Even though CM Punk is not cleared to wrestle yet, he still performs in some capacity to keep WWE fans excited and content. The Chicago-based wrestler was recently called out in a promo on Raw 05/13. Drew McIntyre took a shot at him in the middle of the ring on this week’s Raw to round off a smooth segment. However, fans missed one major reference he made during the promo.

During his promo, one of McIntyre’s lines emerged as a callback to one of MJF‘s promos. This came about as an interesting turn of events considering that the latter could show up in WWE, eventually.

Drew McIntyre’s insult aimed at CM Punk serves as a potential MJF teaser

On Monday Night Raw, Drew McIntyre delivered a promo in the ring alone. He called out CM Punk by saying, “The greatest trick CM Punk ever pulled was looking like a drug addict without ever taking any drugs.” While the line emerged as a shot at “The Best in the World”, not a lot of people were able to connect the dots here. During their rivalry in AEW, MJF and CM Punk had a promo where both of them were on the mic inside the ring and the Silver-Tongued Devil said, “Never in my wildest dreams could I have possibly imagined a straight-edge man could look so much like a m*th addict.” Since Friedman’s promo chronologically came first, McIntyre’s dialogue can be considered a reference to it.

This is a spot that fans may have missed. Amidst the current situation that the AEW star finds himself in, this reference could fire up the internet because a lot of viewers are anticipating him to debut in the Stamford-based company. While his in-ring debut in WWE is pending, MJF has already technically made his first appearance in the promotion.

MJF appears in WWE via a trailer for The Iron Claw

The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron focused on the story of the Von Erich brothers. The movie was released in late 2023 and is now coming to HBO Max. WWE featured the film’s advertisement on their virtual big screens. The poster of the movie also contained MJF as Lance Von Erich.

Although there are rumors of his contract with AEW being over, we are not surely aware of the path that Friedman is taking afterward. However, the big advertisement suggests that he might be WWE-bound because the promotion otherwise wouldn’t have cause to put his poster on display. If he joins the leading wrestling promotion, we may see MJF feuding with CM Punk eventually, given their past.

Do you think Drew McIntyre’s promo is also a subtle reference to MJF’s potential debut in WWE?