CM Punk Wins 1st Match, Sami Zayn Returns at MSG and Latest WWE Rumors on Omos

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

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Punk Beats Dominik in WWE Return Match

In his first match since shockingly returning to WWE at Survivor Series last month, CM Punk defeated Dominik Mysterio Tuesday night at a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The early portion of the match was a cat-and-mouse game with Dominik trying to avoid contact with Punk, and Dirty Dom eventually gained the upper hand thanks to some help from Rhea Ripley at ringside.

Ultimately, the momentum shifted in Punk's favor, he took the fight to Mysterio and he put him away with his signature Go To Sleep (GTS) finisher.

As has been the case ever since he return, the fans in attendance went wild for Punk during his entrance, and the sold-out crowd also celebrated when he closed out the victory:

WWE even posted video on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Punk coming back through the curtain and declaring that he is still the best wrestler in the world:

For Punk, it represented his first WWE match since January 2014, and his first match of any kind since his final AEW bout prior to his firing in August.

Tuesday represented a solid tuneup for Punk as he prepares for his official televised return to the ring, which is scheduled for the Royal Rumble premium live event next month.

Punk announced that he will be part of the men's Royal Rumble match, which was the last match he wrestled in before departing WWE nearly a decade ago.

If Punk wins the Rumble, it seems likely that he will go on to face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40.

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Zayn Returns at MSG Live Event

After getting written off television on the Dec. 4 episode of Raw, Sami Zayn returned to the ring at Tuesday's WWE live event at MSG.

According to Felix Upton of Ringside News, Zayn was revealed as Jey Uso's tag team partner for an undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match against Judgment Day members Damian Priest and Finn Balor.

While Priest and Balor were victorious, Zayn received a warm welcome from the fans, who hadn't seen him in a WWE ring for the past three weeks.

On the Dec. 4 edition of Raw, Zayn faced Drew McIntyre in a hard-fought match that was won by McIntyre when he took advantage of Zayn tweaking his knee.

After the match, McIntyre attacked Zayn backstage while his knee was being tended to, resulting in Zayn having not been seen on WWE programming since then.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), the reason for the injury angle was that Zayn asked for some time off and was granted it by WWE.

Now that Zayn is back in the fold, there is seemingly a good chance that he will get involved in McIntyre's World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins on the Day 1 episode of Raw on Jan. 1.

If that happens, it could be WWE's way of having Rollins retain while still allowing McIntyre to look strong.

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WWE Reportedly Views Omos as Attraction

WWE reportedly envisions Omos as a Superstar fit for a specialized role with the company moving forward.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Upton), WWE considers Omos to be an attraction, which may explain why he has largely been relegated to live events in recent months.

Omos has not competed in a televised match since being part of a battle royal at SummerSlam in August, and his last match on Raw or SmackDown was back in May.

Fightful noted that there haven't been many creative pitches made for Omos, and his primary role has been squashing the likes of Akira Tozawa, R-Truth and Johnny Gargano at house shows.

Billed at 7'3" and overall 400 pounds, Omos is one of the most physically impressive performers WWE has to offer.

That explains why he has been placed in some big spots during his relatively young career, including WrestleMania matches against Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar.

The issue with Omos is that WWE clearly doesn't want him to be a main eventer, but it also doesn't want to overexpose him and have him lose too often since that would take away from his aura.

Instead, WWE seems to be treating him like Andre the Giant in a way by having him go from town to town and showcasing him in quick matches that allow him to use his size and strength.

There is value in that type of spot, although it is fairly clear that WWE isn't quite sure what it wants to do with Omos in terms of making him a regular part of its programming.

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