CM Punk joining the WWE Backstage show on FS1 has made fans speculate whether this means that we will see him a WWE ring.
It turns out that Punk could’ve signed with AEW (All Elite Wrestling) instead of FOX Sports. It was noted by Bryan Alvarez on Wednesday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Live that Punk was offered a lot of money by AEW.
In fact, Alvarez noted that “Punk did, in fact, negotiate with AEW” and that Punk “met in person with Tony Khan about AEW and they offered him a lot of money and he ended up with this WWE on FOX gig.”
Alvarez speculated that Punk signing with FOX Sports over joining AEW could indicate that he has no plans to wrestle again as he’s over the in-ring aspect of it. That is pure speculation but if Punk doesn’t want to wrestle again then signing with FOX to have a limited schedule talk show role for big money would make sense.
WWE Issues Statement On CM Punk Joining Backstage on FS1
As noted, Punk has signed with FOX to be a special correspondent and he is not going to be on WWE Backstage full-time while Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will be the hosts of the show. Punk is not under contract with WWE.
This report by Alvarez is interesting as Punk had previously talked about not getting what he thought was a formal offer by AEW.
Regarding a potential wrestling return, Punk has not completely shut out the possibility of wrestling again. He has made it known that he’s always been open to it but for him to wrestle again would need to see him receive a big payday.
