Following his altercation with The Elite at AEW All Out last year, CM Punk’s future in the wrestling industry has been uncertain for several months. He was forced to miss time due to an injury that required surgery as well.
The typical return timeline for someone out with an injury like his is approaching, which means he will be medically cleared to wrestle again in the near future. There was once talk that Punk wanted out of his AEW contract and for AEW to pay for the remaining time on his contract. Agreeing on the non-compete clause was reportedly the sticking point.
As PWMania.com noted, it was revealed this week that Punk and The Elite had not mended fences.
Since the fight, a lot of rumors have circulated regarding Punk’s potential return to WWE. There have been recent rumors that Ace Steel, who was fired from AEW for his involvement in the altercation, attended the Royal Rumble to negotiate a deal for Punk’s return.
The rumors are untrue, according to Dave Meltzer, who also noted that Punk is still bound to AEW in the most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Steel also wasn’t at the Royal Rumble.
