5 harsh realities about CM Punk's WWE return that nobody wants to talk about

CM Punk has made a return to WWE in the program WWE Backstage and everybody is excited! While it came as a surprise to many, it really shouldn't have, especially since he openly admitted to having done a tryout for the program.

He even said in an interview:

I did the FOX thing. They asked me to come out and I was already in LA, so I went into the FOX studios. I guess you could call it an audition? I haven't heard a thing. Renee Young and Booker T, I haven't seen either of them in 5+ years. I think Renee is great, that's the kind of thing she is built for. Booker, to me, he's Booker; he's always laughing and he's good for that kind of role.

To add to that, Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue broke a story on it and things are now confirmed. CM Punk was the big announcement that was teased and from the reaction that Paige had, there were a lot more people that were taken by surprise.

But with all the buzz and excitement, people are getting prematurely excited. Not to be the spoil sport here, but there are still a few harsh realities about CM Punk's return that nobody wants to talk about - but we will.

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#5 He's only going to appear on select dates

It's not a weekly thing

We hate to break this to you, but CM Punk's appearances on WWE backstage are going to be for select dates and will be limited. Not that they need him, especially since Renee Young is so good at her job, but there's no doubt that he's going to be a huge boost to their viewership.

With that said, he won't be around every week and that's probably going to disappoint some fans.

This was revealed in WWE's statement which said that he will make "select appearances" for the Backstage show:

"Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk, joins WWE Backstage as a special contributor and analyst. He will make select appearances in studio alongside host Renee Young and analyst Booker T."

#4 He's employed by FOX, not WWE

CM Punk is a FOX employee

While Vince McMahon is undoubtedly open to the idea of CM Punk returning, it must be remembered that Punk is employed by FOX and not WWE. It's just that he's on a show that happens to be WWE-centric.

One of the reasons why Punk agreed to the role in the first place was that he wasn't working with WWE. Here's word-for-word what he said about that situation:

"My agents just called me and they were like FOX is throwing everything at this because they spent a lot of money on this and they are all in and they have to make it work. They reached out and want to know if you, I think originally, I thought it was a WWE thing so I was just like ‘well, no’, and they are like, ‘this is FOX’. I’m not dealing with anybody in WWE. They were legit like ‘it’s FOX’ and I was just like ‘okay’, and they explained to me what it was and I love Renee Young."

This is something that many fans seem to have missed out. No, CM Punk didn't technically "return to WWE". He's simply on a program about it.

#3 It doesn't mean he's returning to the ring

CM Punk in a wrestling ring

This is the biggest misconception that fans need to get out of their heads. We understand that, historically, whenever Superstars returned in alternate capacities after being on bad terms with WWE, they've ended up making returns of some sort.

However, this doesn't mean that CM Punk will return to the ring. He's stated in the past before that it's not about the money and that he lost his passion to get back in the ring. With that said, Tom Colohue stated that Vince McMahon is more than open to having Punk return primarily because he sees money in it. However, Punk's stance hasn't changed:

"This is unfortunately complicated by Punk himself openly stated on many occasions that he has no interest in returning to the wrestling ring. CM Punk has built himself a recognised, if not altogether successful, career with MMA and has written for Marvel. His lack of desire to wrestle is not believed to have changed."

This is one of the key factors. You can't force Punk to wrestle by simply dangling a big cheque in front of him. If there isn't interest, it can't be forced.

#2 It could end up being another Eric Bischoff-like situation

Eric Bischoff

Remember when Eric Bischoff was hired as the Executive Director of SmackDown this past July? It's easy to forget, considering that he did close to nothing in his role there. We're not saying that Punk is going to do nothing, but the circumstances could lead to a similar fate.

With Bischoff, it had only been a few months and just like that, Bruce Pritchard was announced as his replacement. One of the biggest risks that WWE Backstage faces is an early cancelation. It's just like Talking Smack in the sense that it's an acclaimed talk show which is well-loved among the hardcore fanbase but is failing to attract a larger audience.

Perhaps it's a bit harsh to assume that it'll meet such a fate early on, but if the ratings dwindle and don't improve at all, we can see FOX choosing to cancel the program very early on.

Hopefully, that isn't the case, but it could end up being another Eric Bischoff-like situation where Punk is let go prematurely.

#1 If he really wanted to get back in the ring, he would have joined AEW

The long-standing rumours died a silent death

It was only a few months ago where CM Punk was heavily rumoured to be joining AEW. It seemed to add up since many believed that Punk had gotten the itch to return to the ring and that AEW would be the perfect platform where he can get a big paycheque while also not having to be creatively flustered.

However, he put those rumors to bed when he revealed that his interaction with Cody Rhodes and co was minimal. From the look of things, he seemed to have burned the bridge with AEW after the comments he made. Cody Rhodes told ESPN:

"He did kind of make us look like dumbasses, saying we sent him a text offer. I'm sure we texted him, but we also called him. Someone also met you in a coffee shop. We made genuine efforts. But in this case, 2019, it's been quite some time away from the ring. We gotta focus on who really wants to be on board with us versus going out and finding someone who perhaps doesn't really want to be part of this."

With that said, Rhodes did keep the door open for Punk, but the truth is that if Punk had the itch to get back in the ring, he would have joined AEW. That's why he likely won't be returning to WWE.