5-time WWE World Champion must return after 357 days to retire Sting at AEW All In

AEW has successfully reintroduced Sting to the current generation of wrestling fans, but at 64, his career realistically can't go on for too much longer. This presents a rare opportunity for the promotion to bring back CM Punk and position him as a major heel.

Punk's AEW status remains unclear despite months having passed since the Brawl Out Incident last September. Many fans have given their take on how Punk could potentially return, but getting back in time to retire The Icon might just be a great way to reintroduce the Second City Saint.

Punk and Sting notably teamed up once and even donned shared face paint for the night. Using this history of apparent respect, having the Straight Edge Superstar return as a heel and not just go after The Icon but also end his career could be a good way to draw even more eyes to the promotion.

Remember when CM Punk teamed up with Sting and Darby Allin https://t.co/D3sNJcRhFS

While nothing is currently official, Dave Meltzer notably pointed out that Wembley Stadium could be the biggest stage for Sting's retirement. AEW All-In will be the promotion's biggest pay-per-view to date and will need a headlining bout to match.

Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite? Catch up with the results before tonight's show right here.

Dax Harwood claims that CM Punk "wants to come back" to AEW

Reports about Punk's status with Tony Khan's company have painted the picture that his return to the promotion is impossible and additionally that the roster doesn't want him back either.

@AEW @TBSNetwork @TonyKhan Spoiler Alert: CM Punk is back. https://t.co/dd9Tw5DYNX

Dax Harwood has notably spoken against these reports for months, and in a recent episode of FTR with Dax Harwood, he relayed a message from CM Punk.

"I talk to Punk almost every day, and Punk misses wrestling, that’s your headline, Punk misses wrestling, and Punk wants to come back. And he wants to give back to the fans, he wants to get back to wrestling. So I’ll leave it at that." (H/T: Inside the Ropes)

Harwood also noted that if those signed to All Elite Wrestling want to take the promotion to the next level, bringing back CM Punk is the only way for them to achieve that.