According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, The Rock calling CM Punk was not something that the company had planned out in advance. It was merely a spur of the moment reaction by The Rock when the fans started chanting for CM Punk. The Rock did mention that during his segment he actually expected the chants of CM Punk when AJ Lee, his wife, ran down the ramp for Paige’s movie tapings.
There were also chants for CM Punk during Bayley’s segment with Stephanie McMahon, so The Rock probably expected that the similar situation is going to occur slightly later. He was ready for those and called Punk on the spot, but he didn’t answer, so he left the message on his voicemail.
According to several sources in WWE, management did not appear to be happy, and there was even an attempt to send somebody to ringside and instruct The Rock to go in a different direction. At one point, one fan even yelled that the mic is going to get cut. The Rock heard that and responded with “They better not turn off my mic!”
CM Punk is still one of the fan favorites even though he is not with the company for almost three years now. He is still over with the crowd, and the public still loves him and hope to see him back in the ring someday. He burned a lot of bridges with his leave, so, if his return is to happen, it won’t be something that will occur in the near future. But, there were many before him that did the same thing and they returned to the company at some point in their careers. Just look at Goldberg, Lesnar, Bert Hart and many others.
