The babyfaces won the War Games, the graphic was flashed and it was the end of Survivor Series… Or so we thought.

Hell Froze Over.

In a moment of pure professional wrestling surrealism, Triple H and CM Punk had the stopped the clocks within the WWE Universe and caught lightening in a bottle. The arena erupted and the internet broke as ‘Cult of Personality’ hit and CM Punk revealed where his future lay. Regardless of your thoughts of the ‘controversial’ and ‘polarizing’ CM Punk Saturday, November 25 was a special moment in professional wrestling. CM Punk is a WWE Superstar.

It was a bitter-sweet beautiful moment, and of course it wasn’t without it’s controversy.

Minutes after the surprising return of the ‘Straight Edge Saviour’ fan footage of Seth Rollins becoming enraged by the mere sight of CM Punk, swearing and being held back by Michael Cole and Corey Graves as he attempted to run up the ramp to fight the returning Punk.

Coinciding with this footage was a segment on WWE Raw in which Rollins states, ‘he doesn’t want waste a ounce of breath on that hypocrite’ as the Chicago crowd rally Punk with the infamous ‘CM Punk’ chants. Many online fans are speculating that this will lead to a feud down the line, working within the realms of reality and capitalising on the real life hatred Seth Rollins has for Punk, similar to that of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, and Edge and Matt Hardy.

Cult of Hypocrisy

Fans eagerly waited through a 3 hour showcase with baited breath for what the ‘polarizing’ and ‘controversial’ CM Punk had to say as was live on microphone on Monday Night RAW for the first time in nearly a decade (as Michael Cole kept reminding us).

So, what did the ‘polarizing’ and ‘controversial’ CM Punk say on his first promo back? The overriding statement of the promo was that ‘that has changed… and he’s back home.’

It’s fair to say that the promo divided opinion. The expectation being that he was going to run down the competition, slate AEW and be this explosive ‘controversial’ and ‘polarizing’ figure, maybe even bring up the past or name drop the Jack Perry’s, Adam Page’s and Tony Khan’s of the world, however, the reality seemed a little different. Instead, it felt very WWE-esque with references to ‘the wise man,’ and telling the voice of the voiceless that he is proud that they found their voice.

It felt very clean cut and almost as though he had been retired for the past 3 years and his time in All Elite never happened. It lack the passion and CM Punk looked dead in the eyes as he spat out sports entertainment patter.

Perhaps, maybe he has changed, (despite doing everything and more to disparage the WWE for the last decade) as well as Triple H making an conscious effort to make WWE better place both beyond the ropes and backstage after his father in laws retirement it could all be best for business. But has CM Punk changed within the last few months? Is the question we are all waiting to be answered.

Overall, to many it came off very hypocritical, disingenuous and a money move. Almost as though MJF was right, CM Punk has become everything he hated 10 years prior…. Up until the last line, ‘I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to make money.’

I was watching with my heart in my mouth, it felt like the voice of voiceless had gone soft, a squeaky clean babyface, but then that final phrasing gave me a glimmer of hope and faith that Triple H is brewing up a storm between Seth Rollins and CM Punk, a WrestleMania main event worthy match.

Was Hangman Page right? Probably. Is CM Punk a hypocrite? Possibly. However, if this promo is leading to where I believe it is going then cooperate stooge CM Punk should make for entertaining television and some incredible matches.

How should AEW respond?

Simple. They shouldn’t. You can’t change the past, and you can’t break NDA’s or release the Wembley tapes.

Tony Khan should focus on making AEW better, make the most of this Continental Classic and have banger after banger, build the company around main event players such as Swerve, Hangman Page, MJF, Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter, Samoa Joe, Mox and Eddie Kingston.

We could fantasy book all day, but honestly, I feel it’s best to go back to the drawing board and start anew with their incredibly stacked roster of talent.

Conclusion

Ultimately, I see this as a purely business based decision, Punk finally getting his WrestleMania main event and a hall of fame induction in the future. Although it reeks of hypocrisy and CM Punk can no longer be considered ‘punk rock’ in the eyes of many, especially if he shows up in Saudi Arabia I can’t help but be intrigued into where this is going to go and if it will all end in tears or if it really is truly best for business. I mean Austin Theory getting a black eye over promoting a Pepsi Max Money in the Bank match is the last thing we need.

What do you think of CM Punk’s return?