When it comes to professional wrestling, never say never. No matter how unlikely something can be, it may just happen in this business. Having said that, if there was one thing many people would be comfortable saying would never happen, it would be CM Punk coming back to WWE.
It’s not exactly how people were expecting this but after nearly six years being away, CM Punk is back, in a way, at WWE.
Punk won’t be wrestling but he has joined FS1’s weekly WWE studio show, WWE Backstage, as a special contributor and analyst. Punk made his surprise debut toward the end of Tuesday’s show and will begin next week, making select appearances.
THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage pic.twitter.com/TDd5n0qk25
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 13, 2019
Rumors about Punk being involved with WWE Backstage began in August and while people were skeptical of the accuracy of those rumors at first, there was eventually something to them. In fact, Punk himself admitted that he had an audition once he learned from his agent that this was primarily a Fox venture than a WWE one.
Punk’s no filter and blunt personality may not be great for WWE management but it will be amazing for Fox as well as WWE fans who have been longing to see him on WWE in some capacity since he was fired by the company on his wedding day in 2014. In a company where so many people might be a bit too focused on appeasing the 74-year-old billionaire owner, Punk never really kissed ass to management when he was wrestling and considering he has no plans to get back in the ring, he doesn’t really have a motivation to do that now. And that’s probably something Fox loves not only for Punk but for everyone else on the show.
To reiterate, this does not mean CM Punk is getting back into the ring. He seems happy acting and being an MMA commentator that he seems cool with not having to take another bump. Having said that, no one would’ve thought this day would come even six months ago. So even though it looked like bridges were burned on both sides, things have progressed enough that CM Punk is now on WWE programming, even if that is mostly due to Fox. And if that can happen, there might be a day where Punk walks to the ring to “Cult of Personality.” Never say never.
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp