The rumor mill has run rampant since the 2023 edition of WWE Survivor Series was announced to take place in Chicago, Illinois — the hometown and haunt of wrestling outcast and icon, CM Punk.
Punk infamously was fired from AEW in September after a dust up with Jungle Boy at the All In PPV, but the questions and surmising about Punk’s future only began at that point. Does Punk want to wrestle still? If so, would he go back to WWE? Can he make up with Triple H? Is Punk trolling fans? Is WWE trolling fans? And on and on and on and on it went.
CM Punk not needed
We’re hours away from the first bell ringing at Survivor Series and one thing is abundantly clear. CM Punk needs to stay far away from this show. It’s not the time and it’s not the place.
Look, I’ve watched CM Punk’s wrestling career since he was fighting inside high school gyms in the south suburbs of Chicago in front of 25 people. We’ve all tracked his success since then and he still has plenty to give the wrestling industry. In fact, a WWE return makes the most sense for him after all that’s happened.
The WWE business model changed after COVID. It’s more appetizing than for talent, with much of it pivoting in the areas that made Punk disgruntled in 2013 when he left the company in a blaze of glory.
The house show loop is less of a grind and stars are given time away from the ring to handle personal matters, rest up injuries, and maintain a strong mental capacity. Punk got none of that with his first run with the company and it sent him to the brink of exhaustion and directly toward a very public breakup with WWE. Today, those aren’t issues and Punk would certainly work an easier schedule with more money on the line than ever before.
WWE can make a lot of money with a Punk return. Television ratings would surely increase, merch sales would skyrocket, and they’d be able to do what they do best and use the Punk return angle to generate all sorts of content for their various partner outlets.
It makes sense for both sides, just not right now.
WWE has built a stellar Survivor Series PLE card this year. The men’s War Games match was the best built multi-person match in years and the show will already feature the return of Randy Orton. Here’s what else is on the line during that match:
What’s the trajectory of Drew McIntyre?
How does Judgement Day work together amidst drama in their group?
Does Damian Priest cash-in Money in the Bank?
How does JD McDonagh work with his new Judgement Day team?
What’s the status of Jey Uso with his other babyface teammates?
Are Randy Orton and Jey Uso ok together?
There’s tons more. A CM Punk arrival steps on all of those other storylines that WWE has built up on television for the last month and a half. Punk’s return to WWE is incredibly newsworthy, but it overshadows everything around it because it’s so big.
WWE has to make sure their PLE events deliver and matter in a large context. Punk appearing on the show in Chicago will pull attention away from key storylines and distract the audience from the final chapter in what’s been a months long feud and story on Monday Night Raw. And that’s just the men’s War Games match.
If you add in other meaningful narratives like Cody’s quest to finish the story, Gunther’s rise as a heel Intercontinental Champion, and Jey Uso’s drama as a babyface, you get even more depth of story that a Punk return would ruin.
Punk + WWE = In the future
So, now isn’t the spot for CM Punk in WWE. Is it Royal Rumble? Maybe. That makes sense given the surprise nature of that event. At the same time, many of the issues at stake because of a Punk return would still linger at that point too. Could the return matter more once WWE’s television deals are renegotiated? Maybe. WWE would certainly like to keep some aces up their sleeves should they need to play one to jumpstart stagnant ratings in a pinch to impressive or appease a new network partner.
The bottom line is, there are a lot of reasons to want CM Punk back in the fold if you’re WWE. There are a lot of reasons to keep him on the outside looking in as well.
Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, and countless others have crawled back to WWE after being ousted. It happens because money talks. Business and money will win out because it always does. Timing is everything, though, and the time isn’t now for CM Punk.