On November 25, following the closing WarGames match of Survivor Series: War Games, held at Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois, which concluded in a victory by Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and the returning Randy Orton against The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh) and Drew McIntyre, CM Punk returned to the company after 9 years (excluding his appearances on "WWE Backstage" in 2019/2020 under Fox contract). This was a shock to many, thinking that Punk was not going to show up since it was the last match of the night, along with the fact that CM Punk has publicly criticized WWE’s treatment of him and stating multiple times that he would “never ever” go back to the company. Seth Rollins, however, reacted aggressively towards this, which led to many fans believing that a storyline between him and CM Punk is cooking. After making appearances on "Raw" two nights later, the "Tribute to the Troops" special episode of "SmackDown", and at NXT Deadline, he signed with the Raw brand on the December 11 episode of "Raw". He was subsequently confronted by Rollins, teasing a future match, and officially announced his entry into the 2024 Royal Rumble match. At the event on January 27, Punk entered at number 27 during the Royal Rumble match, his first match on WWE TV since 2014. He was the last man eliminated in the match by winner Cody Rhodes. During the match, Punk injured his right tricep, making him unable to compete at WrestleMania XL, which he confirmed in a promo two days later on "Raw".