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CM Punk has been making several headlines since rumors about him returning to AEW spread. CM Punk made his last appearance for AEW last September. He was taken off AEW TV after his backstage fight with The Elite which occurred after All Out in September 2022.
The Elite confronted CM Punk after he said a few things during the post-All Out press conference which angered The Elite. After the backstage fight, CM Punk and the Elite were suspended.
Ray and Mark Downplay CM Punk's Backstage Appearance on RAW
Even though CM Punk is rumored to return to AEW, the WWE can also rehire CM Punk and take away the only wrestler that can positively affect AEW’s ratings right now.
Rumors about him returning to the WWE sparked after it was reported that he appeared backstage at RAW. This was during a RAW held in Chicago, which is CM Punk’s hometown. It is now reported that CM Punk simply appeared backstage to meet a few of his former colleagues.
He also wished to bury the hatchet with some people, reportedly. On Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray and Mark Henry downplayed CM Punk’s appearance at RAW backstage. Henry stated that people visiting AEW wrestlers backstage are pretty common and are never reported as big news.
CM Punk on the other hand is polarizing according to Mark. That is why his appearance was big news. "Why Punk? Because he's polarizing," Henry said. "Because it will make big news. Punk has friends at WWE that are like brothers to him." He also stated that CM Punk was once called by Vince McMahon when they were in Austin, Texas for a hug.
"I could give a d*** less what CM Punk was doing at 'Monday Night Raw.' " Ray offered several scenarios for why Punk was there ranging from wanting to say hello to friends, to burying the hatchet with Triple H, or maybe even AJ Lee wanting to visit.
"It is absolutely nothing but social media wanting to turn it into this big, big thing," Ray said. Ray made it clear that he is looking forward to CM Punk returning to AEW or simply bouncing back from all the adversity that he has recently faced.
It would be a very difficult thing for AEW to manage CM Punk as many people inside the AEW do not want to work with him.