CM Punk and Ace Steel were involved in a physical altercation with The Elite following the All Out pay-per-view last month, and it was recently reported that Ace Steel has been released from AEW. The Wrestling Observer also reported that it looks doubtful that CM Punk will return to AEW with those close to the situation saying that AEW is in talks to buy out CM Punk’s contract. It was noted that a potential non-compete clause is holding up the talks.
According to Fightful Select the possibility of Punk’s contract being bought out was mentioned shortly after All Out and people around Punk said, “realistically he can’t expect to be back.” Multiple talents also reportedly stated that they aren’t interested in working in a locker room with CM Punk unless huge amends are made. Numerous people are operating under the assumption that CM Punk will not be returning to AEW.
WWE sources said that they didn’t think Vince McMahon would bring CM Punk back to the company as FOX previously pushed the idea before Punk joined AEW. However, under the right circumstances with t he situation, creative and money involved, the Triple H regime is interested in “anything within reason.”
One source added that Triple H wants to create compelling television, and a CM Punk return would do that. It was speculated that a full-time return to WWE would be unlikely for Punk because of what happened in AEW. So far neither Punk nor AEW has commented on the situation. Stay tuned for updates.
[…] At this point all signs seem to point to AEW buying out CM Punk’s contract. If that does happen it’s not clear where his wrestling career could go from there, but it was recently reported that Triple H might consider bringing him back to WWE and you can get more on that here. […]