It’s been starting to feel over the past few weeks that it was more of a question of when CM Punk would pop up again in AEW than if. The always polarizing star has been out of action due to injury and suspension since last September, but he could finally return just a few months from now — and in his hometown.
The latest report from Fightful Select (subscription required but definitely worth the $5 a month), which has been tracking Punk’s situation closely, suggests that the June 21 episode of AEW Dynamite, which is set for Wintrust Arena, could be the time and place for his return.
What we’ve learned since then is as of April 13, the working plan has been for CM Punk to return at that show, or at the very least around it. There were also pitches of announcing it well ahead of time, even around the Warner Upfronts.
Punk set in motion one of the most fascinating chain of events in pro wrestling last year following All Out on Sep. 4. During the post-event press conference, he tore into Hangman Adam Page and The Elite in an incendiary, profanity-laced outburst. That led to an actual fight pitting Punk and friend/trainer Ace Steel against Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.
While AEW never made a public announcement, most of those involved were suspended for varying lengths of time (or in Steel’s case, dismissed from the company). Everyone else has come back to the fold over time, except Punk — who was also injured at the show, and wouldn’t have been able to wrestle until early 2023 anyway.
There has been continuous speculation about whether AEW and Punk would find a way to work together again or he would be released, with the former appearing more and more likely as time dragged on. Punk, through friend and fellow AEW wrestler Dax Harwood, has made it known he’d like to resume wrestling.
The questions then become which AEW talent is willing to work with Punk for the sake of making money and who simply isn’t able to put the whole ordeal behind them. Fightful Select has noted several times that it remains unclear if The Elite would work with Punk, a situation complicated by the fact that Omega and the Young Bucks have contracts said to expire this year.
Today’s report says that there is “a meeting planned between CM Punk and Chris Jericho,” who has been one of Punk’s bigger critics during his suspension — and obviously one of AEW’s biggest names. The suspicion is that he’d do what’s best for business, including working in programs with Punk if AEW CEO and GM Tony Khan asked him to do so.
It’s possible that other top AEW talents are engaging in their own kind of silent protest over Punk’s impending homecoming. A popular online theory is that the Blackpool Combat Club, and Jon Moxley in particular, pushed for their current feud with The Elite precisely so they’d be unavailable to work with Punk this summer.
And there’s still another possibility that Fightful Select also touches on, which is a WWE-esque soft split between Dynamite and AEW’s upcoming Saturday night show. That would allow Punk to be kept effectively apart from anyone who preferred not to interact with him, though there are some risks to that strategy as well.
To get the biggest bang for its buck, it seems logical for AEW to announce Punk’s return ahead of time, as it would undoubtedly draw in people who don’t watch Dynamite on a regular basis. Until it does, it’s best to keep that June 21 Dynamite circled on your calendar just in case.