Despite the fact that CM Punk has shown little interest in returning to professional wrestling, and even claims to have ruled out working for Vince McMahon ever again, people can’t stop talking about when the Chicagoan might return to the scripted fight game.
Probably because of how soundly defeated he was by Mickey Gall in his UFC debut, fantasy booking a Punk return to the squared circle is suddenly a hot topic again.
TMZ asked John Cena about a WWE comeback last week, and Cena showed why he’s such a good company man with his diplomatic response.
Ring of Honor (ROH) World champ Adam Cole proved he’s no slouch in the public relations department either. As a guest on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Presents podcast, he explained how that company’s locker room would respond to a Punk comeback:
It hasn’t been discussed too much at length among the boys in the locker room. For the last two years, it seems like anytime professional wrestling was brought up to CM Punk, it was the last thing he wanted to talk about. Now that this fight is over, who knows what’s going through his head and if he’s getting that itch to return?
I can tell you, from all the guys in the locker room and in the Ring of Honor office—not only because of CM Punk’s legacy in the WWE and from this extremely popular UFC fight he just had—but CM Punk is one of the forefathers of Ring of Honor. On a personal level, CM Punk is the reason I started following Ring of Honor and independent wrestling in the first place.
So I think it would be really cool for our fans and for our locker room. If CM Punk ever did decide to return to pro wrestling, I think he certainly would have a home in Ring of Honor.
You wouldn’t expect Cole to say anything else, but it’s still a good answer that reflects the Straight-Edge Superstar’s history with the promotion, and the recognition that even a Punk appearance would be good business for everyone at ROH.
But I still wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for him to show up there.
Won’t stop folks from talking about it, though.