I Guarantee It: CM Punk Will Return To The WWE!

CM Punk’s recent podcast interview has turned the wrestling world upside down. 411’s Greg DeMarco answers the seemingly difficult question: Will CM Punk Ever Return to the WWE?

Earlier in the week I debuted my “Steps to Success” concept, and I must say it was met with a ton of praise! #Sarcasm

You can trust that the reaction won’t stop me from doing it again down the road! Today I debut another concept, “I Guarantee It!” Think of this as an individual Bold Prediction, but one that tackles a large issue.

And today there’s no issue larger than CM Punk.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know CM Punk appeared on Colt Cabana’s Art Of Wrestling Podcast. If you haven’t heard it yet, check it out here:

Ad if you listened there, be sure to support the man himself, Colt Cabana at www.coltcabana.com. After all, you do owe all of this to him!

There are approximately one billion internet reports about what was said, too many to link, but if you’re behind on your news, start here.

Before I address the topic at hand, allow me to share my personal thoughts on the podcast—something I’ve been asked to share by many across social media:

• This interview was always going to Colt Cabana. He and Punk are best friends—they came up in the business together. Punk wore the “I Star Colt” shirt on Raw, and mentioned Colt Cabana during his famous “Sit Down” Las Vegas promo on Raw in 2011. No one else was ever going to “score” this one.
• CM Punk is not trying to “change the WWE” or even “tell his side of the story.” CM Punk is first and foremost a business man. His name was trademarked long before he entered the WWE, and his persona is so much of his own personality that he left the company no choice but to use him as “CM Punk.”
• CM Punk did this interview to sell t-shirts. The lead point at his www.cmpunk.com website is his new merchandise, coming out on Monday. Coincidence? I think not. It’s smart business.
• I am still a fan of CM Punk. Yes, he walked out on his contract. Legitimate or not, he breached his contract.
• Lastly, the story he told is his side of the story. It’ll be years before we get WWE’s side, if ever. Neither side will tell it from an honest perspective—the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. But even if we could identify and strip away the embellishments, the truth won’t look great for WWE. Or CM Punk.

So, now to the question at hand…

Let me spoil this one for you: YES.

It won’t be in 2014, 2015 or even 2016. But I guarantee you that CM Punk will be back in the WWE by WrestleMania 35.

Why? It’s good business. And CM Punk knows good business.

What he did a few days ago wasn’t good business, it was brilliant business. When CM Punk’s merchandise is released at prowrestlingtees.com the end result will fall somewhere between “becoming the site’s largest seller within days” and “shutting down the site.” That’s what happened to Colt Cabana’s podcast page. CM Punk is still that relevant, and he’s far more relevant this week than he was last week.

Case in point: in just over 4-years at 411Mania, I’ve been asked to write about a specific, non-WrestleMania topic twice: when Brock Lesnar returned and CM Punk’s appearance on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling. That’s relevance.

“But CM Punk himself said he’d never return to the WWE, and that he’s quite happy being out of wrestling. So why would he come back?”

Business. And attention.

You know when the next CM Punk interview will happen? When AJ Lee is finally done with the WWE and she has merchandise to release at prowrestlingtees.com. They’ll likely do a joint podcast that will be more focused on her time in WWE than anything else. That’s the business side, and it’s not bad business at all.

But Punk’s eventual WWE return will be about attention. You think he cares about all those CM Punk chants at WWE events? Damn right he does. And not because he appreciates you as a fan (he never would have walked out if he hadn’t), but because he wants the attention.

And there isn’t anything wrong with that. CM Punk has an ego that rivals that of Triple H, John Cena, The Rock, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon himself. Notice the stature of those men in wrestling. It’s an ego driven business—ego has led to some great successes and even greater failures.

CM Punk has always taken care of himself—he’ll be in great shape in 4 years. Earlier this month our own Len Archibald wrote a great article on the next ten years of WrestleMania, and has CM Punk penciled in for what appears to be three WrestleManias, including two main events. I don’t know if it pans out that way, but I am marking WrestleMania 35 as my personal cut-off date.

If he doesn’t return by WrestleMania 35, I will be wrong.

But I won’t be.

What about Vince McMahon and Triple H? Trips is reportedly fuming mad about Punk’s interview, and “wants to kill Punk.” To that I say “time heals all wounds.” Triple H still reports to Vince McMahon, and if Punk’s podcast interview is to be believed, Vince was very torn up over Punk’s departure. Vince will want to make it right, and in turn will make everyone a lot of money. Too much to turn down.

So mark this down: I guarantee that CM Punk will return to the WWE, in some capacity, by WrestleMania 35.

Greg DeMarco is a wrestling fan of over 30 years and has also worked on the independent circuit as a promoter, announcer, character and booker. Greg a weekly contributor at 411Mania.com, applying his opinionated style to the world of pro wrestling on Sundays and Thursdays.

He began writing for 411Mania in October 2010 and has been pissing readers off ever since!

Greg’s latest series of must read articles at 411Mania.com:
• Steps To Success: TNA Impact Wrestling Moves To Destination America
• Bold Predictions: WWE Survivor Series
• Top 6 Choices To Replace John Cena as Top WWE Babyface
• Reclaiming The Greatness Of The WWE Intercontinental Championship In 7 Simple Steps
• Bold Predictions: WWE Hell In a Cell
• WWE’s Race To The Top: Which Shield Member Becomes World Champ First?
• Bound For Disaster: Is This The Beginning Of The End For TNA Wrestling?
• Mishandling The Rock: Every Return Benefits…The Rock
• A Stone Cold Return? Top Choices For Steve Austin’s Opponent
• Hindsight is 20/20: What If Daniel Bryan Wasn’t Injured?
• Is The WWE Be A STAR Campaign Counter Intuitive, Hypocritical, or Both?
• Moving From NXT To WWE: There’s Always Strength In Numbers
• Bold Predictions: WWE Night of Champions 2014
• Could Desperation Solve WWE’s Oversaturation and Creative Problem?
• NXT Take Over II: The Future Is Now?
• Oversaturation and Lack Of Creativity: There Is Too Much WWE On My TV!
• The Crystal Ball: Looking Ahead to WWE WrestleMania 31
• Squandering A Mega Star: The WWE Blew It With Ryback
• What If Brock Lesnar Never Left WWE?
• Who Is The Best Manager: Bobby Heenan or Paul Heyman?
• Bold Predictions for WWE SummerSlam 2014
• I Just Don’t Understand Why The WWE Won’t Push Zack Ryder!
• The Undertaker, Sting, and Hulk Hogan: One More Match
• Go Ahead WWE, Put The World Title On Brock Lesnar—I DARE YOU!
• One Man Could Have Saved TNA’s TV Deal…And His Name Is Paul Heyman
• My Open Letter To The WWE, Triple H And His Friend ‘Mark’

Follow Greg DeMarco on Twitter
Follow 411Mania on Twitter
Friend Greg DeMarco on Facebook
Like 411Mania on Facebook
Email Greg at [email protected]
Join YES! YES! YES! – Facebook’s #1 Wrestling Group
About.Me/GregDeMarco