WWE Has Closed The Door On A Potentially Huge Return For A Former Top Star

WWE appears to have closed the door on a potential in-ring return for one of the most controversial superstars in company history—maybe for good.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Vince McMahon says he “can’t do business with” former UFC star and five-time world champion CM Punk:

“Dave Meltzer reported in the Observer that Vince McMahon has labeled Punk as the ‘one man I just can’t do business with.’ It was said that nobody at the top level in WWE, including Paul Heyman, has argued against this and they have not pushed for Vince to sign Punk.”

Paul Heyman is well known as one of the biggest Punk supporters in WWE, having previously served as Punk’s on-screen advocate several years ago. In fact, the dominant booking of Shayna Baszler at this month’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was reportedly an idea Heyman had originally created for Punk, which goes to show you just how highly Heyman thinks of Punk, a major star who hasn’t closed the door on wrestling for WWE again and has even said that he would do so if the price was right. Despite Punk seemingly being willing to let bygones be bygones and step back into the squared circle again, he isn’t exactly being welcomed back with open arms by those within WWE.

Meltzer (h/t WrestlingNews.co) reported just last week that WWE was “pretty negative” in regards to Punk working for the company again:

“I do know that WWE is pretty negative on the idea of Punk wrestling, more than I thought they would be but they are. I think the idea is between Bill Goldberg and Edge and Undertaker and people like that, they’ve got their fair share of guys like that. There’s a lot of bitterness. Apparently there’s more bitterness on the WWE side right now than on the Punk side. I would have thought it would be the other way around.”

As it turns out, “pretty negative” may be a huge understatement. It’s widely believed that Punk’s relationship with WWE—which seemed to be improving when Punk became an analyst on WWE Backstage on FOX late last year—took a turn for the worse when he fired off some NSFW comments directed toward The Miz and WWE’s highly criticized relationship with Saudi Arabia earlier this year. In addition, Punk has had a notoriously rocky relationship with Triple H, but Triple H surprisingly revealed back in January—oddly enough, right around the same time that Punk blasted The Miz—that he could envision WWE working with Punk again if the situation was “right for everybody.” A lot has changed since then, however.

Most notably, WWE seems to have soured on the idea of ever having Punk wrestle for the company again. In regards to Punk making his highly anticipated WWE return on WWE Backstage rather than on Raw or SmackDown, Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co had the following to say:

“Even people in the company who would say that a one-time appearance at WrestleMania would be good business have said that Punk devalued himself with his wrestling comeback happening on Backstage with a fraction of the viewers that WWE’s shows draw.”

Punk has apparently minimized his potential drawing power with his lackluster return to WWE programming, even though it’s long known that Punk is working for FOX—not WWE—as an analyst. The widespread thought is that Punk’s return would have had a significantly greater impact had he instantly gotten involved in a marquee storyline on Raw or SmackDown instead. That may all be a moot point, though, as Punk is now said to be in the same boat as Alberto Del Rio as two well-known former WWE stars who WWE apparently has no interest in working with ever again. Oddly enough, Del Rio recently said that he was in talks with WWE about a potential return as a wrestler, but his claim was quickly shot down by multiple sources, who essentially suggested that Del Rio is on a “do not hire” list given his controversial relationship with the company.

While Punk is a much bigger star than Del Rio was, it appears that WWE also has no interest in seeing the talented but polarizing performer working for the company again. With WWE already having its fair share of part-time performers, like Goldberg, The Undertaker and John, and data indicating that they aren’t really moving the needle, there is little to suggest that a Punk return would make much of a difference, which is just another reason why it is extremely unlikely.

Impossible? No, not in the wacky world of pro wrestling. But it would be a huge shocker if it happened.