CM Punk Reportedly "Put On Ice" By AEW, Buyout Talks No Longer Happening
The future of CM Punk in AEW remains unclear, but a recent report suggests that AEW might have simply given up trying to find a solution and are prepared to wait out Punk's deal, then let his contract expire and the wrestler move on. According to a report by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling News Observer (h/t to a tweet by Raj Giri of WrestlingInc): "CM Punk is believed to have been "put on ice" by Tony Khan as there has been no talk of him being released, but there haven't been any ideas presented for him, per Dave Meltzer in WON. That seems to indicate that contract buyout talks are no longer happening." This comes weeks after rumors circulated that AEW might be trying to buy out Punk's contract, but there was some concern in doing so because it might mean a jump to WWE.
This is an interesting potential development for a few reasons. First, Tony Khan was often known to be the wrestling promoter who was willing to let wrestlers move on if they weren't happy. He's let others (the latest being William Regal) out of their deals and Vince McMahon and WWE have been seen as the company that holds wrestlers accountable to their contracts. Now that the shoe is on the other foot and AEW has someone they don't want WWE to potentially have, the narrative has changed. Second, it would be interesting to know if WWE is even interested in Punk, especially when factoring in news of a potential sale of the company.
Related: AEW Fight Forever's New Cover Art Confirms CM Punk's Removal
Is This Just AEW Being Bitter Or Hoping Punk Changes His Mind?
Could this be a situation where AEW is holding out hope that these two sides can eventually find peace and a way to work together again? Punk seems to have hinted he'd like to do so, but if the company has no plans for him and they won't buy him out of his deal, then what? Maybe the two sides are still feeling some animosity over all of this and making a decision out of emotion is not the right move.
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