Better Than You, and We Know It: Dreambooking CM Punk’s AEW Return

Almost two years after I wrote two articles about CM Punk’s return to professional wrestling, I find myself, once again, writing about his comeback. After the infamous post-PPV press conference and “Brawl Out at All Out,” Punk was sent home from the company and hasn’t been seen since. Now, with time healing all wounds and a 90,000 Wembley Arena to sell out, it seems like Chick Magnet Punk is on his way back to Tony Khan’s house of graps, and I’ve got the perfect role for him.

Better Than You, and We Know It: Dreambooking CM Punk’s AEW Return

The fun thing about CM Punk’s return this time around is that there are just so many obvious feuds. Firstly, he’s maintained a friendship with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, AKA AEW’s tag team Champions, FTR, and a trios match versus Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks is easy money. Even without the intrigue of real life beef, Kenny Omega versus CM Punk is a massive match, and FTR versus the Young Bucks is a proven draw. With the outside the ring narrative, it’s a license to print money.

But there’s more. His last match in AEW was a world championship bout in Chicago where he defeated Jon Moxley. The two apparently struggled during the set-up to their match, with Moxley allegedly refusing to lose to Punk unless he lost to him first. Beyond that, and allegations that Moxley and Tony Khan essentially talked Punk into wrestling while injured, the former Dean Ambrose went on his wife, Renee Paquette’s [excellent] podcast, the Sessions, and lambasted the straightedge superstar.

Then there are the likes of Chris Jericho, Colt Cabana, Hangman Adam Page, and others, who he has a natural beef with. But for me, the real money? The long-term money? Isn’t in a feud, it’s in a partnership.

Because the one feud I left off, perhaps arguably the most logical feud, is not only with MJF, but for the AEW World Championship that he never lost.

“And Bobby Heenan”

And sure, Punk could come back and wrestle for the world title, but to what end? It’s far too early to take the belt off of MJF, and having Punk come back just to lose falls flat. But we should cycle back to AEW TV lately? Right now, on Dynamite, they’re pushing the four pillars versus each other. Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy, and Darby Allin are all vying for the next shot at MJF’s title, and one of the themes has been mentors. Sammy has Chris Jericho, Jungle Boy had Christian, and Darby Allin has Sting.

What if… MJF had Punk?

Sure, early on in his career at AEW, MJF was Cody Rhodes’ sidekick, but what if we flipped it, and now MJF had CM Punk as a mentor. The parallels are already there, MJF looked up to Punk growing up, and even though their styles are different, the influence is obvious. Imagine CM Punk as MJF’s manager, ala Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan, or Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan, really, anybody with Bobby Heenan.

Whether it’s MJF using Punk or Punk using MJF, the duo would present as nearly unstoppable. And, not unlike Punk and Paul Heyman, the Champion/Manager combo where both guys are great talkers is iconic. And then, eventually, it can mesh right back into the original program.