While most assumed WWE would take a few days to assess CM Punk’s knee situation before ruling him in or out of the upcoming TLC pay-per-view, the situation was apparently serious enough to make an immediate call.
And that call is that Punk will not be defending his WWE Championship at the show.
WWE officially announced on its website that The Shield will wrestle Ryback and Team Hell No in one of the main-events. This rivalry had been clearly established after the past few weeks of RAW, although it seemed WWE was not going to roll too aggressively into it until CM Punk moved away from Ryback and onto his feud with The Rock.
While Punk was likely willing to work the show, WWE’s priority is keeping him healthy for the big match with The Rock at Royal Rumble.