CM Punk To WWE? New Report Dumps Cold Water On Return Rumors

Maybe we should pump the brakes on those CM Punk-WWE rumors.

Punk's recent release from AEW seemingly opened the door for a return to WWE, with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter even reporting the sides were "in talks."

Well, Meltzer offered an update Tuesday night on Wrestling Observer Radio that won't sit well with those hoping to see Phil Brooks walk back through a WWE curtain.

"They turned him down," Meltzer said.

This certainly lessens the intrigue surrounding Punk's free agency, although the wrestling industry is fluid. The situation could change at the drop of a hat, especially if WWE's ratings suddenly plummet and/or the company sees an opportunity to make money with Punk. It's a business, after all.

It's also not entirely surprising if WWE is, in fact, hesitant about bringing back Punk, whose AEW release stemmed from multiple backstage fights. He's burned a lot of bridges over the years and remains one of the most polarizing figures in wrestling.

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"The decision was a no," Meltzer said Tuesday, as transcribed by f4wonline.com. "He wanted to go there (to WWE) and the decision was a no. I mean, it can always change and it was brought up to me that there is no such thing as no forever when it comes to WWE, but it's no for now."

"It's (Vince McMahon's) decision," he added. "Vince, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque and, obviously, they decided that the negatives outweighed the positives."

Punk hasn't wrestled in WWE since 2014. He's still a proven needle mover, though, so this hardly closes the book on his saga.

It simply dumps cold water on the rumors for the time being.