WWE Rumors on CM Punk at Survivor Series, Paul Heyman's Return, Belair-Cargill Split
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Punk Reportedly Scheduled for Survivor Series Appearance
CM Punk has been off television since the Raw following his Hell in a Cell win over Drew McIntyre at Bad Blood last month, but there reportedly may be plans in place for him to make his return in the near future.
According to WrestleVotes (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Punk is scheduled to appear at Survivor Series: WarGames later this month in some capacity.
After Bad Blood, Punk appeared on the ensuing episode of Raw and cut a heartfelt promo. He noted that he was going to take some time to be with his family and wasn't sure when he would be back after absorbing for much punishment inside Hell in a Cell.
As he turned to walk toward the backstage area, Punk came face-to-face with Seth Rollins, who he has plenty of issues with dating back to his return to the company last year.
All signs initially pointed toward a match between Punk and Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, but a triceps injury suffered by Punk in the Royal Rumble blew up those plans.
Punk entered into a rivalry with McIntyre when he returned, but it was still abundantly clear that he was at odds with Rollins as well, especially after interfering in Rollins' world title match against Damian Priest at Money in the Bank in an effort to thwart McIntyre's cash-in.
If WWE wants to go back to Punk vs. Rollins in the near future, running some type of angle between them at Survivor Series could go a long way toward making it happen.
Even if there are no plans for Punk to wrestle at Survivor Series, it would be a fitting event to host his return since his nearly decade-long absence from WWE came to an end at last year's Survivor Series.
Reported Expectations for Heyman's WWE Return
Paul Heyman has been out of action since June when he was attacked by Solo Sikoa after refusing to acknowledge him as Tribal Chief of The Bloodline.
While the exact timeline for Heyman's return remains unclear, veteran pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter said this week on Backstage Pass with WrestleVotes (h/t Mukherjee) that Heyman recently told people he would be back "soon enough.'
WrestleVotes then speculated that WWE may wait until after the Bloodline vs. Bloodline WarGames match at Survivor Series later this month to bring Heyman back.
Sikoa's rise to power coincided with Roman Reigns disappearing from WWE programming after dropping the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.
While Reigns was gone, Sikoa kicked Heyman and Jimmy Uso out of The Bloodline, replacing them with Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu.
Solo also disparaged Reigns, which led to The Original Tribal Chief returning at SummerSlam and costing Sikoa his WWE Championship match against Rhodes.
Since then, Reigns has been piecing the original Bloodline back together, getting commitment from Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn in recent weeks to face the new Bloodline in a WarGames match.
However, both teams worked to find a fifth member of the WarGames teams this week on Raw and they each attempted to court Rollins, so there could be some additions to the bout.
Having Heyman return to help the original Bloodline recruit someone for the team could be a fun angle if WWE wants to go in that direction, or he could surprise the WWE Universe at Survivor Series by accompanying Reigns and Co. to the ring.
Regardless of when the plan is for Heyman to return, he adds a ton to the product whenever he is in the fold, and he should help add another layer of intrigue to the Bloodline vs. Bloodline drama.
WWE Reportedly Laying the Groundwork for Belair-Cargill Breakup
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are in the midst of their second reign as WWE women's tag team champions, but plans are reportedly already in motion for an eventual breakup.
According to WrestleVotes (h/t Mukherjee), "seeds are being planted" for Belair and Cargill to split and potentially feud with each other coming out of it.
After a successful run in AEW, Cargill signed with WWE last year and made her in-ring debut as part of the 2024 women's Royal Rumble match, which saw her be among the final Superstars remaining in the match.
Cargill then joined forces with Belair and Naomi in their rivalry with Damage CTRL, as they defeated the group in a six-woman tag team match at WrestleMania 40.
Coming out of WrestleMania, Bianca and Jade continued to team together, and they ended up beating Damage CTRL's Kairi Sane and Asuka for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships in May.
They dropped the titles a little over a month later, but Belair and Cargill recaptured them at Bash in Berlin in August, and their second reign has now surpassed two months.
While Belair and Cargill have worked excellently together in the ring, there have perhaps been some hints here and there that they aren't always on the same page.
Most notably, they almost accidentally punched each other outside the ring during their successful title defense against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez this week on Raw, and Jade appeared a bit peeved when it happened.
While Belair and Cargill have been great as a team, Belair has been a huge star on her own in WWE before and Cargill has what it takes to be one as well, so the best course of action may be to break them up and have them feud with each other leading up to a major match at WrestleMania 41.
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