CM Punk has not appeared in an AEW match since All Out, where he reclaimed the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley and later got into a brawl with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks following his infamous rant at the post-event press conference ripping several wrestlers.
Punk would have been out of the ring regardless due to an injury sustained during the match. Since the brawl, The Elite has returned to television and is currently competing for the AEW Trios Championships in a best-of-seven series against Death Triangle.
Punk made headlines recently when he responded to an Instagram post quoting Dax Harwood pleading for Punk and The Elite to work together again. He replied, “Duh.” This has fueled speculation that Punk may be willing to return to the promotion.
He reportedly spoke with AEW about buying out the remainder of his contract, with the only stumbling block being the non-compete period of the buyout clause. He is still under contract for the time being.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Chris Jericho and other top stars are opposed to Punk returning to the company.
“Several of the top guys, Chris Jericho being among them, told the rest of the locker room that they’d make sure Punk wasn’t brought back,” Meltzer wrote.
As PWMania.com previously reported, after the All Out brawl, Jericho told Punk he was a cancer in the AEW locker room.
