Source: The Xavierite Original Artwork
With the return of both Randy Orton and CM Punk to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE,) excitement is in the air. What will this mean for the future of the WWE?
This past Saturday night, professional wrestling fans witnessed the long awaited return of ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton, who’s been out of action since May 2022 due to injury.
Fans were ecstatic after it was announced by Cody Rhodes that Orton would be the fifth and final member of a team including Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and himself at WWE’s ‘Survivor Series: WarGames’ pay-per-view.
This came as a huge surprise for some, as rumors circulated earlier this year speculating that we had seen the last of Orton in the ring, with a timetable for his return being uncertain.
However, it seems Orton has a lot left in the tank. The Viper made his return successfully leading his team to defeat ‘The Judgement Day’ in the men’s ‘War Games’ match.
As if that wasn’t enough for the rabid Chicago crowd, the post-match celebration was quicky overshadowed by the unexpected return of a hometown hero. Hell has frozen over: CM Punk is back in the WWE.
Punk made his return after a 10 year hiatus from the company. The last time we saw Punk in WWE was at the 2014 ‘Royal Rumble,’ after which he left due to long standing personal issues with the company.
His issues with the company stemmed from previous health issues that he suffered and were allegedly neglected by WWE executives, as well as his dissatisfaction with the lack of opportunities he was receiving. Consequently, Punk walked out on the company before an episode of ‘RAW’ the night after the Royal Rumble event.
Punk later stated that he received his termination papers on the day of his wedding, which soured his relationship with the company to the point that he vowed not to return.
During this hiatus, Punk explored other fields such as acting, writing comic books for Marvel, and stepping foot into the octagon for the UFC. It wasn’t until Aug. 20, 2021 that Punk once again stepped foot in a wrestling ring, debuting at WWE’s rival company, All Elite Wrestling (AEW.)
His run in AEW featured great matches against some of the company’s best talent, which proved that the self-proclaimed ‘Best In The World’ could still hang with the current crop of talent in the wrestling industry. However, this run was not safe from its own backstage issues.
Problems began when Punk was involved in a backstage brawl with talent/Executive Vice Presidents of AEW, Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson (Collectively known as ‘The Elite’).
All parties were suspended as a result of their altercation and were barred from interacting with each other in an effort to move forward. However, the relationship between Punk and ‘The Elite’ was never the same, eventually causing further issues with other talent in the AEW locker room.
Soon, Punk’s AEW run came to a sudden end.
On Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, Punk had his final match in AEW, successfully defending his ‘Real World’s’ championship title against Samoa Joe at All In: London. Just six days later, AEW owner Tony Khan announced that Punk’s contract had been terminated as a result of a backstage altercation between him and AEW talent ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry just before the match.
The statement read:
“The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring backstage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convened with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.”
The decision was met with mixed reactions from fans around the globe, with some celebrating due to the perception that he was a “dark cloud” for the company.
Others began to consider the possibility of him putting past issues aside and rejoining the WWE, the company where he became a household name, in an effort to stick it to AEW.
This now seems to be the case, as reports state that Punk has come to terms with the company in the past week and signed a deal that will last “several years.”
With this, we embark on a new era for the WWE. For the first time in 10 years, fans can include Punk in their fantasy match bookings as we get closer to ‘WrestleMania.’
Not only are we one step closer to seeing him compete at ‘Mania,’ but perhaps 2024 will finally be the year Punk accomplishes his goal of main eventing ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All.’