In September, after AEW’s All Out pay-per-view event, the very well-known altercation between CM Punk and members of the Elite took place. A physical situation that has resulted in the suspensions of many, the release of Ace Steel, and holds the future of all of these men in the balance. Now, the Elite is in a unique situation, given their EVP status, so it leads one to believe that they will return to the company at some point in time. The career of CM Punk, however, is not so cut and dry. Already embroiled in a very public shoot situation with “Hangman” Adam Page, not to mention going into business for himself verbally at the post-All Out presser, Punk may have found a way to kill what was left of his career in AEW, both with injuries and with his attitude. Today, let’s take a look at whether there is any room for Punk to ever return again to the wrestling business.
In 2014, Punk’s WWE departure was the headline news for many months in the wrestling world. The abrupt walkout and subsequent firing from WWE meant Punk was no longer a part of the business he made his name. The proverbial bridge was burned in several ways, from Punk’s post-walk-out comments to the lawsuit he entered into, and the terms of everything going down the way they did, on top of the many things Punk was openly disgruntled with from his time working in WWE. It seemed then that there would be no way for Punk to ever return to the pro wrestling world, as WWE was the only major entity that could pay him enough to do so. Save for a short run as a panelist on WWE Backstage, their FS1 talk show where he was employed by Fox and not WWE, Punk hasn’t been on WWE TV since the 2014 Royal Rumble. However, with the formation of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, there seemed to be a small open window into which Punk may be able to crawl into if he wanted to return.
The yearly hopes of a Punk WWE return dwindled, even if fans resorted to chanting his name if they were ever bored at a show. Soon, though, those rumors of a WWE return became rumors of a return to pro wrestling, but with AEW, not WWE. Those rumors persisted for some time and seemed like they may never come to pass. However, with AEW coming to Chicago for Rampage, at a time when the show was brand new and needed a splash to get people invested, Punk’s potential return sold out the arena in Chicago that night very quickly, and Punk’s return quite literally brought tears to the eyes of many watching, myself included. It was like the prodigal son coming home and being right back where he belonged again. It was one of those moments where you wish you could bottle the feeling and never let go of it because the feeling is so hard to recreate.
Punk’s AEW run for the first 6 months was a very good one, if not a great one. He had short but meaningful feuds with the likes of Darby Allin and Eddie Kingston to get him back into ring shape before setting course on a battle with MJF that lasted almost 4 months and had every amazing type of promo and moment you could hope for. Their back-and-forth on a particular episode of Dynamite went down as one of the best promo segments of all time. Their Dog Collar Match at Revolution in early 2022 was bloody, brutal, and everything we could hope for it to be and then some. It really gave hope to all fans watching that if Punk were to ever win the AEW World Championship that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, and it may actually be a fun nostalgia run for the man we all wanted home for so long. That, however, is where the wheels started coming off.
Following the end of his feud with MJF, Punk was soon feuding with AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page. A dream match in many respects, it was the perfect chance for Page to establish himself as a megastar while being in there with an all-time great. This wasn’t to be, as one of their promos was the first step in Punk’s displeasure towards the AEW locker room, which would be later manifested in the aforementioned All Out-presser interview. Their match at Double or Nothing 2022 was good, maybe a step below what many would have wanted for the two of them in their first, and what may very well be only, clash. Punk’s victory was a bit controversial, as many wanted Page to pick up the win to continue what was a very good reign in need of that big step to the superstardom level previously hoped for. Plus, many still weren’t sure if it was time for Punk to take the title just yet, hoping maybe for a heel turn and short run as a heel to return to the heelish levels his ROH and WWE characters had once been. Truth be told, a heel run by Punk would likely have been more intriguing, but then again, we didn’t get to see it play out.
