CM Punk has begun teasing his return to WWE, so we’ll see what that big first hint was.
We’ll also check out what’s going on with Rhea Ripley, Rey Mysterio, and much more
Starting things off with CM Punk and his cryptic remarks
After a prolonged absence from the world of professional wrestling,
CM Punk made a triumphant return to the ring under the AEW banner in 2021.
His AEW journey has been characterized by notable highs, including capturing the AEW
World Championship on two separate occasions, but it has also been marred by significant lows.
Perhaps most prominently, Punk found himself embroiled in several backstage altercations,
with the most consequential one resulting in his termination from the company.
This altercation took place at Wembley Stadium in London during All In last month,
involving a physical confrontation with "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry.
AEW's president, Tony Khan, subsequently announced Punk's
departure, rendering him a free agent in the realm of professional wrestling.
Wrestlers often contend with non-compete clauses within their contracts,
whether with WWE or AEW, which dictate a specified
period during which they cannot ply their trade for another promotion post-release.
Punk made headlines for his remarks during his recent MMA commentary,
in which he said that he completely free at least for the next two months
Punk's cryptic comment there on Friday night could conceivably allude to these
contractual restrictions or, alternatively,
serve as an allusion to WWE's forthcoming premium live event, Survivor Series.
The impending Survivor Series, slated for November 25th, will unfold in Punk's
hometown of Chicago. The Windy City has consistently welcomed Punk with open arms,
making Survivor Series in Chicago the most impactful setting for his potential WWE return.
Presently, the extent of mutual interest between Punk and WWE remains unclear. However,
if Punk intends to continue competing at the highest echelons of professional wrestling,
WWE could emerge as his most viable option.
When probed about CM Punk this week, WWE's president, Nick Khan,
offered a somewhat cryptic response regarding the company's potential interest in him, stating,
"Listen, we only have respect for Phil [Brooks, aka CM Punk]. We appreciate his run here. We
appreciate what he did and tried to do with the UFC. Not many people can actually get in there
and do what he did. So, when we have respect for Phil, we wish him nothing but the best." End quote
Nick Khan's response did not convey unbridled enthusiasm about signing Punk,
though it could be interpreted as an intentional avoidance of revealing WWE's intentions.
While there are certain reservations associated with Punk's return, notably concerning his ability
to collaborate effectively with others, there's no denying his undeniable value. Punk undeniably
had a profound impact on AEW, driving increases in attendance, ratings, and merchandise sales.
It stands to reason that if WWE and Punk can strike a deal for his return,
it would undoubtedly result in a significant boost
for the company, marking his first WWE appearance since January 2014.
And like we mentioned a few weeks back, there were those reports that claimed CM Punk was willingly
to return to WWE for the 2023 Royal Rumble return and was fully onboard for making that happen
So if Punk was open to a WWE return just earlier this year,
maybe it’s safe to assume that he’s still open to the idea of returning to WWE in current day
What it’ll ultimately come down to is if WWE is willing to chance it and
risk it considering Punk’s recent controversial backstage behavior
Punk joking around about only being free for the next two months is obviously him teasing the idea
of showing up at WWE’s Survivor Series in November and working full time with WWE from that point on,
but as of right now, there’s no word at all about Punk and WWE even being in talks with one another
So we’ll have to see if CM Punk will pop back up in WWE after a near decade at either
Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, or another date sprinkled in between there as a special surprise
—————
Rhea Ripley has been dominating the women’s division for a long
time now as it’s women’s world champion
But like we’ve seen teased from time to time, Rhea Ripley is more than capable
of body slamming and clotheslining even the strongest male superstars
We saw WWE play around a bit with the idea of
inter-gender matches back during the Thunderdome era
During that time we saw Sasha Banks pick up a win over Reggie,
and even Alexa Bliss pick up a win over Randy Orton
A lot of fans thought the success of those matches and feuds would lead
to more inter gender related stories and matches in WWE,
but we haven’t seen any more ever since those few took place a few years ago
Rhea Ripley has been one of the biggest names that’s been
pushing for inter gender matches for herself
We’ve seen her have stare downs with everyone from Kevin Owens, to Cody Rhodes, Solo Sikoa, and so on
Dominik Mysterio and fans think that Rhea Ripley could even have a serious shot at
competing and even winning some of the men’s world titles one day
Well during a recent interview with SportsKeeda,
Rhea provided and entire list of male dream opponents and her reasoning for
wanting a match with them, she had this to say about those dream opponents, quote:
“I got a lot of male dream opponents. Obviously,
I would love to beat some sense into Dom’s deadbeat father.
I think me versus Rey Mysterio would be absolutely amazing, and I would put him in his place.
Then there’s also an Edge. I would love to face Edge. He was the leader of The Judgment Day at
one point, and Mami don’t like getting bossed around by anyone. I don’t like feeling like I
have someone in charge. That’s why The Judgment Day works so well now,
so I still have a lot of pent-up aggression against Edge that I would love to get out.
But then there’s one more person that everyone keeps throwing at me. And that’s Randy Orton.
Yeah, they want Randy to come back so that I can get RKO’d because I keep sticking
my business in the men’s business. Rhea Ripley keeps hitting the men,
they can’t hit her back. They can hit me back. They just choose not
to. You know why? Because they know their place. They know their role.” End quote
So Rhea’s list is Rey Mysterio, Edge, and Randy Orton… all massive
names and all matches and stories that technically would make a lot of sense
Such as the matchup with Rey Mysterio
It was because of mostly Rhea and The Judgment Day that Rey lost his
son and Dominik just spiraled out of control
And Rhea has had several run-ins and confrontations with Rey Mysterio ever
since, but never had a full blown match with him
The last time Rey Mysterio was truly connected story-wise with everything involving Rhea and
Dominik was back at Wrestlemania 39, where Rey defeated Dominik to end that feud
So with that feud not ending the way Dominik and Rhea wanted it to,
what if Rhea was to get revenge on Rey Mysterio for Wrestlemania 39 by
challenging him to a match and even winning the United States title from Rey Mysterio
It’ll be the perfect payback moment for Rhea and Dominik on Rey Mysterio, it’ll bring another
title into the Judgment Day, and it would be an extremely historic title win for Rhea Ripley
She would have the women’s world title and the men’s United States title in her possession all
at the same time, something that no women has ever done before in the history of WWE
And the match with Edge also has some great story behind it
Edge brought Rhea into the judgment day and within a few weeks of that happening,
Rhea was already leading an attack on Edge to kick him out the group
Also not to mention all the instances where Rhea did inflict some pain on Edge’s wife,
Beth Phoenix, so there would be lots of story there for sure
And for Randy Orton versus Rhea Ripley, they don’t have much history together in WWE,
but Randy Orton has had his fair share of inter-gender matches and encounters,
even hitting an RKO on the likes of Stacy Keibler, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Beth Phoenix, and so on
So Rhea’s list of male dream opponents is absolutely loaded,
but the one that would make the most sense to see is definitely Rhea Ripley versus Rey Mysterio
Just put that United States title on the line and fans will no doubt be
glued to their screens to see a potential history making win there by Rhea Ripley
But what are your thoughts on today’s stories?
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