Photo: Getty Images
A video obtained and shared by TMZ Sports showed WWE superstar CM Punk smacking a phone out of the hand of a fan and giving an icy stare in a hotel lobby after WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas Sunday (April 19) night.
Punk, 47, whose real name is Phil Brooks, appears to step up to the fan, slap down his phone and give a cold star while others intervene, at which point the man ran off and apologized "profusely" during the incident at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. The fan seemed to be filming Brooks' wife, AJ Lee, giving a hug to friend and WWE colleague Bayley, prior to smacking the phone.
A person who claimed to be a bystander claimed the fan put his arm around Lee after she said no to his request for a selfie.
"I was standing right there last night when it happened, fan out his arm around Punks wife for a selfie after she had said no.. totally warranted and anyone else would do the same thing," X user @tgallens wrote.
The incident took place after Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 42 to close out the two-day show. The 47-year-old returned to WWE after a nearly 10-year hiatus in November 2023.
Punk walked out of the company -- and was later fired -- during the January 2014 'RAW' taping of 'RAW,' which took place one day after the 2014 'Royal Rumble' pay-per-view event in which he had his last televised match for the company, as well as 10 years to the day prior to Saturday's event. Punk made his professional wrestling return with All Elite Wrestling in September 2021 during a run that was marred with injuries and multiple backstage controversies involving other talent and executives, which ultimately concluded to his firing in September 2023.