CM Punk purposely got fired from AEW before WWE return, wrestling legend believes
CM Punk received his release from AEW in September following a backstage incident at All In. Legendary wrestling booker and manager Dutch Mantell recently gave his take on Punk's AEW exit and surprise return to WWE.
In September 2022, AEW suspended The Straight Edge Superstar after a backstage fight with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. The 45-year-old was at the center of another behind-the-scenes altercation in September 2023 with Jack Perry, which resulted in Tony Khan firing him.
On Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the 73-year-old said Punk probably caused a scene in AEW because he wanted to lose his job:
"I think that he wanted them to fire him because that goes right along with he's a maverick, nobody tells him what to do," Mantell stated. "'If you fire me, good. Fire me.' He didn't care. Originally I didn't think that, but now, as time went on, I think that he got himself fired on purpose." [4:22 – 4:52]
Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames on Saturday in his hometown of Chicago. On this week's RAW, he described WWE as "home" during an in-ring promo.
How CM Punk's WWE deal might affect AEW
From Adam Copeland and Bryan Danielson to Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, the AEW roster still boasts lots of star power.
Without CM Punk, however, Dutch Mantell thinks AEW will struggle in the television ratings compared to WWE:
"I think they'll see a big difference because the majority of the fans, I think they want Punk there just to see what he's going to do because what he did in AEW, it wasn't anything really. It wasn't anything to write home about. So I think they're seeing what the top company can do with this guy, and see if they involve some of his past and bring it back home." [11:49 – 12:23]
Mantell also predicted that WWE could make a significant change to Punk's schedule over the next few months.
Do you think CM Punk purposely got fired from AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.