Ring Of Honor tried to bring CM Punk back to the company where he made a name for himself more than a year before his potential deal with AEW.
CM Punk fans, after more than seven years, what once felt like an impossibility appears to be closer than ever before. The in-ring return of the Second City Saint. Granted, these sorts of rumors tend to fly around rather frequently, especially since AEW has been making annual trips to Chicago. However, there is a lot more to those reports this time around, and it really does seem to be a matter of when rather than if at this point.
CM Punk Is Almost All Elite
It's unclear how long it has taken AEW to win Punk around, or how much competition Tony Khan legitimately had to fend off to land Punk's signature. If anyone from any wrestling promotion tells you they're not interested in bringing back Punk, then they're lying to you. And yes, that does include WWE.
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It also applies to Ring of Honor, especially since new reports courtesy of Fightful Select (via WhatCulture) emerged claiming the company tried to bring him in more than a year ago. Apparently, Marty Scurll, who was a major part of ROH's creative team at the time, headed up an effort to get Punk to return to the company where he made a name for himself.
Cash Or Creative?
Despite how much AEW will likely be paying Punk to wrestle again, and comments made by Punk himself, the report claims ROH believes the former WWE Champion's return will be spurred by creative, not cash. That the opponents he will potentially have should he wrestle again are the driving force behind that return. Punk has said relatively recently that if he had to choose one wrestler he is yet to have a match yet that could convince him to come back, it's Kenny Omega.
Until someone in an official capacity confirms Punk is about to become All Elite, then most of the wrestling world will treat this week's reports with a certain amount of skepticism. Considering what has come before, and comments Punk has made, that makes complete sense. Even an announcement might not be enough for some, and Punk won't really be back until his music hits and he's on his way to the ring.
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