Potentially returning former Intercontinental Champion wouldn't help WWE much, feels Dutch Mantell

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently got to give his take on WWE reportedly turning down CM Punk. He gave his take on whether the promotion needed him, and if this was a good decision on their part.

Following his AEW release, many have speculated that The Straight Edge Superstar could make a return to the Stamford-based promotion. With many references related to Punk surfacing on the internet, many have thought that this was close to becoming a reality. But a recent report stated otherwise, and the promotion was said to turn him down.

In a recent episode of his Story Time podcast, Dutch Mantell looked at whether CM Punk was needed in the Stamford-based promotion. He gave his take on the matter, saying that the promotion never really needed him, as they had good things going for them now, but if he were to make his return, however, there might be more positives than negatives.

"If you really look at it, Punk can't help them that much, because they're already doing really, really good, with their own talent, and their own ideas. Where Punk would help them is if they needed one guy that was really kind of over, and then Punk showed up unannounced, and that might, I don't know if he'd pop it, but he wouldn't hurt it. "

He then brought up a catch in having Punk in the company. He described how he would need to be in the main event, and this might lead to moving over some of the current talent on the roster.

"So, I would think, and I predicted that Punk would come back, think in your own head, you're on the creative team, you're bringing Punk in, you don't bring him as a first match, second match, or third match, or even the middle of the card. You gotta bring him in one of the last matches, so who do you move over?" [2:00-3:03]

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Dutch Mantell really believes WWE would need to make changes to accommodate CM Punk

Dutch Mantell recently talked about the adjustments that would need to be made should CM Punk join the Stamford-based promotion.

He believed that The Straight Edge Superstar may only consider being a main eventer, so shifts in the roster would need to be made.

"Well, I predicted he would [show up], with the way that things were going. But if you really look at the landscape of WWE, what are you gonna do with him right off the bat? It's a packed, packed roster. You're gonna have to move somebody over. There's a lot of guys I don't think he just fits with. So, I think with CM Punk at this point, if a spell comes where WWE gets a bit stale, they may hop over there and grab CM Punk for a year run. I think he's 47 now, and WWE looks at age, as everybody." [From 11:21 to 12:09]

As with recent reports, management may not have been willing to take the risks on CM Punk, or they may not have seen the benefit of having him on the roster.

Do you think WWE made the right decision regarding CM Punk? Let us know in the comments section below.