Dave Meltzer Assesses Report Of CM Punk Renegotiating WWE Deal

A rumor emerged on social media yesterday suggesting that CM Punk was attempting to restructure his WWE deal after signing with the company late last year. Today on "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer stated that there is some truth to the rumor but there was important context missing from the report.

"It's really overblown," Meltzer said. "When CM Punk came in, they had a short-term deal, which is expiring now. Now, there are roll-overs in the deal, so it's not like it's a hurry that they have to sign him, because the deal does go longer. But they knew all along that right around now would be when they were renegotiating a deal."

The writer also suppressed the idea that there might be discontent surrounding Punk in WWE right now. However, Meltzer did note that the fact Punk is indeed negotiating his next WWE deal is news-worthy.

"He's just hammering down the terms that everyone knew they were going to do at a certain point, which is now," Meltzer continued. "Just to basically get everyone back on the [same] page, because they both know where they want to be. Hopefully he doesn't get hurt again, obviously. ... My feeling is that the Punk-Drew McIntyre match is the biggest match on SummerSlam."

Both Meltzer and co-host Bryan Alvarez agreed that the only match that rivals Punk-McIntyre in terms of hype is the upcoming bout between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley over the Women's World Championship. With Punk occupying one of the most important slots on the company's second-biggest show of the year, he should have plenty of leverage in the ongoing negotiations.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.