CM Punk is on his way back to AEW, but so far, there’s been no official word from the company about his return.
Punk hasn’t been seen in All Elite Wrestling since being suspended for his involvement in the now-infamous brawl following AEW All Out, and many fans wondered if he’d be stepping away from wrestling for good. However, an April report revealed that his long-awaited return was in the works despite continued tensions with top stars such as Chris Jericho and The Elite.
Furthermore, reports indicated that he would be part of a new Saturday night program called AEW Collision, expected to debut in Chicago in June. Collision was officially announced as part of WBD’s upfront today, but Punk’s name was noticeably absent. While an email with links to the press release did make mention of his name, Warner Bros Discovery adamantly denies that he’s affiliated with Collision in any way.
CM Punk Is Still Planned For AEW Collision
However, a report from Fightful Select reveals that CM Punk is very much still planned as part of Collision and that he was originally going to feature heavily in the announcement of the show despite references to him being removed by this morning. According to the report, the WBD upfronts were taped in advance, and decision not to feature talent came as a result of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike.
Fightful notes that there were “active content plans with Punk as of this week,” but also notes that plans are subject to change.
In addition, the report states that Punk has been in constant contact with AEW President Tony Khan ahead of his return. Punk reportedly did not want his return to be announced too far in advance of Collision, though Fightful could not confirm whether these wishes had any impact on him being removed from promotional materials today.
Punk reportedly has been pushing for the company to rehire Ace Steel, who was fired after allegedly throwing a chair at Nick Jackson and biting Kenny Omega in the brawl following All Out. There is no word on whether or not he’ll be rehired. Punk also pushed for FTR and Andrade to be involved as part of AEW Collision, and that is currently the plan.
Tony Khan is set to make a major announcement on tonight’s episode of Dynamite, and it remains to be seen whether Punk’s return is part of that announcement.