CM Punk's rocky relationship with AEW could potentially work in his favor; ideal return date seemingly in the works

Former AEW World Champion CM Punk has been away from the company for over four months at the time of writing, and despite many believing, he is done with All Elite Wrestling, that might not be the case anymore.

Punk infamously unleashed a verbal tirade at the All Out post-show media scrum, which led to a backstage altercation with The Elite that got everyone involved suspended. However, the "Straight Edge Superstar's" status with the company hasn't been fully disclosed.

One thing that has become apparent recently is that CM Punk is up-to-date with AEW's analytics, as he posted screenshots on his Instagram story of how well things turn out when he's involved.

The frosty relationship between AEW and CM Punk might work in the "Second City Saint's" favor. According to Dave Meltzer in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, if business doesn't go well for All Elite Wrestling, Punk may have some leverage over the company.

“Things have heated up regarding the Dax Harwood podcast and CM Punk seemingly pushing that he wants to come back and do business. Punk posted on Instagram a photo of him with FTR, as well as pushing his No. 2 in merch sales and a list of the most-watched YouTube videos from AEW in 2022, of which he was in many of them including the top two. The unique part of this story is that dissension would likely be a benefit to Punk, as would falling business numbers because Punk’s value would be the idea he could get numbers back up during what could be a contract year." (H/T WrestleTalk)

Meltzer also speculated on a potential return date for the former AEW World Champion, with the journalist suggesting that once he heals from his injury, he could make a return to the promotion next spring.

"In theory, he should be okay by April or May after his triceps surgery. That would also be around the time FTR’s contract expires.” (H/T WrestleTalk)

Dax Harwood FaceTimed CM Punk following the All Out media scrum

While the details of what happened between CM Punk and The Elite during the "Brawl Out" incident remain murky at best, one person who has been able to give a little bit of insight as to what happened is FTR's Dax Harwood.

On his podcast "FTR with Dax," the former AEW Tag Team Champion revealed that he had a conversation with Punk over FaceTime after the brawl had finished.

"I was like, 'Dude are you okay? Do you need me? I'll come right now to help you out or get you cleaned up or whatever,'" Harwood revealed, "He said, 'No, no, everything's fine. It's died down, we're good.'" (H/T Sportskeeda)

Harwood also made a plea to Punk, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega for them all to get on the same page so that everyone can not only move on, but also be able to do business with each other.

Do you think CM Punk will return to AEW? Let us know in the comments section down below!