CM Punk was officially fired from AEW on Saturday, bringing an end to his two-year run with the promotion. While it’s unknown if Punk will be handcuffed by any sort of “non-compete” clause as a result of his contract being terminated, there’s already plenty of speculation that he might make his way back to the WWE for one last run despite the years of contentious history he has with the promotion. Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp reported when news of Punk’s firing broke that he still has “major heat with numerous top names in WWE” and “there had been no real expectation or plans of Punk heading to WWE.”
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Sapp followed up with a separate report on Monday, noting that Punk was interested in a WWE return in late 2022 while he was still dealing with the fallout from the “Brawl Out” incident after AEW’s All Out 2022 pay-per-view. Punk’s idea was to appear in the 2023 Royal Rumble and there was even a rumor that WWE would potentially book him for a match at WrestleMania 39 against Kevin Owens. But Sapp also noted, “However, we’ve not heard (any) traction to WWE having interest in such a thing, or that AEW were actually entertaining the idea of giving Punk his release at that point.”
CM Punk Reportedly Had Issues With William Regal
Another story that doesn’t help the “Punk will head back to WWE” narrative popped up on Sunday night via BodySlam.net’s Cassidy Haynes. The story read that Punk had a contentious meeting with William Regal when Regal arrived in AEW at Revolution 2022. Punk labeled Regal as a “stooge” for Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
“Multiple sources have confirmed to me details about an incident that took place between CM Punk and William Regal, which occurred when Regal made his AEW debut,” Haynes wrote. “In the altercation between the two, Punk refused to shake Regal’s hand, and would then get in the legends face, telling him that he did not like him, he did not trust him, and that Regal was a “stooge for Triple H.”
Regal left AEW in late 2022 after being granted a release from Tony Khan for personal reasons. While he doesn’t currently have an onscreen role, Regal currently works with WWE as its Vice President of Global Talent Development.
Do you think Punk will wind up back in WWE despite all of the issues he reportedly has with people in the company? Tell us your predictions in the comments!
AEW All Out 2023 Results
- (Zero Hour) Adam “Hangman Page Wins the Over Budget Battle Royale
- (Zero Hour) Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue def. Athena, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante
- (Zero Hour) AEW World Trios Championships: The Acclaimed def. Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal
- ROH World Tag Team Championships: MJF & Adam Cole def. The Dark Order
- ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe def. Shane Taylor
- AEW TNT Championship: Luchasaurus def. Darby Allin
- Miro def. Powerhouse Hobbs
- AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander def. Ruby Soho
- Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks (Strap Match)
- Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta def. Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata
- Konosuke Takeshita def. Kenny Omega
- Bullet Club Gold def. The Young Bucks & FTR
- AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley def. Orange Cassidy
