Wrestling market leader WWE is said to have decided against signing top star CM Punk, who was fired from AEW – at least “for now”.
Top star CM Punk, who was fired from rival AEW, is apparently getting the cold shoulder from WWE.
As reported by noted scene journalist Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has decided against signing the 44-year-old.
“They turned him down,” Meltzer said. “The decision was no. He wanted to go back and the decision was no.” Nothing was set in stone “forever” but it was “a no for now”, he added.
WWE boss Vince McMahon had decided that “the negatives would outweigh the positives”. President Nick Khan and “Triple H” Paul Levesque, who is in charge of talent policy, were of the same opinion, he said.
Meltzer had reported last week, citing Punk’s entourage, that WWE and Punk were “in talks”. Even then it was noticeable that the WWE sources he cited did not confirm this. In the meantime, the rival medium Fightful is also saying that WWE circles are denying that there have been any talks at all.
Either way, WWE and Punk – who made himself impossible at AEW with two brawling eclipses with colleagues and other disciplinary issues – once again seem unable to get back together nine years after their messy divorce.
CM Punk has long softened stance on WWE
For the record, there is a lot of scorched earth between WWE and the former champion, who left the league in frustration in early 2014 and made serious allegations against the promotion – most notably accusing it of putting his life in danger by improperly treating an infection. Former WWE doctor Chris Amann unsuccessfully sued Punk for defamation of character as a result.
After leaving, Punk had declared his career over, tried his hand as an MMA fighter in the UFC (where he lost two matches in a crash) and repeatedly communicated that he was finished with wrestling.
This has famously changed – and it doesn’t seem to be down to Punk that his return didn’t lead him to WWE. He had audibly softened his critical stance on WWE a few years ago, even indirectly working with them again: He let partner broadcaster Fox recruit him in 2019 as an “analyst” for the show “Backstage”, where he commented on the latest WWE happenings and also stood in front of the camera with many active stars.
WWE let Punk’s comeback advances go to waste
According to consistent media reports, Fox then eventually wanted to set up Punk’s ring comeback with WWE and, in case of doubt, also co-finance it, but WWE would have declined. According to Meltzer, Vince McMahon ultimately told the network at the time that the league was open to any commitment – any except Punk.
Brandon Thurston put the idea of CM Punk going back to WWE in Tony Khan’s mind and Tony made this face. pic.twitter.com/TF3ZZLZ9Gq
– Ibou, of WrestlePurists (@BackupHangman) September 4, 2023
Punk himself reported in an ESPN interview after his AEW debut that WWE approached him in December 2020, but he was under the impression that the league wasn’t serious: “I told them not to play games. And they did play games.”
A few months ago, Meltzer had even reported: From WWE circles he had repeatedly heard the assessment that the signing of Punk would end badly for AEW – from the very beginning and long before the conflicts that then actually occurred had happened.
Even when Punk seemed to be out of AEW after the last beating in September 2022, WWE is said to have waved him off. After Punk’s AEW exit, it was revealed that Punk had already been actively talking to WWE behind the scenes and had presented a debut scenario: He would have pitched a surprise comeback at the Royal Rumble and a WrestleMania match against Kevin Owens as ideas.
Nebulous visit to WWE in spring
A sudden backstage visit by Punk before an edition of the TV show Monday Night RAW in his native Chicago in April caused further talk.
There, Punk – who had also avoided private contact with his old WWE colleagues for years – is said to have addressed conciliatory words to “Triple H” Paul Levesque, among others. The latter’s relationship with Punk is also considered to be personally fractured.
WWE ultimately expelled Punk, who was still contractually bound to AEW at the time, under nebulous circumstances. The later revelations make it clear that the WWE visit was not a private venture, but a move in the negotiations with AEW about his comeback conditions at the time – and possibly already to make good weather for the now occurring case of a break with AEW.
F4D: Lance Storm gives his opinion and asks questions about the CM Punk visiting WWE story. https://t.co/mYdKSjV7fm pic.twitter.com/iCCGtyCzTh
– Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) April 25, 2023
On November 25, WWE’s big event Survivor Series is coming up, it’s also in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. From the looks of it, WWE wanted to make it clear early on that Punk is not to be expected there.
Meltzer’s remarks also sound as if Punk would not be an issue beyond that: the personnel matter would probably only come up again if the league’s flourishing business figures were to deteriorate again – for which there are no signs at the moment.
