WWE Rumors on CM Punk’s Return from Injury, Damian Priest’s Contract and Uncle Howdy

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

Punk’s Return Reportedly Could Be Possible for SummerSlam

CM Punk has been out of action since tearing his triceps during the men’s Royal Rumble match in January, but his return reportedly may not be too far off.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Punk could return as soon as late July, and likely by September at the latest.

Meltzer noted that Punk “might” make it back in time for SummerSlam, which is scheduled for Aug. 3 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland.

If Punk is back for SummerSlam, all signs point toward a huge match between him and Drew McIntyre since they have been feuding ever since Royal Rumble.

Punk suffered his injury while mixing it up with McIntyre in the Rumble match, and McIntyre later took credit for it, and even said he had prayed for Punk’s downfall.

While Punk was unable to compete at WrestleMania 40, he cost McIntyre the World Heavyweight Championship by attacking him at the announce table, allowing Damian Priest to successfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

In the weeks since WrestleMania, McIntyre and Punk have consistently engaged in a war of words on Raw, making it clear that a match between them is inevitable.

Since SummerSlam is arguably WWE’s biggest event aside from WrestleMania, the company would undoubtedly love to have Punk back by then in order to make the match against McIntyre happen on that show.

Reported Details Surrounding Priest’s New WWE Contract

World heavyweight champion Damian Priest recently signed a new WWE contract, and it reportedly came with some perks.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Priest’s contract had been set to expire in February, but they got a deal done, and Priest went on to win the world heavyweight title at WrestleMania.

Fightful added that as part of Priest’s contract, he was given permission to choose his own entrance theme, and many within WWE have reportedly praised his new song.

Due to his size, look and in-ring ability, Priest was long viewed as a potential world champion in the making, and as he established himself as a key member of The Judgment Day, it became clear that he was ready for the next step.

Now that Rhea Ripley is out injured, Priest has taken on the role of Judgment Day leader, and he has been a huge part of Raw since WrestleMania.

Priest successfully defended the world title against Jey Uso at Backlash in France, and on Monday’s episode of Raw, he agreed to give Drew McIntyre a future title match.

It may be tough for WWE to keep the title on Priest given how red hot McIntyre has been, but even if Priest drops it in the near future, he is already a made man.

Rumors on Uncle Howdy, New Wyatt Family

Over the past several weeks, QR codes have been dropped into WWE programming, seemingly foreshadowing the debut of a new Wyatt Family stable led by the late Bray Wyatt’s brother Bo Dallas, also known as Uncle Howdy.

According to Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee), the QR codes and vignettes are pointing toward the new stable debuting at King and Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia on May 25.

It was previously reported by PWInsider.com (h/t Mukherjee) that the stable will be made up of Dallas/Howdy, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy and Erick Rowan, the latter of whom reportedly signed with WWE recently.

Bray Wyatt tragically died last year at the age of 36, less than one year after making his return to WWE.

He and Dallas had been working together before Wyatt was removed from WWE programming to deal with health-related issues, and it seems like WWE’s plan is to allow Dallas to carry on his legacy.

WWE may also use the stable as an opportunity to utilize Superstars who have slipped through the cracks and not gotten much television time in recent months.

Given that it is essentially a tribute to Wyatt, WWE and Dallas will likely pull out all the stops to ensure that the new group is well received and successful.

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