CM Punk’s Merchandise Removed From WWE 2K15; Not Talking To Chris Jericho

Fans aren’t the only ones who haven’t heard from Punk; Chris Jericho apparently can’t even get him to return his calls. And, one fan had a bad experience when he interrupted WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee and husband former WWE Champion CM Punk at a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game.

Punk walked out on the WWE back in January due to frustration with the way he was being used and due to the rigorous travel schedule. Punk and Lee got married in June and the WWE Diva took a hiatus from the company from early April to the end of June to move in with him and prepare for the nuptials.

In an interview with Bryan Alvarez on the Figure Four Daily podcast (h/t Fan Sided), Jericho said of Punk:

“I don’t know really anything about Punk. We used to talk quite often and not really about wrestling stuff. We always had great chemistry, and he’s one of my favorite guys to work with. And then when he left the WWE, he never talked to me again. I never heard one peep or squeak or anything from him again. I reached out to him a couple times just about, you know, ‘hey, I’m watching the Clash from ’78′ or whatever and nothing.”

Certainly, Punk does not do things halfway. Ignoring Jericho is apparently a part of his plan to distance himself from WWE, one could think.

However, that is an odd choice viewed from the outside. It is not as if he could not maintain his relationship with Jericho and still be a retired, former WWE star who is at odds with the company he once worked for.

Punk’s actions speaks volumes about how removed he is from that world. And it’s going to make it more difficult for him to re-enter it. The journey back to WWE will force him back onto bridges long since burned.

In related news, Wrestling Inc. reported that a YouTube user has received an advance copy of WWE 2K15 and posted video of CM Punk vs. Randy Orton in the WWE Universe mode, seen below.

What is worth noting is that Punk’s entrance is identical to his WWE 2K14 entrance except for the blank hoodie he’s wearing. WWE 2K14 featured a CM Punk logo hoodie and WWE usually doesn’t censor their own merchandise in games like that. It is also worth noting that there are no Punk shirts in the crowd.

This could have something to do with the reported ongoing issues between WWE and Punk, including what led to his merchandise being completely pulled from WWE’s shop website several weeks back. Below are screenshots of the hoodie:

For anyone still holding out hope that Punk and WWE will work things out and he will appear on Raw and return to kicking folks in the head, the latest word on the situation will deplete that last store of optimism.

PWInsider Elite reports that relations are still not good between them. The report also says that WWE will probably try to avoid bringing attention to Punk’s absence. This is in light of WWE allegedly confiscating Punk signs at Raw in Kansas City.

WWE is clearly trying to move on. It would certainly love to have a deeper roster by virtue of having Punk around, but that isn’t happening. What do you make of it?

CM Punk’s Merchandise Removed From WWE 2K15; Not Talking To Chris Jericho