CM Punk Pays Tribute to Late Musician Chad Gilbert at WWE Event
The professional wrestler honored the New Found Glory founding member by wearing a "ChadBall" tribute on his jacket during the Money in the Bank event.
WWE star CM Punk entered the arena at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans with a personal tribute, wearing a white jacket adorned with "ChadBall" on the right side of his chest. This detail was noted by WWE announcer Corey Graves as an honor to Chad Gilbert, the late founding member of the band New Found Glory.
Gilbert passed away at the age of 45 after a battle with adrenal cancer. His death was announced in September, prompting Punk to share a message on Instagram. The post featured a photo of Gilbert with Punk's dog, Larry, who had also passed away earlier in the year. Punk captioned the image, "This isn’t goodbye. I’ll see you tomorrow."
Gilbert had been fighting adrenal cancer since 2021 and underwent brain surgery in February due to discovered tumors. His family and the band released a joint statement confirming his peaceful passing on September 20, surrounded by loved ones. The statement highlighted Gilbert's role as a husband and father as his most cherished accomplishment, noting his survival by his wife, Lisa, daughter, Lily, mother, Jackie, and brother, Brian.
Punk has previously honored Gilbert. He dedicated a victory at Bad Blood 2024 to the musician. Gilbert was a significant figure in the music industry, known for his work with New Found Glory and other projects.
