular basis.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Upton), WWE had discussed plans for a new world title in the past, and at the time, the creative team was discussing Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre as possible contenders for the title.

Meltzer noted that Rhodes made no mention of the new title on Raw and added that since McIntyre hasn't yet signed a new contract, he may not be in the mix either, making Rollins the clear favorite to win it.

Triple H did not announce who will be competing for the title, but he did say on Raw that the first world heavyweight champion will be decided at the Night of Champions premium live event on May 27 in Saudi Arabia.

Since Reigns works something of a part-time schedule and does not defend his title at every premium live event, the decision to add a second world title was understandable.

WWE is also committed to the brand split moving forward, so there is plenty of sense in SmackDown and Raw having separate world champions.

Rollins has not held a world title since 2019 despite consistently being one of WWE's best and most consistent performers, and the introduction of the World Heavyweight Championship is the ideal way to properly recognize him.

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Vince McMahon Reportedly Made Changes to Raw Script

Despite not being at Raw in Chicago in person, WWE chairman Vince McMahon reportedly made some changes to the script remotely.

PWInsider.com (h/t Upton) reported that some "major changes" were made to the Raw script Monday at McMahon's request.

In a follow-up, PWInsider.com (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News) added that segments involving female Superstars such as Chelsea Green, Sonya Deville, Candice LeRae, Piper Niven, Tamina and Zelina Vega were cut from the show.

A tag team match pitting The Street Profits against Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin that wasn't listed on the original rundown took place as well.

Ever since McMahon was present for the Raw after WrestleMania 39 and reportedly had a significant hand in running the show and making changes on the fly, his status has been a weekly talking point among reporters and fans.

Reports suggest McMahon has not attended a Raw or SmackDown in person since then, but he has reportedly reviewed the scripts and made changes from time to time despite Triple H technically being in charge as head of creative.

When Endeavor Group Holdings purchased 51 percent of WWE and merged it with UFC earlier this month, McMahon was given the role of executive chairman for the entire company.

That level of responsibility means he may not be as involved creatively as he was in the past, but reports suggest he is still giving his input and having at least some influence on the weekly product.

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