WWE Report Shuts Down CM Punk Return Rumors

There have been a bevy of reports and rumors surrounding CM Punk since his departure from AEW, and that's created somewhat of a rollercoaster saga. Much like in the days before Punk made his return to AEW, reports and rumors have suggested that the deal between Punk and WWE is nearing completion, which would theoretically lead to a debut at Survivor Series. A new report from Fightful Select puts the brakes on that thought, with sources high up in WWE saying that any reports of CM Punk signing with WWE are completely false.

In addition to saying any reports of CM Punk signing with WWE are false, those sources reportedly state that as of October 10th, the claim internally is that WWE is not in conversations with CM Punk about a comeback at all. The report states that several in the company wanted to make that clear for fans expecting to see him return at Survivor Series this year.

WWE sources are evidently adamant that as of now the two sides are not in talks. A source close to Punk told Fightful they believe earlier reports of Punk having feelers out to people within WWE about how a return should be approached were accurate, but nothing new on that front has been revealed.

You can understand some seeing this as a done deal, especially after the past few weeks. There have been several statements and references that could be construed as references to Punk, and the report addresses those as well. A higher-up source and a top WWE talent said that they're sure that most of those teases are not cleared beforehand, and might be people doing it themselves. The WWE talent also said they might even be doing it to get under CM Punk's skin.

Punk's time in AEW came to an end after an incident backstage at AEW All In: London between Punk and Jack Perry. Several were around for what happened, though Punk has never given his account of what happened. In a previous interview with The New York Post, Samoa Joe was asked about his view on the situation and what happened, and he didn't see it as intensely as others.

"That's up to whoever perceived it," Joe said when asked if the scene was as intense as other reports made it out to be. "I'm used to that environment. Those things don't seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn't really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time."

"For the most part, I haven't read what's been portrayed," Joe said. "There's been so much said. I'm not the one to go out there and try to debunk everything. I know we had the initial incident. Everybody rallied. Everybody got together. Got their heads together and lined up and got ready to do the show and we went out there and we did the show. That really was the focus at that point in time. We got a massive show to do and we got fans out there rabid to see that happen. So it's important that we step up and do it and it's important that we did and I was proud to be a part of that."

Do you think we'll see Punk back in WWE? Let us know in the comments!