Will CM Punk's WWE Departure Be a Dark Side of the Ring Episode?

CM Punk has been one of the biggest figures in all of pro wrestling over the past decade. Between the Pipebomb promo, the 435-day WWE Championship reign, his sudden WWE departure in 2014, getting released on the same day as his wedding, the two podcast interviews with Colt Cabana (and the lawsuits they spawned), his UFC stint, his WWE Backstage tenure and his arrival in AEW, the Chicago star has remained one of the most talked-about wrestlers among diehard fans despite not wrestling for seven years. And, as has become a tradition ever since the series took off as a smashing success, fans have wondered if Punk's tumultuous departure from WWE could ever be made into a Dark Side of The Ring episode. 

Just one day after Punk gave the series a shout-out on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, show creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisener sat down with ComicBook and discussed that possibility. Husney said that while an episode centered on him might not happen, he'd love for Punk to become involved with the show in some way.

"Man, I don't know," Husney said. "It is an interesting story. It's one that comes up a lot in terms of when you're talking about fan suggestions. I mean, fans love CM Punk and that was absolutely evident over this past month. And so, that suggestion does come up a lot in terms of what our fanbase wants to hear and see. I mean, I think it would be fascinating. I would love, in some capacity, to get CM Punk in front of our cameras. I think he's an incredible interview. He's an unbelievable talker. And it's like him coming back into the industry and coming back into wrestling over this past month, I've been feeling that fire of being a wrestling fan again.

"And even though my day job is all about wrestling, sometimes you don't always look at it through the lens of being a fan still just because you deal with it so much in your daily life, but there's been that inertia that," he continued. "I'm getting caught up in it and it's been really exciting to see what he's been doing and that match he had on Sunday (against Darby Allin at All Out) was absolutely fantastic. It felt like wrestling again. So, yeah. If he's down, I'm down and anything. Anything he wants to do at this point."

Eisener added — "I'm the same. I feel there's hopefully still many more years for his career to come, but I think it'd be awesome. I'm not sure what the subject would be yet, but to have him on the show would be great. He's amazing. And seeing him putting over Aunt Linda on AEW last night, it was so cool. And yeah. Him putting our show over, it was cool."

The second half of Dark Side of the Ring's returns on Thursday night on VICE TV. The first episode will cover the infamous "Plane Ride From Hell."