標籤: Reputation

In a new interview, CM Punk revealed why he really returned to WWE, and the answer may surprise his fans.

There is no doubt that CM Punk will go down as one of the greatest performers in pro wrestling. However, his path to legend status has been full of ups and downs at times. When the Chicago native came to WWE in 2006, he wasn’t like the stars they were pushing at the time. Nevertheless, he kept his head down, performed beyond expectations and developed a large fan base.

But on his way to becoming a multiple-time world champion in the biggest wrestling promotion of all time, he often clashed with management. Things eventually worsened in 2014 and his frustration with the owners led him to take the bold step of leaving WWE and the wrestling business for seven years.

Still, he couldn’t stay away from his first passion for long and eventually returned to the industry with All Elite Wrestling in 2021. It seemed as if it was a match made in heaven. However, he ran into problems again. But instead of management, it was with some of his coworkers, including vice presidents Matt and Nick Jackson.

Ultimately, that relationship fell apart, and he was dropped from the promotion after being one of the top stars in 2023.

CM Punk returns to WWE just to main event WrestleMania?

This immediately led to speculation as to whether the unthinkable could happen. Could CM Punk return to WWE? And in November 2023, he surprised many people by doing so. Since then, there has been much speculation as to why this is so. Was it the money, or the chance to fix his damaged reputation, or because he simply loved the industry so much?

Well, looks like it was none of the above. In an interview with WWE Now, Punk claimed that if he had been in the main event of WrestleMania at least once during his original tenure in the company, he would not have returned to the promotion three years ago.

Being in the main event of WrestleMania and being passed over to part-time stars like The Rock was a major sticking point for Punk before leaving in 2014. It was a major part of his storyline since his return and on the road to WrestleMania 41 last year.

Now, next weekend, he will be one of the headliners of the mega event for the second year in a row.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos