WWE's CM Punk Looks Back On 2021 & 2023 Returns To Pro Wrestling

Hell has indeed frozen over for CM Punk twice in the last three years. Once controversially leaving the sport, with no sight of ever coming back at one point ten years ago, "The Best in the World" took his chances when he made his jaw-dropping pro wrestling return and debut under the AEW banner at the United Center in Chicago in 2021 and then recaptured the same feeling when he made his return back to WWE at the Allstate Arena again in his hometown last year. His back-to-back appearances remind us that sometimes it's better to burn out than to fade away.

Speaking with "No-Contest Wrestling," Punk reflected on those returning moments and how difficult it was to make them esoteric when there's no room for retakes on live television.

"So, most people who do live television ... there is pressure like [on] live television, live sports. But I don't know what it's like to play game seven [in the] Stanley Cup Final, you know, home game, and be down there for the face-off, and the puck drops. I think I can draw some parallels to things like that I've done in my career," Punk stated. 

Where there's smoke, there's fire, and unfortunately for Punk, his attitude and physical altercations with his bosses and co-workers cost him his well-praised position at AEW. Following his release, the rumor mill went rampant on where Punk would go next. With speculation set on him making his WWE return at the 2023 Survivor Series event, Punk just happened to turn those rumors into fact two months after being let go from AEW. 

As a man who prides himself on "choking on greatness rather than starving on mediocrity," CM Punk's gamble on returning to the squared circle did not come easy for him. Afraid of how fans would react both times, fear set in on whether he could recapture that same captivation that left fans of the past hanging on his every word. But the high risks came with thunderous rewards, with cheers pouring out from the hometown crowd both times. That feeling of discomfort is what Punk says keeps him motivated and alive today. 

"Coming back, there's a level of imposter syndrome that I think I've always dealt with. Because as much as I've always been that guy that shuts out the negative voices, those voices are still there," Punk mentioned. "After not doing something for seven years and famously having this very public ugly breakup with the company [WWE] ... it's like the thought is, 'Do the people ... are the people going to care? Are they going to remember me?' I thrive in being uncomfortable, and in that moment, I was so uncomfortable because I was so uncertain, and I loved it. I never felt more alive."

Despite tricep tears that put him on the injured reserve twice within two years, both in AEW and WWE, Punk has returned more vigorously than ever. Since his second run in WWE, Punk has been entangled in a nearly year-long deadly feud with Drew McIntyre, which concluded at the Bad Blood Premium Live Event in a Hell in a Cell match. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "No-Contest Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.