Similar to where he was in 2014, it appears CM Punk aka Phillip Brooks’ career is once again at a crossroads.
Most will recall how the 44-year-old former heavyweight champion had his fall out with the WWE, something that eventually led to a climactic separation from the promotion. He tried his hand at mixed martial arts, something that hardly gained ground.
He found a new purpose when he joined All Elite Wrestling. Initially, it seemed that Punk was back to something he is best known for. And just when the ratings were going crazy, a new issue marred the Illinois native’s run.
The issue started following the “All Out” pay-per-view. Punk declared his grievances against the promotion, particularly against Colt Cabana, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega.
This resulted in a physical backstage encounter, something that AEW was able to recover from. The Elite returned to action at Full Gear, while Tony Khan has repeatedly refused to comment on the Punk situation.
Given the problems that both AEW and Punk were having, an alleged discussion of a contract buyout cropped up. Hence, it comes as no surprise that a WWE return was mentioned as a possibility with Punk possibly facing Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 39.
However, Dave Meltzer reported that some people in the WWE would rather not see Punk return to the promotion for obvious reasons. The wounds are still fresh as far as the events that went down after his last WWE appearance, the 2014 Royal Rumble.
Looking at the numbers, the WWE has been doing well under the Triple H era. They do not need Punk, someone who has been drawing in massive viewers. There were more than a million tuning into AEW per week, not to mention the 44-year-old being the promotion’s top merchandise mover.
For their part, the WWE has been able to survive under the watch of Triple H. There have been several new wrestlers being introduced such as Austin Theory. There are also top draws such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens.
Given those stars, Punk would have no space and someone who may have a tough time headlining the WWE.
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