GIVEMESPORT has listed 10 potential matches for CM Punk if he does make his ‘back pocket’ return to WWE for WrestleMania XL
With Survivor Series in Chicago taking place next weekend, rumours surrounding a CM Punk return to WWE seem stronger than ever. What once seemed impossible now feels like a waiting game, and while there are conflicting reports and nothing official, many viewers across the world are letting themselves believe that we could hear ‘Cult Of Personality’ blast through the speakers at the United Center as the hometown star steps into a WWE ring for the first time in almost a decade.
However, it seems like Punk’s return to WWE may not take place this month, as an update on the Wrestling Observer suggested that WWE would rather have their former star return at WrestleMania XL next year, and feel that they have him ‘in their back pocket’ for the show.
So, with 2023 coming to an end and 2024 right around the corner, GIVEMESPORT looks at ten people CM Punk could end up sharing the ring at WrestleMania XL with if he does end up making his return to WWE in time for the ‘show of shows’ next year.
10. Kevin Owens
We begin with Kevin Owens, someone who has recently been traded from Raw to SmackDown and is currently in need of a new direction. All year, the former Universal Champion had been embroiled in a seemingly endless feud with Judgment Day over the Undisputed WWE Tag Titles, however, the brand switch has brought his popular tag team with Sami Zayn to a temporary close.
In the weeks following, the Canadian has given interviews talking about who on the SmackDown roster he’d like to face, but there has been nothing apart from a backstage comedy segment with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller to this point. So, if WWE really wants to have Punk take on an available star around ‘Mania season, a clash between them would certainly be a worthwhile use of both of them.
Let’s not forget, around two months ago, it was revealed by Fightful that Punk had actually pitched a return to WWE around the time of this year’s Royal Rumble, while he was still serving a suspension for his physical altercation with The Elite at All Out. Here, we learned that the Chicagoan was actually very interested in beginning a feud with Owens which would culminate in a match at WrestleMania 39. The idea is certainly something that Triple H could choose to come back to.
9. Drew McIntyre
On the November 13 episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre completed his highly-anticipated heel turn when he joined forced with Judgement Day and cost Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes in their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match.
The Scotsman has explained on TV since his return at SummerSlam 2023 how he’s frustrated with how he won his first ever WWE Championship, as he feels hard done by the fact that his entire run was in front of no fans. It’s no secret that Drew carried the company on his back during one of the hardest periods in its history, but his shift is yet to be rewarded with a title reign with audiences in attendance.
This has led to McIntyre having his eyes set on any top championship he can get an opportunity at. His last attempted came at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, where he beaten by the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, as many were left feeling as if growing frustration would lead to a heel turn for the 38-year-old down the line.
So, could you imagine CM Punk costing McIntyre his next shot at gold? The 2020 Royal Rumble Winner could take exception to Punk walking back into the fold at the top of the card despite all he did through the pandemic and look to take the ‘Straight Edge Saviour’ out in a heated feud.
8. Stone Cold Steve Austin
It’s the dream match that actually nearly happened. Both Punk and Austin are characters that are firmly anti-establishment and are viewed as antiheroes by the fans who have loved seeing them both stick it to the man in more ways than one. Of course, Austin’s rivalry with Mr. McMahon is the clearest example of challenging authority that wrestling has ever seen, where Punk’s undermining of power blurred the lines of kayfabe much more. The Chicago native’s dislike for WWE’s internal processes often seeped into their on-screen product.
What a match between two men who refuse to go down without a fight would look like is unknown, but, as mentioned, this is a clash that almost came to be. The company themselves teased the possibility of Austin vs Punk numerous times over the years, having them appear in the same backstage in 2011 when it became abundantly clear just how much chemistry there was between the two. They also
When Punk was last in WWE, a match was Stone Cold was considered completely impossible due to the latter’s injury-forced retirement in 2003. Though, WrestleMania 39 showed us that Steve Austin had at least one more match left in him as he battled Owens to close night one in front of his hometown crowd. With the ‘Voice of The Voiceless’ potentially coming back into the fray, maybe ‘The Rattlesnake’ could be tempted out of retirement one more time to deliver this fantasy match-up.
7. Seth Rollins
It would be fair to say that Seth Rollins is the face of Monday Night Raw. The current World Heavyweight Champion has held the red brand’s top title since May 27 and has quickly established his gold as the workhorse championship. He is always keen to give opportunities to the younger talent and his developed into a locker room leader.
While Seth Rollins and CM Punk have faced off in the past, they are both drastically different from when ‘The Visionary’ was a member of The Shield, taking Punk on in late-2013. They’ve had many one-on-one matches on Raw previously but never on a big stage. Plus, as their clashes were around a decade ago, the Chicago-native was nearing the end of his WWE run and nowhere near the peak of his powers through injury and being generally unhappy with the company.
Whether the title is on the line or Seth comes into it as a defeated champion who’s lost his belt, a match between he and Punk would always feel big. Rollins, who stepped up in the years following the 45-year-old’s departure, could take umbrage with the fact that his opponent came back to the place he spent a decade slandering, with Punk using the Seth feud to prove that he still belongs in WWE.
6. John Cena
Throughout his first WWE run, Punk made it clear to anyone who would listen that he didn’t like how the company put John Cena on a pedestal. He even made mention of this during his infamous pipebomb promo, when he said that, while he didn’t necessarily dislike John himself, he hated the idea that Vince McMahon and those running the company believed that Cena was the best they had.
