CM Punk Explains WWE Absence After WrestleMania 42 Match vs. Roman Reigns

WWE champion CM Punk provided some insight Friday into his nearly three-month absence from WWE programming after WrestleMania 42.

During an appearance on ESPN New York's Don, Hahn & Rosenberg (h/t Fightful Wrestling), Punk explained that the deaths of some people close to him played a significant role in his decision to take some time off:

"In my business, in this company … for me to be able to say that I had time off and it wasn't due to injury or surgery is remarkable," Punk said. "It was the first time in my career I had time off without having to get surgery or be injured. I just hung out with my wife. I had a … I'm not going to say a rough year, you know, because suffering is relative. I was world heavyweight champion on Raw for quite some time, and during that entire time I was champion, I had at least three or four people who were very close to me pass away. Each time, I was at work the next day. I didn't talk about it publicly.

"I showed up partially because it helped me. Being here amongst my road family and being able to connect with the fans on that level helped me get through it, but there was still some stuff I needed to process. So, my time away was just to kind of reset. One day away from my wife is one day too many. I've been with her every single day, and now that I'm back, I'm champ and I'm on the road. I'm as full time as full time gets. If you're upset that I was mourning some dead friends, I think that's a you problem. We should celebrate people taking some time for themselves."

After dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 42 on April 19, Punk appeared on the ensuing episode of Raw.

During that show, he took part in a promo segment with then-WWE champion Cody Rhodes and seemingly laid the groundwork for an eventual match between them.

Punk was off TV for the next several weeks, leading to baseless speculation about potential issues between him and WWE.

However, Punk resurfaced on the July 6 episode of Raw in his hometown of Chicago, replacing an injured Rhodes as the opponent for Sami Zayn in a WWE Championship bout.

Punk beat Zayn to win the title in his first match back, and Punk vs. Rhodes was then made official for SummerSlam.

At Saturday Night's Main Event this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a rejuvenated Punk and Rhodes will team up in a tag team bout against Zayn and Gunther.

If Zayn and Gunther win, they will be added to the WWE Championship match at SummerSlam to make it a Fatal 4-Way.

Regardless of the result, Punk is back in the fold and on top of his game, and he is poised to have a huge match at one of WWE's biggest events in August.