Punk would quickly break his foot on the ensuing episode of Dynamite by diving into the crowd, effectively taking him out for the entire summer. Punk’s absence would see a fun series of matches crown an interim champion after Jon Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door. Moxley had a great run over the summer, and as Punk returned in August to reclaim what was his, he was soundly defeated in the infamous squash match in approximately 3 minutes on Dynamite. Then, the very entertaining and goosebumps-inducing segment with Punk and Ace Steel where Punk got his mojo back and accepted Moxley’s open challenge for All Out got fans back in his corner, but the ironic timing of his threatening to leave came at such a weird time looking back, as Punk would go on to defeat Moxley at All Out, winning his second AEW World Title, but injuring his shoulder in the process. Punk would require surgery regardless of what would happen minutes later at the presser, so he would’ve been right back on the shelf, and wouldn’t have been able to participate in the MJF feud that was ready-made for coming off of All Out. Then, the presser happened.
In the interest of not beating a dead horse, or mentioning any of the profane things Punk had to say again, I’ll leave it at that he ripped apart many members of the AEW higher-ups, including the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, plus aired more grievances about Colt Cabana and “Hangman” Adam Page. It was all unprovoked, as nobody had even asked a question yet, and try as he might have, Tony Khan was unable to do anything to stop it. Punk would leave the table, be confronted in the locker room by Kenny and the Bucks, and a fight broke out. This resulted in all men involved being suspended, in addition to Ace Steel (who was fired by AEW just this week), Christopher Daniels, Pat Buck, and others. Several have returned to work, minus the main 4 involved, but as mentioned, one would believe the Bucks and Omega would soon return to be part of AEW programming again, as they didn’t start the situation but more so responded to Punk’s words. Punk, on the other hand, may very well have left AEW no choice but to let him go and not bring him back. Very unlike his departure from WWE, all on his own accord, AEW would seemingly have to buy out his contract and never have him return. It may be best for all sides involved, but especially from AEW as morale has been very poor with all of these situations lately, and this is the icing on the metaphorical cake.
The only lingering thought would be as to how, if in any way, Punk could return to the business again. AEW may wait for things to blow over some more and bring him in many more months from now (plus he has to heal from his shoulder surgery too, so that plays a factor). However, unless TK can find a way to have these players sit down and settle their differences professionally, there is no way they can continue to all share the same locker room, as this is bound to happen again. Could business be made of it? Sure, it can, as we’ve seen even more personal real-life situations come to national TV for storyline purposes and make plenty of money (Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle come to mind). It would be very hard to do this, however, as both sides have to be willing to be professional and participate, which is why a buyout is more likely from that front. Recent reports do add that while AEW is actively seeking that buyout, the biggest issue is a lengthy non-compete clause that would be added as a stipulation to the buyout, which effectively would prevent Punk from going to WWE anytime soon. Now, that is very presumptuous, as Punk’s relationship with WWE is strained as mentioned earlier. Stranger things have happened though, as Punk himself has proven with his initial arrival to AEW, coupled with new leadership in WWE. Granted, Punk and Triple H have never gotten along, so it is not a high likelihood for many reasons as well, and Punk may simply be looking to keep his options open if he were to accept the buyout in case he wants to go elsewhere. Lastly, neither AEW nor WWE truly needs a guy like Punk right now. Punk’s presence on the AEW roster was a huge one, no doubt about it, but AEW has survived for the past nearly two months without him, or Kenny Omega for that matter. With Omega likely to return to the mix at some point, plus the likes of Jon Moxley, “Hangman” Adam Page, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, MJF, and many more, their main event and midcard scenes are booming. Plus, I have been one of many who question their hoarding of talent, so Punk being away finally allows for others to step up to the plate in a bigger role than would have been possible with Punk. WWE too are doing more than okay with what they have, as many big returns of late, coupled with a proper push too many guys who have needed it, and even some nobody expected to, are making their product better than ever before. Roman Reigns remains the pinnacle of WWE, but Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Riddle, Johnny Gargano, GUNTHER, Sheamus, Karrion Kross, and Drew McIntyre are all carrying the week-to-week programming, and that’s WITHOUT the likes of Brock Lesnar full time, plus Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton out with injury. They are going to be more than okay if Punk doesn’t join back, as there’s nowhere for him to fit, and if they forced him in, people wouldn’t be too happy with that I’m sure.
Overall, it seems more likely than not that CM Punk’s days have come to a rather unceremonious end in the pro wrestling industry, and it is very much of his own doing. There is always the chance that something may change, as we can never say never in the professional wrestling business, but for now, it seems like Punk has hit the GTS on his in-ring career.
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