Drew McIntyre Rips CM Punk; WWE Rumors on Sheamus, Xavier Woods; Update on Naomi

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and the wrestling universe.

Drew McIntyre Calls out CM Punk

Drew McIntyre's new heel gimmick is centered on exposing hypocrisy, and his latest target is CM Punk.

McIntyre posted a video from Saturday's live event calling out Punk for not competing on the house show tour.

Punk has not competed on WWE television since his return in November. His only two matches have been against Dominik Mysterio, which came in New York and Los Angeles during WWE's holiday tour.

Given there hasn't been an announcement of Punk's in-ring debut on television, odds are the first time most fans will see him will be at this month's Royal Rumble. He's also been announced for February's Elimination Chamber event in Australia, but no match has been made official for that event, either.

Punk has largely spent his first couple months back collecting checks, playing goodwill ambassador and cutting the occasional promo.

McIntyre calling out Punk, in that sense, is justified. One of the most intriguing aspects of McIntyre's heel gimmick is that he's been largely sensible with his complaints. There are times when it seems like he's the only person who watches the show and maintains a memory lasting longer than one pay-per-view cycle.

The justified heel is always a good gimmick, but WWE will have to keep McIntyre tapping into his most violent tendencies or he'll wind up winning over the crowd.

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Xavier Woods, Sheamus Set to Return Soon From Injury

Fightful Select reported Xavier Woods and Sheamus are among the WWE stars set to return from injury sooner rather than later.

Sheamus has been off television since losing to Edge in the latter's final WWE match before defecting to AEW. The former leader of the Brawling Brutes saw his faction fall apart in his absence, as Ridge Holland turned his back on Butch. Holland has been competing on NXT as a singles competitor of late.

Woods did not wrestle at all in December and has been out of action all of January as well while rehabbing an undisclosed injury.

Both wrestlers could be being held back as surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble. In recent years, WWE has relied more on current acts rather than nostalgia pops during the Rumble, so Woods and Sheamus could be the best-of-both worlds.

Sheamus entering the Rumble around the same time as Butch and Holland would not be a surprise.

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Trinity Wants TNA Title Rematch amid WWE Rumors

Despite rampant rumors she's headed back to WWE, Trinity still seemingly has her sights set on the TNA Knockouts championship.

After losing in her match to Jordynne Grace at Hard to Kill, Trinity called out Grace for a rematch:

PW Insider reported (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) Trinity has "more scheduled dates with the promotion and did not complete her commitment on Sunday."

While it could be Trinity is just finishing up final TNA dates before heading back to WWE, this could give fans some hope of her sticking around and being the face of the Knockouts division. She joined the company last April, and it only took her until July to begin an impressive title run that carried through the remainder of 2023.

The expectation among most fans is that Trinity, likely reverting back to her Naomi name, will wind up being among the surprise participants in this month's Royal Rumble.

For now, though, she's keeping the intrigue alive.

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