10 Things That MUST Happen During CM Punk’s WWE Return
WWE and CM Punk can make this second run better than the first. Here's how they do it!
Hell has apparently frozen over.
CM Punk has mended fences with Triple H after almost a decade of tension, and the 'Pipebomb Prince' is back in WWE. Punk's re-arrival at Survivor Series: WarGames naturally made headlines, but it also has some wondering just how long the honeymoon vibes will last before Punk starts pissing everyone off behind the scenes.
WWE will be bending over backwards to make sure that doesn't happen. Besides, this is business, and everyone has boatloads of money to make heading into the traditionally-lucrative Royal Rumble to WrestleMania season sprint. That'll be Hunter and Punk's top priority, especially until the final fireworks sound in April.
There's a lot to catch up on here anyway. Punk has titles to win, old alliances to rekindle, personal bucket list items to tick off, and dream matches to work. The latter is definitely something wrestling fans had given up on, but it's entirely possible now 'Pepsi Phil' is back in the E.
So, how do WWE (and Punk himself) make sure this second attempt matches/betters his 2005-2014 stint? Here's everything that simply has to happen in December 2023 and beyond.
10. WWE Ignores Easy AEW/Tony Khan Digs
Some folks hit social media to tear CM Punk's comeback promo on Monday's Raw to shreds. Seriously, go search his name and you'll see endless streams of comments lambasting the man for failing to reference AEW, Tony Khan, Jack Perry, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and more.
That was never going to happen.
It shouldn't anyway - Triple H and his creative team must sidestep any temptation to senselessly guffaw at All Elite Wrestling just for the sake of it. What would that even achieve? It'd only give the other company more impressions on X, and get people talking about AEW in the same breath as WWE.
Let's make one thing crystal clear: Punk would be landing in legal hot water if he started mouthing off about Khan and the worst moments from his fiery All Elite run. That'd be stupid. Some fans can clamour for on-air dirt all they want here, but it's not happening.