Ryback has reignited his fiery spat with former WWE rival CM Punk, taking to Twitter late on Friday night to gloat in the wake of the latter’s injury.

Punk announced he is set to undergo surgery just five days after becoming AEW world champion, having only joined the promotion last August.

He made the announcement on Friday’s edition of ‘Rampage’, addressing the crowd, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.

He said: “The bad news is I’m injured, and I need surgery. A couple of things are broken. The biggest one is my heart because I love nothing more than performing for all of you, and I wanted to go on one hell of a run.”

But while Punk spoke with tears in his eyes, elsewhere in the world, his long-standing nemesis received the news with glee.

The pair have been locked in an ongoing feud since 2012, when Punk ended Ryback’s 38-match win streak by a controversial pin. On two further occasions, Ryback found himself bested by Punk.

Around the same time, Punk accused him of being ‘dangerous’ in the ring. Soon after this accusation, Ryback’s career took a turn for the worst, and has spiralled since.

CM Punk injury: Ryback tweets two-word reaction

CM Punk injury: Ryback tweets two-word reaction

In return, The Big Guy has accused Punk of faking injuries, while taking every opportunity to criticise his foe.

Punk’s recent injury has not been exempt from the criticism, and within minutes of the announcement, Ryback took to Twitter to claim Punk’s recent injury is simply 'karma'.

A fairly subtle jibe considering their past clashes, but one that did not escape wrestling fans as having targeted Punk.

The tweet has received much attention from wrestling fans, with many taking the opportunity to point out that Ryback remains unsigned since leaving the WWE in 2016, while Punk currently holds a world title.

What the future holds for both fighters is unclear, as Ryback is still waiting on his comeback to the sport.

Meanwhile, the seriousness of Punk’s surgery is not yet known, but upon his return he will compete for the world title against the AEW interim world champion, a position yet to be filled.

Punk assured the crowd: “I’ve come back from worse. I’ve felt better than I feel today, but I am here to tell you that I’ve also felt a hell of a lot worse. This is a bump in the road. It hurts. It hurts like hell. I want to wrestle for you.”