Top WWE star says they hope CM Punk 'works his way up' the company

Punk made his return to WWE after almost a decade away at the climax of the Survivor Series event in Chicago.
Punk’s return to WWE came after he was terminated by AEW on September 2 following the investigation into the backstage incident at All In at Wembley Stadium.
Punk’s return to WWE has been very polarising among both fans and those within the company, and one top star has confirmed those emotions.

Speaking to WrestlingNewsCo, former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley spoke about CM Punk’s return, noting that he spoke with many people about the possibility and got ‘mixed feelings’.
Lashley also noted that he hopes Punk will have to work his way back to the top of the company rather than simply being handed accolades.

He said:
“I really don’t know, to be honest with you. I was actually leaving around the time that Punk was really starting to pick up a little steam. He was there, but he really didn’t do anything at that time. I know he had a big impact in WWE in his time there.
“I spoke with some of the guys that know him, got mixed feelings. Some people are very against it, some are, ‘Ah you know, whatever.’ But it’s the land of opportunity. So if he comes back and he helps out the show, that’s the business side of it. I don’t really know Punk too personally. When I was fighting, he went to UFC. I put my money on him, so he does owe me a little bit of money [laughs]. Twice! I was like, ‘What the hell are you doing? Come on.’

“But I hope the business is about this as well as everyone else. I think for integrity purposes, I understand he has a big name, he’s coming back, and he’s gonna do some big numbers. But I hope they make him kind of work for some of this stuff. I hope he’s not one of the people that, ‘Oh, okay, he comes back, win the Rumble, we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do that.’ I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of prove his loyalty to the business and some of the people in there. Just to let everybody know, some of the naysayers, some of the people that aren’t too happy about him being there, I hope he has the opportunity to work his back up to the top and not just given everything because maybe he negotiated a big contract that allowed him to do that.”