CM Punk’s Leverage “Isn’t What It Was”

A possible WWE return for CM Punk may be happening soon, but there will be a lot of questions about what kind of schedule he would have while working there.

Former two-time AEW World Champion CM Punk is now a free agent after being fired by the company in early September. Punk was fired by AEW “with cause” due to a backstage fight with Jack Perry while also threatening AEW CEO Tony Khan, who claimed his life was in danger.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the floodgates were opened up again with Dave Meltzer reporting that “it is his intention to return and the two sides are in talks.” There’s no deal yet, but the two sides have talked.

CM Punk is an attractive name to WWE due to his history as a former five-time WWE World Champion (six if you want to count ECW) who is still popular with a lot of fans, which was evident from his run in AEW over the last two years.

After leaving WWE in January 2014 due to being unhappy with the creative direction of the company, CM Punk badmouthed WWE a lot. However, now it’s nearly ten years later and WWE fans know you can “never say never” regarding somebody coming back to the company.

CM Punk is believed to have less leverage with WWE than he had in the past

During a lengthy update on CM Punk’s potential WWE return, Fightful Select reported that if there was a WWE comeback for CM Punk, it’s not known what kind of schedule he would have. When Punk worked for AEW from June to August of this year, he appeared on the Saturday Collision every week.

In WWE, it’s unknown if Punk would want to have that kind of schedule or if WWE would want him to have that kind of schedule.

The report from Fightful noted that WWE sources believe that Punk’s leverage isn’t what it was four months ago, 14 months or even three years ago. Due to that, it could be a big factor in the negotiations regarding Punk’s schedule and his pay if he was back in WWE. That’s because AEW won’t want to bring Punk back, so WWE could offer a lower amount of money knowing that Punk has fewer options now.

Another report regarding CM Punk’s potential WWE return suggests that if he wants to come back, he should reach out to Executive Chairman Vince McMahon and see if a deal could happen.