CM Punk has been absent from AEW since All Out, where he recaptured the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley and later got into a brawl with Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks after his infamous rant at the post-event press conference ripping several wrestlers.
Punk would’ve likely been absent from in-ring regardless due to sustaining an injury in the match. Since the brawl, The Elite has returned to television and is currently in the midst of a best-of-seven series with Death Triangle for the AEW Trios Championships.
Punk recently made headlines when he responded to an Instagram post quoting Dax Harwood pleading for Punk and The Elite to work together again. He wrote, “Duh.” This has led to speculation that Punk might be open to returning to the promotion.
He has reportedly talked with AEW about them buying out the remaining time on his contract, with the only hang-up being the non-compete period of the buyout clause. For now, he remains under contract.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Chris Jericho and other top stars are against Punk returning to the company.
“Several of the top guys, Chris Jericho being among them, told the rest of the locker room that they’d make sure Punk wasn’t brought back,” Meltzer wrote.
As previously reported, Jericho told Punk he was a cancer to the AEW locker room after the All Out brawl.
