"He could be that black cloud now" – WWE Legend suggests bold idea to bring back CM Punk following his prolonged AEW absence

CM Punk could possibly be brought back into AEW, according to a WWE Legend.

CM Punk's verbal tirade at the All Out media scrum marked the start of a tumultuous time in AEW's young history. Several personalities were suspended after the incident. However, The Elite have made their return to the active scene, getting embroiled in a best-of-seven series with Death Triangle for the AEW World Trios Titles.

Speaking on the latest Busted Open episode about how the controversy started, Bully Ray speculated about how Vince McMahon would have handled the situation. According to Ray, there is still a way the situation can be salvaged.

“If this was in Vince McMahon’s hands, and he was sitting in his boardroom or whatever. And people are saying, 'Vince there's no way, it can’t work, it can’t work.' Vince would be the first one to say, ‘Don’t tell me how it can’t work, tell me how it can work...’ Because if The Elite in their backyard are about to grab those Trios Championships after putting themselves through hell, and CM Punk would have come and tipped those ladders over, holy sh*t!" (8:45 - 9:35).

Bully Ray went on to say that if such an event had occurred, the 'black cloud' storyline, as he referred to it, would come to fruition. He also stated that he believes the so-called 'black cloud' was not intended to be Punk, but that could be the reality right now.

CM Punk was apparently planned to team up with former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions in AEW

While the current situation may possibly turn into an opportunity, several plans were apparently canceled due to the CM Punk controversy this year.

Punk was reportedly supposed to be a member of a faction with the AEW Tag Team Champions FTR before the unfortunate course of events. Tony Khan said in a recent interview with Fightful that Punk's ban and injury prevented the plans from being carried out. Additionally, he discussed how it was hard to satisfy everyone on the roster.

It remains to be seen if the Jacksonville-based Promotion will fare better in 2023 as it competes against WWE under Triple H.

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