After CM Punk’s shocking return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 on Saturday night, the wrestling industry is buzzing about the news and the potential matches ahead for “The Best in the World.”
CM Punk, AKA Phil Brooks, has a very unique place in wrestling history. He has a classic story that many of his peers and up-and-coming talents admire as he worked his way up through the independent circuit to become a WWE legend despite not having the typical look or athleticism that the company usually favors.
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However, while he cultivated a hugely devoted and hardcore fanbase, CM Punk has become one of the more divisive personalities in the wrestling industry. After years of frustration with how WWE booked him despite becoming, arguably, their most popular performer he shockingly walked away from the company and industry following the 2014 Royal Rumble.
After a failed foray in the UFC and in Hollywood, the multi-time world champion returned to the business in 2022 with rival company AEW. In no time he became their most prominent performer and a locker room leader to some. However, his brash personality and strong opinions clashed with some of the younger talent and wrestler-vice presidents, The Young Bucks. An infamous backstage fight with the tag team last year led to a suspension and questions if his career in wrestling was again over.
However, he returned to AEW earlier this year but that run was short-lived after another backstage altercation in September at an event in England led the company to outright fire him. However, it wasn’t long before many began to speculate about a potential WWE return for “The Cult of Personality.” Those rumors became a reality on Saturday night.
Following the main event men’s “War Games” match, the 45-year-old stunned his hometown Chicago fans by entering the arena to an absurdly loud cheer just minutes before the show went off the air. There will be many stories about how his return to WWE after nine years away came about in the coming days and weeks, but many fans are also wondering about potential dream matches that could happen in 2024.
With that in mind, let’s look at seven matches/feuds WWE must put together with CM Punk shockingly back on the roster.
7 WWE dream matches for CM Punk in 2024
Roman Reigns
A match with Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble might very well be where WWE goes first. The company needs big match fillers for “The Tribal Chief” until he is expected to finally be defeated at Wrestlemania next year. With Reigns having beaten all of the top contenders — some of them, multiple times — CM Punk would offer a fresh matchup and real threat to headline the January premium live event.
Plus, Punk’s history as one of the first “Paul Heyman guys” in WWE is a unique element to a potential storyline with Heyman serving as Reign’s special counsel.
Seth Rollins
The video of Seth Rollins’ emotional outburst following Punk’s stunning return has quickly made the rounds on the interwebs. The current world heavyweight champion made it known recently he did not want the WWE great to return and dubbed him a locker-room cancer. The company will have to eventually play up those real-life issues for the betterment of business and a matchup at Wrestlemania 40 would seem fitting.
Cody Rhodes
While it may not happen right away, a clash between “The American Nightmare” and “The Best in the World” has to happen. Especially due to both men’s connections to AEW since Cody Rhodes helped create the company and Punk is seen as the man who nearly tore it down. Furthermore, a battle between the two on the microphone about those topics and many others would be must-see television.
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Finn Balor
There are many major matches that we never got to see during the nine years CM Punk was away from WWE as many new faces have come in and become stars in their own right. One of them is Judgement Day member Finn Balor. With both men in the back end of their careers, a match is something the wrestling world needs with both men being classic examples of underdog stories that had success in WWE.
AJ Styles
Similar to Balor, AJ Styles is a top name from the last decade that the world never got to see battle it out with CM Punk. What also would make this one interesting is Styles’ pal Luke Gallows also had a long friendship with Punk and being torn between two close friends could open up some interesting stories for The OC in 2024.
Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens supplanted Punk as the former indy darling who was somehow able to overcome not having a typical WWE look to become one of the company’s most popular and reliable talents. Both men have had Hall-of-Fame careers and with the pair still in the type of shape to put on a good match, it is a clash that needs to happen at some point. And just like a potential feud with Rhodes, the banter on the microphone would be fun to watch.
Brock Lesnar
One of CM Punk’s last great feuds before leaving WWE was against Brock Lesnar. Their “The Beast vs. The Best” battle at Summerslam 2013 was one of the marquee matchups at the event. If the company wanted to keep Punk away from the world title pictures, a rematch between the two icons would be an easy sell and a fun storyline to revisit.