CM Punk’s current status in AEW remains up in the air following his involvement in the All Out backstage incident – but would he ever return to WWE?
News of a backstage brawl following AEW All Out 2022 has circulated in the days coming out of the event, with a number of suspensions being issued, and CM Punk and The Elite stripped of the AEW World and World Trios Championships. Now, there’s a real possibility that Punk is on his way out of the company.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed the evolving situation when speaking to Wrestling Inc.’s Managing Editor Nick Hausman. The multi-time World Champion stated whether he believes Punk will ever one day return to WWE:
“CM Punk has definitely been very polarizing as far as comments about WWE ever since he’s left. So, I think it would be hard, it would be really hard for him just to swallow his pride and go back to that, that monster, that demon that created a lot of these problems that he thinks he has. I think it would be hard on both sides.”
Booker T continued, referencing when CM Punk first appeared on WWE Backstage, a show that Booker himself was an analyst on at the time:
“I think FOX really wanted him there. With the ‘SmackDown’ show and FOX being a huge part of that they really wanted to see Punk back in the WWE, but I just think it was a deal that was just really, really hard to make.”
While everyone else involved in the All Out incident has been outright suspended, it’s not been stated whether this also applies to CM Punk. The two-time AEW World Champion is nursing an undisclosed arm injury following his second victory of the championship at vs. Jon Moxley.
‘The Best in the World’ walked out of WWE following the 2014 Royal Rumble, marking his final in-ring appearance until 2021. Outside of interviews, his only other direct involvement was his brief spell on WWE’s Backstage show in 2020.