![]() Before the fight, Punk announced that his contract would end on the same night in July as the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and that he would defeat John Cena and walk out the door with the world title. After a back-and-forth start in WWE, Punk had ascended to the top of the card, winning the world championship and having acclaimed feuds with Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio. The second Summer of Punk came six years later, in June 2011. This was the polar opposite of the role Punk would later play in WWE in ROH, he was the antagonist of the “smart” fan, bragging about taking the money and running while mocking fans for believing in him and the sanctity of pro wrestling. He spent the summer defending the ROH title as a hated heel, a period that was known as the (first) Summer of Punk. Punk then claimed he would take the ROH title with him to WWE. Shockingly, rather than your typical “losing on the way out” pro wrestling finish, Punk defeated Aries to win the title, then proceeded to turn heel on the audience, cutting a promo that involved a story about a snake and an old man. Despite those moments, Punk had never held ROH’s world title after he signed with WWE, Punk was booked in a title match against then-champion Austin Aries at Death Before Dishonor in June 2005 in what was announced as Punk’s last match in ROH. He had been one of Ring of Honor’s biggest stars in the early 2000s his feud with Raven and legendary trilogy with Samoa Joe were some of the most memorable highlights of the early days of that promotion. Punk has leveraged uncertainty about his status within a promotion in service of a wrestling angle before. In professional wrestling, it can be difficult to figure out where legitimate beef stops and the pro wrestling angle starts. With no official statement from AEW, Punk, or anyone else involved, the story about Punk’s return to AEW has played out almost exclusively in leaks that are posted by wrestling journalists, deleted Instagram posts, and Twitter likes. In September, Punk had surgery on his torn left triceps, an injury he suffered during his match with Jon Moxley at All Out if there are no further issues aggravating that injury, recovery on that alone is said to take eight months. Reports have stated that there are wrestlers in the AEW locker room who would not welcome a Punk return. After Punk lashed out during the post– All Out media scrum in September 2022-which led to a backstage brawl involving Punk, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and others-Punk finds himself on the opposite side of wrestlers who have amassed fervent and passionate fan bases of their own. Steel was ultimately released from the company, while all others that participated were suspended.Now that Punk is likely on his way back to AEW, he will be entering a more fraught political environment than when he debuted for the company in August 2021. Punk publicly criticized The Elite following the event, which led to a backstage brawl between all mentioned parties and Ace Steel. Wrestling fans may not blame The Elite for not wanting to do business with CM Punk after the very real fight they all had following the All Out pay-per-view in Chicago back in September of 2022. I haven’t heard a peep that they want to work with Punk. There is no word that they want to wrestle CM Punk and FTR. Matt Jackson said it was the worst six weeks of his life. If you watch the AEW All Access show, they’re still upset about it. I haven’t heard a word about Kenny Omega or the Young Bucks wanting to work with CM Punk. If they are, they certainly aren't talking about it (via Ringside News): ![]() Unfortunately for Punk, Bryan Alvarez from Wrestling Observer Live said it sounds like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks Matt and Nick Jackson aren't willing to work with Punk. There's been talk that CM Punk is pitching ideas for his return and maybe even something as ambitious as a feud with The Elite that plays out at the upcoming mega show the organization booked for Wembley Stadium.
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