With the 2022 purchase of Ring of Honor by Tony Khan, CM Punk could return to ROH after his suspension is over and he recovers from his long term injury. The former AEW Champion suffered a torn pectoral muscle during his victory over Jon Moxley at All Out 2022, winning his second and, what looks to be, final championship title in All Elite Wrestling.
His injury looks set to keep him out of the ring for eight months – although that is not what is said to be ending his AEW career. A backstage fight with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks caused all four men to be suspended, alongside a number of backstage personell.
Following the fight, the wrestling world turned on Punk. His All Out post-show press conference saw him tear down the likes of the Elite and Adam Page, which caused the fistfight backstage. This shone a new light on him and made the people backstage decide they had enough of the former WWE Champion.
He was suspended by the company and, with rumours of Tony Khan looking to buy out his contract with the company before his eight month long injury is healed, it looks like his time in AEW is up. However, while it is unlikely, he could find a new home in the Ring of Honor locker-room away from The Elite and be the face of the brand new Ring of Honor TV Show.
CM Punk To ROH?
CM Punk returning to Ring of Honor as the face of the brand could be the best thing for himself, ROH and AEW. He is clearly not welcome in the AEW locker room – with recent reports indicating people put him with him for his drawing power, until it became clear he was not the tour de force they expected he would be.
That does not mean he wasn’t a draw for AEW. He was the record merch seller on Pro Wrestling Tees and the pay per views since his debut have all broken records for buy rates. However, he did not quite bridge the gap between AEW and WWE that they would have liked and became just another main event talent like Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho.
He could, however, help make Ring of Honor a viable wrestling brand and be the face of the promotion. Chris Jericho currently holds the ROH Championship and will likely lead the promotion into a new era once the new tv deal has been sorted out. He was a key part of AEW getting their contract with TNT and looks to be doing the same with Ring of Honor.
He would bring a star power that the brand so far look to be sorely missing. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho for the ROH Championship would bring huge eyes to the brand and be a fine way to reintroduce the show to the public and give Punk his second run with the title. He could then feud with the young talents like Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta, to elevate them to main event level, during a lengthy title reign.
It would also keep him away from The Elite and the rest of the AEW locker room. It would keep him in the AEW bubble and away from WWE but not where he could cause friction with the other top stars. It may be unlikely to happen but Tony Khan would be silly to not even explore the idea with the former ROH Champion.
He also has had previous interest in the brand, with CM Punk wanting to buy ROH himself earlier this year.
He Wanted To Buy ROH
It was reported after his suspension by AEW that it was not just wrestling in ROH that intrigued him. CM Punk was reported to have inquired about the sale of Ring of Honor, with an interest into purchasing the promotion himself.
As a former ROH Champion he has history with the promotion and could have been looking to secure the tape library over anything, taking control of his past matches and the rest if the library, which included the early work of stars like Bryan Danielson, Seth Rollins and many more.
In an interview with Wrestling Inc, former Ring of Honor owner revealed that CM Punk texted him to ask whether or not the company was up for sale after hearing rumours of Tony Khan and Triple H looking to purchase the promotion.
The approach was an informal one – and didn’t include any offer from Punk to buy the company. However, he did ask if it was for sale and could have been a potential buyer if it had not been snapped up by Tony Khan in 2022.
There was interest. Very, very minor, minor interest. So minor, it was done through a text message of him wanting to buy Ring of Honor. Right? It was one line of a text, and I’m saying, ‘This is how you approach?’ I don’t care if you’re buying a wrestling company or you’re buying an umbrella from the lady down the street. Maybe you should call her, right? Anyway, but that was brief.”
Carey Silkin on CM Punk buying ROH
As we know, Tony Khan bought the company from Silkin this year. It would be ideal if a CM Punk ROH return happen under his stewardship but sadly the deal seems unlikely. Let us know if you’d love to see him return to the company and who you’d like to see him wrestle in the company.
