CM Punk remains a free agent following his release from AEW.
CM Punk reportedly wanted to return to WWE after leaving AEW last month, but WWE officials had a simple answer: no.
The former WWE and AEW World Champion reportedly attempted to gauge interest in a potential WWE return after being fired by AEW following last month’s All In event, only to be rejected. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer (h/t WrestlingNews.co), “They refused… he wanted to go and the decision was no.”
Plus, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (h/t WrestlingNews.co) reported that Punk and WWE have not discussed a possible return: “The contention internally is that WWE is not in conversations with CM Punk about a return. Several members of the company wanted to make it clear to fans who were expecting to see him at Survivor Series this year.
A stunning return for Punk at next month’s Survivor Series – emanating from the Allstate Arena near Punk’s hometown of Chicago – has been a fantasy booking storyline worth buzzing about since Punk’s departure to AEW. But for now, that’s all: a dream.
Fightful added: “WWE sources are adamant that the two sides are not currently speaking. A source noted that a previous report that Punk was sending feelers to WWE was accurate and believed Punk was waiting to see if they would approach him.
Punk reportedly plans to leave AEW for WWE as early as 2022, setting up a potential exit from AEW. and the return of WWE at Royal Rumble 2023. This obviously didn’t come to fruition, but once Punk was fired by AEW President Khan after a backstage incident with Jack Perry at All In, WWE became a point of clear potential landing for the star despite their bad blood.
Ironically, Punk’s time in AEW – much like his exit from WWE – was a giant cloud of controversy, with numerous behind-the-scenes incidents marring what, on screen, was a memorable run for the wrestler polarizing.
Like Punk problems with AEW started to rise, Khan had no choice but to let Punk go, even though Punk was the leader of the company. the biggest draw and had always been part of the main storylines, at least whenever he was around. Punk was well positioned in AEW as a heavily pushed star with a favorable schedule, but with another AEW return on the table at the moment, Punk apparently wanted to return to the company that notoriously fired him. on her wedding day.
The problem is that Punk would have a ton of heat behind the scenes at WWE, and is apparently weighing his interest in returning to a company that doesn’t need him.
Of course, there’s reason to believe that Punk’s return to WWE could provide a significant short-term boost to business, particularly when it comes to television viewership and merchandise sales. But beyond that, when it came to Punk’s potential return to WWE, Meltzer put it best, saying “the negatives outweighed the positives.”
After all, WWE is just getting established even more records at Fastlane last week, the company’s latest blockbuster pay-per-view, and generated $1.3 billion in revenue last year, leaning heavily on the WWE brand rather than any one star.
Why bring Punk in when, quite simply, he’s not needed?
