What if CM Punk goes to AEW?
CM Punk had one of the ugliest and most public splits from WWE of any Superstar. Some of that comes down to his stature in the company, as he was probably one of the top five full-time stars at the time he left, and purportedly lined up to face Triple H at WrestleMania, only to wind up going home after the Royal Rumble. Punk and WWE have since engaged in legal battle, largely related to a tell-all podcast interview Punk offered to Colt Cabana (whom he also later had differences and legal issues with).
Punk has suggested that he is retired from wrestling. However, he did make an appearance over All In weekend to do an autograph signing in his native Chicago. Then word got out more recently that Punk may have made one or more small time wrestling appearances since departing WWE, showing up in a mask or under a hood, but heavily hinting that it was him.
All of this leads to the question of whether Punk could sign with AEW? A part of the logic of him retiring after he left WWE seemed to have been about him not taking a step down to smaller stages, but between TV deal rumors, millionaire backing, and buzz, AEW has the feel of the closest thing WWE has had to competition since WCW. This article speculates what it might mean if CM Punk goes to AEW.
#5. The masked man
Footage has come out of CM Punk allegedly making appearances for smaller wrestling promotions since leaving WWE in 2014. Each appearance involved a masked or hooded man, which suggests that, while Punk was publicly shunning wrestling, he actually still had enough love for it to keep himself involved.
If Punk does appear for All Elite Wrestling, it may be that the buzz around his masked antics is simply setting up a foundation for things to come. Based on All In, AEW seems catered toward the hardcore wrestling fan, rather than the more casual base WWE aims for.
As such, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to play up the masked Punk angle to build anticipation in increasingly high stakes circumstances, before the Straight Edge Superstar finally does show his face to the audience.
While there’s some questionable logic behind keeping a top shelf star like Punk hidden, this angle would both have an old school feel and given the set up, have the unique benefit of combining masked man intrigue with heavy hints as to the payoff right out of the chute.