Monday’s Hot Clicks: CM Punk Secretly Returned to Wrestling and Nobody Noticed

It was in front of 350 people in a Knights of Columbus in Wisconsin.

MKE Wrestling

Who’s the man under the mask?

The 350 people who filed into the Knights of Columbus building in West Allis, Wisc., on Friday for a local wrestling show had no idea that they caught of glimpse of one of the biggest names in wresting. 

At one point in the show, a man in a mask and a hoodie came running through a door and into the ring to interfere in a match. The masked man hopped in the ring, hit a very famous WWE finishing move and ran back out. The whole thing lasted about 20 seconds. 

Who was this masked man who put @StHolmesEsq to sleep??? @DavePrazak @acesofsteel pic.twitter.com/o5Mcak3uIE

— MKE Wrestling (@MKE_Wrestling) April 20, 2019

But little did they know, the guy under the mask was none other than former WWE Champion and UFC fighter CM Punk. 

Rumors of Punk’s involvement began to swirl when a wrestling fan on Twitter noticed that Punk had been “liking” tweets from the small independent show. Further digging revealed that Punk was wearing the same hoodie as the masked man when he took a photo with a fan at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in the same town the next day. 

Punk’s exit from WWE and the world of pro wrestling was extremely messy. He left in January 2014 and vowed never to return, burning bridges with WWE by ripping the company in a lengthy podcast interview that led to a defamation lawsuit brought by a WWE doctor. Even as his UFC career failed to amount to anything, Punk has refused to return to wrestling and everyone assumed he’d never been seen in that world again, which is what makes his shocking return at a random show on the outskirts of Milwaukee all the more incredible. 

But it turns out this isn’t even the first time Punk has pulled a stunt like this. In December 2015, Punk appeared at a small show in Chicago as a mysterious hooded figure and word didn’t get out until Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported on it this weekend. 

By the way, this was CM Punk, too. No I'm not joking. Here's my story on the matter, as we posted earlier on Select. https://t.co/CHusDFY0Rx pic.twitter.com/aSZKvMHY1o

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 21, 2019

Punk also said in a 2016 interview before his UFC debut that you may just see him “in a ninja f---ing outfit” wrestling some day, just never anything televised. 

CM Punk 3 years ago on a potential return to wrestling: Its not going to be anything televised, it’s gonna be me in a ninja f*cking outfit, wrestling one of my buddies from r/SquaredCircle

You never know, anybody you see wearing a mask in the upper midwest could be CM Punk. 

The best of SI

One player to watch in this week’s NFL draft is Jamalcolm Wiggins, who didn’t really want to play college football. ... Even if they don’t beat the Warriors, the Clippers are making themselves attractive to free agents by just competing. ... Fans of Greek soccer team PAOK went absolutely nuts celebrating their first league championship since 1985. 

Around the sports world

Getting drafted by an NFL team can cost over $100,000, and usually it’s the agents footing the bill. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown once had a run-in with a very angry emu while collecting eggs for an omelet during his time in Australia. ... Somehow people think this one photo means Ezekiel Eliot is fat now. 

Shorthanded double-overtime winner to force a Game 7

Hey, down in front

Filmed in HEAD-O-VISION! pic.twitter.com/n1vrxkCef4

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 21, 2019

Truly one of the most absurd double plays you’ll ever see

Kyle Korver has Donovan Mitchell’s back after a missed clutch shot

"I have never been around a young player like Donovan Mitchell. I have never seen someone so young take ownership of a team, take ownership of his play, do it with charisma, do it with class—I've never seen that my 16 years in the NBA." pic.twitter.com/oKljpgMhbj

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 21, 2019

Definitely the dunk of the playoffs

Jaromir Jagr is 47 and scored four goals in a playoff game for the Czech team he owns

This is amazing

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A post shared by The Flippist Custom Cartoons (@theflippistflipbooks)

Adam Ottavino doesn’t care for your fun facts

"I really don't know what to say about it – two guys with stupid numbers." - Adam Ottavino https://t.co/L9NJ8bmkLL

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 20, 2019

This is a very fun fact, though

Joey Gallo hit his first sacrifice fly. It came in his 1,337th PA. Only Greg Maddux (1,405) and Steve Sax (1,388) went deeper into their career before getting their first sac fly. Gallo has 96 HRs. Next most HRs before getting first sac fly is 50 by Wily Mo Pena.

— Tim Kurkjian (@Kurkjian_ESPN) April 21, 2019

Go Dawgs?

Just got this from my dude experiencing his first Easter in SEC country. #SECEaster #itjustmeansmore pic.twitter.com/u0gKICzCtQ

— The Gurgling Cod (@TheGurglingCod) April 21, 2019

Not sports

One of the only wooden homes in Manhattan (they’re actually illegal) is for sale for a cool $12 million. ... Some wacko “church” in Washington is hawking a “miracle cure” that’s actually just bleach.

This trailer is basically the whole movie

Making a guitar out of candy

Mark Hamill’s spot-on Harrison Ford impression

Gourmet Peeps? Gourmet Peeps.

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.