Reported SmackDown move
Dave Meltzer of the is reporting that whenever Punk does return, he will reportedly do so as the newest member of the Blue Brand. CM Punk will reportedly move to SmackDown upon his return to television. The plan right now is for him to come back on SmackDown as part of what is being described as a balancing act across the roster.
The plan right now is for him to return on Smackdown, which is basically a balancing act. The belief is with Raw having Reigns, Rollins, The Usos, Fatu, Femi, Logan Paul and Breakker that Punk made more sense on Smackdown with a top tier of Rhodes, Gunther, Ripley and soon to be Punk, Orton and McIntyre.
Punk's name has been in the news quite a bit recently despite his absence from the spotlight. Unsubstantiated rumors about his time off have been met with pushback from sources within WWE.
July return timeline
Word surfaced on Thursday that WWE was eyeing the first week in July to bring Punk back into the creative mix. The July 6 edition of Monday Night Raw is set to take place at the Allstate Arena in Punk's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
Dave Meltzer says an appearance by CM Punk at the July 6 Raw show in Chicago is possible, despite an impending brand switch to SmackDown.
The return date of 7/6 Raw in Chicago makes sense, although that is a Raw date, not Smackdown, but that's really not material in the sense Chicago does make sense for him to appear.
Post-WrestleMania 42 roster reshuffle
If Punk ultimately moves to SmackDown, he would become the latest star to flip to the blue brand in a post-WrestleMania 42 roster reshuffling. Both Gunther and Finn Balor were shifted over to SmackDown in recent weeks, as was Rhea Ripley after she the WWE Women's Championship.
Adding another star, especially one of Punk's caliber, will strengthen the already tremendous roster depth for a show that is getting ready to lose an hour of programming. SmackDown will be dropping its third hour when the calendar flips to July, and it will not come back until early 2027.
