Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer is accusing the WWE of staging CM Punk’s apology at the Night of Champions kick-off show.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, he said: “That, by the way, was planted, whatever. It’s really interesting how they…whatever it was…obviously somebody wanted him to apologize and he did because he’s not exactly the apologetic type for one thing and if you’re going to apologize, I don’t know if this is the thing you apologize for given his political viewpoints and everything, but it’s money and it’s wrestling and you don’t expect wrestlers to have morals,” he said.
He then went on to say: “I’m not saying no wrestlers have morals but you don’t expect it as a general rule. I’m not surprised but at the same time I really thought he came off just horrible. It was one of those things…all the time that he was there, they always protected him, they always protect him, like they protect people from this type of thing but they didn’t protect him at all, they ran an angle that made him look bad. They made him apologize.”
At the kick-off show Punk told a fan in the audience right near the stage: “This guy wants me to apologize for a mean Tweet I wrote six years ago. Hey, listen. It legitimately had nothing to do with Saudi Arabia. I woke up and I was crabby and I wrote a mean Tweet to The Miz. I apologized to The Miz. I apologize to you and Saudi Arabia. I am not perfect by any means. Sometimes as human beings we screw up. The beautiful thing is everything is a lesson learned. Now, here I am and you have invited me to your country and I am grateful to be here,” he said.
During the Night of Champions post show, HHH commented as well.
“If you had told me 10 years ago that CM Punk would be here in Saudi for the WWE I would’ve thought you were out of your mind but people grow, people change, people evolve, especially CM Punk. I was privileged to watch him grow as a human being, to step out here and apologize to the people of Saudi. To cherish where he is at in life and his career, the things he gets to do and the opportunities he has. I was incredibly proud of him,” he said.
https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2025/06/28/summerslam-card-takes-shape-as-night-of-champions-delivers/
https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2025/06/27/punk-faces-heat-for-ignoring-fan-tries-to-mend-fences-over-saudi-arabia-remarks/
