CM Punk and All Elite Wrestling reportedly agreed to reconcile, but the situation is murky following Punk’s recent comments on Instagram.
The former AEW World Champion has been absent from AEW since the aftermath of AEW All Out 2022. At the show, he defeated Jon Moxley to win the world title, but he suffered a torn triceps. Punk made heated comments about The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks) at the post-show press conference, leading to a physical altercation between the two sides. Everyone involved was suspended and stripped of their titles, and while The Elite returned to AEW in November 2022, Punk’s absence continues.
Punk sparked controversy again when he claimed that he wasn’t cleared to wrestle ahead of his first clash with Moxley in the summer of 2022, and called Chris Jericho a liar in a since-deleted Instagram post.
In an update, in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW CEO Tony Khan wanted to bring Punk back, and an agreement to reconcile had been reached, at least in principle. However, it’s unclear how the aforementioned Instagram comments affected the matter.
Meltzer emphasized that the situation is currently unclear, given the number of complexities involved and the differing opinions within AEW as to Punk’s potential return.
Additionally, during the live recording of FTR with Dax Harwood on March 30, Harwood shared text messages from Punk to the crowd; the former AEW World Champion told Harwood that he missed the fans.
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
