Backstage Information on CM Punk’s WWE Status and Merchandise Pay-Offs

A new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has provided some new backstage information on CM Punk’s WWE status and merchandise pay-offs. According to the report, Punk is still labeled as “on leave,” and as we previously reported, is still receiving royalties on merchandise featuring his likeness.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer claims that Punk’s current situation is a lot different than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s when he walked out in 2002. Meltzer states that the reason Austin thought for sure Punk would return for WrestleMania XXX is because when he left the company and breached his contract, he did not receive any merchandise royalties. His thinking was that when he left, bills would roll in, but no money was. He figured Punk wasn’t getting any money, and that’s why he thought he would be back.

However, Punk reportedly left the company with some sort of legal and financial agreement. The obvious portion of the agreement is that neither party would speak of the “split,” or speak negatively in regards to one another.

Also noted in the report is that Punk’s merchandise royalties are pretty substantial. Apparently, as of only a few weeks prior to April 16, Punk was still the second-best merchandise seller for WWE, with only John Cena ranking above him in merchandise sold. On paper, Punk is only listed as “Misc” and “on leave.” He has not been officially suspended, fired, or released by the company.

In a related note, UFC superstar Chael Sonnen, who is good friends with Punk, was recently on “Wrestling Observer Radio” with Meltzer and Brian Alvarez. Sonnen revealed that he and Punk had talked about his current situation, which he initially thought was a work, but now that a substantial amount of time has passed, he thinks what Punk told him was the truth.

Editor’s Note: So Punk is getting paid by WWE to do whatever he wants…except wrestle for WWE. Do you support or have issues with this? Let me know in the comments section below.