Punk’s contempt for how WWE was run built up until he left the company and industry as a whole in 2014, while Cena remained a top star both in the ring and in Hollywood. The 16-time world champion has recently been enjoying his most recent stint in the squared circle, last appearing at Crown Jewel in a losing effort against Solo Sikoa, however, post-match Cena appeared to tease retirement. So, before that day comes, why not put on one more match against ‘The Best in The World’ at WrestleMania?
The difference this time would be that the sentiment towards WWE has changed over the last 18 months, as fans are now much more happy with the on-screen product than they were 10 years ago. So, perhaps Punk’s stance against those who run the show would come across far more bitter than in the past, with Cena playing up the ultimate ‘company man’ babyface character to get the win.
5. Cody Rhodes
When CM Punk first came into AEW in 2021, fans were salivating over the potential match-ups he could have there. The former WWE Champion began his time in AEW by taking on some of their young up-and-comers like Daniel Garcia and Powerhouse Hobbs, but what fans will really remember is his pay-per-view classics with the likes of Eddie Kingston and MJF.
However, one match we didn’t get was Cody Rhodes. Admittedly, with Punk coming in during the summer of 2021 and Rhodes opting to leave the company in January of the next year, there was never a lot of time to tick off the match. But, the two-time AEW World Champion returning to WWE would arguably be the biggest statement that the company have made since poaching Cody from Tony Khan almost two years ago, so a clash between the two under Triple H’s creative guide could be magical.
One pushback on the idea of this match could potentially be deciding which of the two men would play the face and heel roles, as Cody is undoubtedly one of the top good guys that WWE have and fans will be reluctant to boo Punk so close to his return. So, should they line up to face one another, it would be fair to let the audience individually choose who they want to support and creative a raucous atmosphere to back up what would be an awesome match.
4. Jey Uso
When Punk was last in the WWE, very few would’ve predicted the rise of Jey Uso. At the time, the pair of Uso brothers had been in the company for a couple of years and were only just starting to find their feet. In the years that followed, the team would go on to win eight sets of tag titles in the company and firmly put themselves in the conversation for the best tag team that WWE have ever had.
The feud could be based around the possibility that Punk hasn’t been tuned into the product while he’s been away, only returning to keep his own spark alive after his AEW exit. This causes him to drastically underestimate any sort of challenge that he receives from Jey, who in his mind is still one-half of The Usos and not someone to take seriously in a one-on-one environment.
What better way is there to establish ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso as the real deal than having CM Punk put him over clean on the grandest stage. It can be competitive, but it would be absolutely huge for the tag team specialist to earn a decisive victory against some as notable as the two-time WWE Champion, and it would be the perfect use of Punk now that he is a veteran of the business.
3. AJ Styles
AJ Styles is someone who many fans thought they’d never see in WWE until his mind-blowing debut in 2016. He tattooed his name on the side of his body to stop any possible name changes, and, due to Vince McMahon’s desire to alter almost everything about outside stars, many assumed former WWE Champion would simply never sign with the wrestling giant. So, should it be an option, WWE fans could get to watch a man they never thought they’d see come in take on a legend they never thought they’d see again.
They’re both synonymous with certain eras of wrestling, too. Punk’s work in Ring of Honor through the mid-2000s is what first alerted WWE to his talent, and you can’t think of TNA without AJ Styles coming to mind. The Phenomenal One worked for Total Nonstop Action for 12 years between 2002 and 2014 and both men have travelled down similar roads in terms of work outside of the top company in America.
Plus, the recent reports on a potential WWE return for Punk specify that Triple H would look to see who on his roster was available at the time. Styles is someone who has only made sporadic appearances on SmackDown as of late, and, despite teasing the possibility of challenging Roman Reigns, AJ hasn’t been a regular fixture on weekly TV for a while and a match with CM Punk could be exactly what he’s looking for.
2. Bron Breakker
Bron Breakker is perhaps the top prodigy that WWE has signed to a developmental contract. He was the guy that they put the most focus on upon the introduction of NXT 2.0 and has had two reigns with the brand’s top title. Now, while firmly a heel, the 26-year-old star is running through any man that Shawn Michaels puts in front of him.
It’s gotten to the point at which most viewers are waiting for Bron to appear on either Raw or SmackDown. The majority agree that Breakker is main roster ready, but, to capitalise on his villainous character in the best way, a lot of people are already fantasy booking a dominant unbeaten run for him in the future.
When it comes to CM Punk, one of the most memorable lines from his infamous post-show media scrum in 2022 was when he said that he was old, tired and worked with children. To play off of that, Triple H could Breakker represent the next generation of WWE superstars by taking down a 45-year-old CM Punk. If you really wanted Bron to make a statement, he could squash the Chicagoan in a very one-sided affair at the 40th annual WrestleMania.
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1. Roman Reigns
It’s almost inarguable that the biggest match WWE could put on with CM Punk back on their roster would be a showdown between the Voice of The Voiceless and The Tribal Chief. Both men have worked Paul Heyman in order to secure record-breaking title reigns, with Punk initially setting the record for the modern era 434 days, and Reigns surpassing this with his Universal Championship run that has lasted for over three years and is still going today.
It’s insane to think about how, at the time that Roman Reigns title run began, Punk was still a year away his AEW debut and now we’re linking him to a WWE return and a match with their top star at WrestleMania. As discussed in Seth Rollins’ entry, Punk and Roman will have clashed before when the 45-year-old was feuding with The Shield, but so much has changed since then and The Head of The Table is seemingly unbeatable nowadays.
Many are expecting Reigns’ challenger at WrestleMania 40 to be Cody Rhodes, a repeat of this year’s main event in which The American Nightmare gets the win. Though, Roman has proved that absolutely anything can happen in his reign, so could you imagine how insane it would be to have CM Punk be the one to step up and challenge for WWE’s top prize once again in just six months time.