Chairshot News Shuffle: CM Punk Edition! (11/14/19)

Get caught up to speed with the latest news regarding CM Punk!

The Latest On CM Punk

As we all know, CM Punk made his return/debut to wrestling to be a part of the WWE Backstage show on FS1. While it was a complete shock to wrestling fans, there still remains quite a few loose ends to tie up regarding how Punk got to this point. First, for those who missed it, here is his debut on WWE Backstage:

THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage pic.twitter.com/TDd5n0qk25

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 13, 2019

Who Knew Punk Would Appear On WWE Backstage?

It wasn’t only fans that were shocked to see Punk as the only person who knew Punk would be on the show was Renee Young. As you can see/hear from the video, Paige asked if it was a rib when Cult Of Personality was played on the broadcast.

What Will His Role Be?

According to the WWE on Fox Twitter account, Punk will appear periodically on the program. FOX has pointed out that Punk will not be on WWE Backstage full time.

Ho-ly sh*t!

Your chants have been answered!@CMPunk just showed up on #WWEBackstage on @fs1 – he’ll be appearing periodically on the show beginning next Tuesday night at 11pm ET! pic.twitter.com/kurMv2wr0k

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 13, 2019

Is Punk Working For WWE?

As reported by the Wrestling Observer, Meltzer indicated that Punk is not signed with WWE, but is currently employed by FOX. However, the interesting note is the WWE did approve of the hire. It is being reported that Punk has yet to speak with anyone in WWE, and that includes HHH and Vince McMahon. FOX was disappointed with last weeks ratings of only 49,000 viewers and felt this was the move that needed to be made.

Will Punk Wrestle Agaian?

The biggest questions fans have is will Punk wrestle again? If so, there have already been a few wrestlers that have expressed interest on Twitter in working with Punk.

Fight me @CMPunk

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) November 13, 2019

Was There Ever Any Interest From AEW?

Since the formation of AEW, there have been constant rumors associating CM Punk with the company. Punk has stated in the past that there had never been any real negotiations or an offer from AEW. However, Bryan Alvarez and the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Punk did have negotiations with AEW and Tony Kahn. Alvarez said the following:

“What I can tell you about negotiations with Punk are that Punk did, in fact, negotiate with AEW. CM Punk met in person with Tony Khan about AEW and they offered him a lot of money and he ended up this WWE on FOX gig. What does that mean? I don’t know. It could mean that CM Punk does not, in fact, have any interest in actually wrestling. It could be that CM Punk wants to continue doing what he’s doing in his life [and] he’s over the in-ring aspect of it.”

Jason’s Take

Well, what an interesting 24 hours it has been in pro wrestling. In all honestly though, did you think Punk would stay away from wrestling forever? While it had long been rumored that Punk had signed a deal to be a co-host of WWE Backstage, he vehemently denied that there was a deal on the table, stating that after his tryout, he hadn’t hear anything from FOX executives.

My thinking is that there were originally discussions with Punk, but FOX couldn’t reach an agreement with him. After the poor ratings showing of last week, they must have decided to meet Punk’s demands. I think Punk is considered to have a great mind for the business, so his opinion on the WWE product will be interesting to here, and I would imagine it would draw decent ratings for WWE Backstage.

Regarding potential negotiations with AEW, I don’t really know how serious they actually were in pursuing Punk. You would think that with the money the company has spent to launch, acquire talent, and launch a weekly television show, that the company would do everything the could to secure the services of Punk. But, I digress

Now the big elephant in the room, will Punk wrestle again? I think this role with FOX will open the door for a potential Punk return to WWE. His new association with WWE has come at the perfect time as we are just a few months away from the Road To Wrestlemania. Punk is still in great physical shape, and there could be interest in a marquee match up with Seth Rollins. You could also make the argument that matches with Adam Cole, AJ Styles, and hell, even Roman Reigns could be potential money makers for the company.