CM Punk WWE Return: Our Dream Match Wishlist

Let's get the obvious one out of the way first! Upon seeing Punk make his surprise return at WWE Survivor Series 2023, Seth "Freakin" Rollins became enraged and flipped into a cuss-filled frenzy while WWE officials struggled to hold him back (you can see him in "action" right here). As evidenced by past interviews conducted by both Punk and Rollins, there is no love lost between them. What's crazy is the only time they've come to blows in the ring in WWE is on the December 30, 2013, episode of Raw. It's clear as day that Punk and Rollins are going to run into each other later down the road and it makes all the sense in the world for them to settle their longstanding real-life beef at WrestleMania 40 for the World Heavyweight Championship. We're sure there's a huge audience out there that wants to see what evolved versions of Rollins and Punk can do with 20+ minutes and a main event 'Mania slot afforded to them.

At the end of WWE Survivor Series 2023, Drew McIntyre stormed off after the WarGames main event wrapped up. Everyone tried to connect that awkward moment to Punk's arrival, but it's clear as day that McIntyre was simply playing up his anger in the storyline due to him and The Judgment Day losing their match. Even with all that being said, we're willing to put down some PLE money to watch Punk and McIntyre compete in their first-ever match against each other. Punk tends to have great matches when pitted against powerhouses such as Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and The Undertaker. Plus the modern-day version of McIntyre has developed into a far more interesting in-ring competitor, so it'd be great to see him and Punk pull everything out of their arsenal to put on the best bout possible.

Here's another case of these guys only taking on each other once on WWE TV. So here's a fun piece of trivia for you - Punk and Cody Rhodes faced each other on the December 29, 2008, episode of Raw. Since then, Cody has matured into a WWE main eventer - his previous runs on the indies and in Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and All Elite Wrestling have helped him morph into a top-tier in-ring performer. It's simply criminal that we never got to see Cody and Punk have a match while they were both competing in AEW. Now that they're both under the WWE umbrella, we're finally going to have our dreams fulfilled when the inevitable happens when Cody vs. Punk finally becomes a reality. Both men's old-school approaches to wrestling should mesh well together to produce something truly special between them.

For every WWF/E generation, there has always been a reliable wrestler who can have a good to a great match with damn near everyone else on the current roster. The individuals that come to mind that fit that description to the tee include Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler, etc. These days, Gunther is the main in-ring great who has produced memorable bouts with everyone and their grandmother. A true test of Punk's current in-ring acumen and one of the best ways to see if he still has it (even after his enjoyable AEW run) is putting him in the ring with Gunther. As we mentioned before, Punk can put on a banger whenever he's in the ring with someone who dwarfs him in size. Can Punk withstand those lethal Gunther chops? Will Punk be able to lift Gunther for Go to Sleep? MAKE THIS ONE HAPPEN, WWE!

Oh yeah! Chad Gable is another guy who can be called upon to have an unforgettable match with anyone he's pitted against on the WWE roster. He's the perfect candidate for who needs to be a part of the monumental CM Punk WWE return. If this is the closest we'll ever get to seeing Punk vs. Kurt Angle, then so be it! Gable is one of the best technical wrestlers on the WWE roster at the moment and is malleable enough to produce his best work against wrestlers who are the same stature as him and big men who make him work a lot more when it comes time to lift them for a German Suplex. We're confident that Punk and Gable will be able to give the fans a 15-minute classic on a random episode of Raw.

As soon as Punk makes his way over to SmackDown, Ricochet needs to be the first person to approach Punk and request a match with the "Best in the World." During Punk's initial WWE run, Punk meshed well with amazing high flyers such as Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne (Matt Sydal), Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, and Jeff Hardy. So it only makes sense that Punk would attempt to produce the same sort of in-ring magic he delivered back in the day with those individuals with Ricochet. With 20 minutes in the main event alloted to them, Punk and Ricochet can get the crowd on their sides with a fire match that can bring SmackDown to a satisfying close.