AEW: Where Does CM Punk Stand With The Elite?

By Liam Crowley

What's next for CM Punk? The Second City Saint has been off of AEW television since this past fall's AEW All Out, as he suffered a torn triceps and was forced to vacate his newly-won AEW World Title. To make matters worse, Punk went on a now-infamous tirade at the AEW All Out press conference, blasting multiple members of the company's management team. Among those were AEW Executive Vice Presidents Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, who responded to Punk's comments by confronting him in his locker room. This led to a physical altercation that ultimately culminated in all parties being indefinitely suspended.

Since the incident, Omega and the Bucks have returned to television, recapturing the AEW World Trios Championships. Reports and rumors had indicated that Punk and AEW were seeking a buyout of his contract, but chatter on that has pivoted to AEW President Tony Khan putting the top star "on ice" for the time being.

That said, time is ticking on when a final decision on Punk's AEW future will need to be made. Speaking on the Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer noted that Punk "could be back in two months," meaning Khan and company will need to assess his status sooner than later. Beyond that, Meltzer added that there has been "no mending of fences at all" between Punk and Omega and the Bucks.

Punk fueled this speculation last week. Taking to his Instagram, Punk shared a video of Ice-T speaking about forgiveness, which featured the rapper noting about how you can "from a distance."

"People think if you forgive them, you got to hang out with them again," Ice-T says in the video. "I've forgiven a lot of people, and I love them from a distance."

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Punk's torn triceps was expected to keep him out of action for up to nine months. If that injury elapses the full recovery timetable, Punk would be available to return to AEW in May. Meltzer's "two months" speculation indicates that Punk is possibly ahead of schedule, which would mean that he could be worked into storylines ahead of AEW Double or Nothing.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on CM Punk's professional wrestling future.

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