IF Punk returns in say 6 months

[ChitownKnight]

How would the reactions be? I feel like if he apologized, he would still get cheered, but I feel like he’d have to come back as a heel

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

It pains me to say since he has been in my top 2, 3 of all time for years…but…I don’t want him back. Not after all of this.

If battle lines are drawn in all of this then I’m on #TeamElite on this one.

[Instant Classic]

If he apologizes would he actually mean it? He seems like the type to hold grudges.

[Fade]

[Denny Zen is Cooking™]

They would be overwhelmingly negative. Perhaps the most negative reaction anyone in wrestling history has ever received.

We talk a lot about “go away” heat, but no one has ever REALLY gotten that kind of “the entire audience truly wants you to f*** off” heat. Punk would.

The only way he would avoid it is if he swallowed his pride and had a very sincere, very believable, apology. I think we can safely say that’s not going to happen.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

It would have to be a really sincere apology

For as much as he holds gripes, fans do to

If he came back as a heel it would make more sense but you got burned on 2 title reigns, I highly doubt you want to get burned again

[Deleted]

I honestly don’t think anyone would really believe it considering he returned this time acting like he was some nice old veteran lol

[deezy]

When he comes back and if it's 6 months he'll be cheered and there will be "CM Punk" chants. Everything won't be forgotten by the fans but they probably won't be as upset by then as they are now.

[LiamMcDuggle]

I prefer THIS AEW. Early on, it barely featured the Elite (minus Cody) and had all this young and fresh talent. The old WWE talent they did have all re-invented themselves.

Give me Darby, Sammy, the women's div, The Acclaimed, MJF and OC

[raymondo316]

After the shitstorm he created here, I honestly have no interest in seeing him in a wrestling ring ever again, and I say this as someone who's been a fan of his dating back to his time in IWA Mid South.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

He'll be over with live crowds I think if he still came back, but overall he'd need to do some serious rehab on his image and backstage

Like a ton of wrestlers tonight took very obvious shots at him for his conduct and it wasn't just over this you could tell they were holding this stuff back for awhile about Punk as a whole

Punk has to change for him to ever be a part of AEW and maybe even wrestling ever again, and the consensus is very much in doubt on if he can do that, or will even attempt to.

[Lizuka #BLM]

I think you could get people invested in him again with a concentrated effort, but there'll always be a certain amount of baggage surrounding his perception, he'd need to be put into a position to directly address what happened and apologize for it, and you really could never commit to him as the widely beloved face of the company ever again.

Really I think the biggest obstacle getting in the way of giving him a redemption run of sorts is CM Punk. I don't see him being willing to put in the work to come off like he's actually learned anything or to own up to what he did wrong.

[lionheart21]

Sept 7, 2022 23:10:33 GMT -5 ASYLUMHAUSEN said:

It pains me to say since he has been in my top 2, 3 of all time for years…but…I don’t want him back. Not after all of this.

If battle lines are drawn in all of this then I’m on #TeamElite on this one.

Same.

I really wanted to believe that he really had matured and that he was finally more at peace after being away from wrestling for so long. But this isn't like when he left the WWE and could clearly be painted as someone who was wronged.

He spent the better part of this past year reminding us how good he can still be in the ring. And this Sunday, he spent the better part of 20 minutes taking a flamethrower to his entire reputation, dragging an innocent woman (Colt's mom) into all of this drama, and just making me feel disappointed that I ever believed that he could change.

[Starshine]

If everyone involved can get their heads on straight, there's only benefits to having Punk on hand. He may have burned some of his fans, but he's still got a lot to offer, and a potential feud between him and The Elite could be money based off of this.

I mean f***ing Jeff Hardy's popularity hasn't cratered despite his countless reckless f*** ups, and there's there's no argument that Punk's close to being the liability that guy is.

[Chiral]

It would take a LOT of rehabbing and a LOT of personal reflection and growth I'm not sure Punk's capable of.

[Jacy Jayne Atomic Dog AMV]

MJF and Mox as the two top guys at the start of the show was literally so f***ing money I have no desire whatsoever to see Punk come back. Also even if it wasn't money I still wouldn't want him to come back because well *flapping my arms at literally everything*

Also disregarding all of that dude tore his triceps real good right after coming back from a shattered foot. I feel like he probably would have been out for closer to a year if nothing happened.

[Super Duper Dragunov]

Sept 7, 2022 23:12:01 GMT -5 Instant Classic said:

If he apologizes would he actually mean it? He seems like the type to hold grudges.

Punk's insincerity would be so intense MJF would be like "I am but a humble mortal..." in its presence.

[aka Cthulhu]

Unless he spends those 6 months making amends, I don't think it'll work out.

The magic is gone. We spent most of the time on the big thread joking around and focusing more on Ace Steel being a cannibal, a dog, and the fact that the dog didn't do the biting.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

Gotta be honest, as much as the finish to the match itself was good, I found the idea of that whole storyline unironically being "Punk is the never-say-die hero" to already be cornball as f***. 'Happy to be here' Punk wore out its welcome but it feels like turning heel isn't really in the cards for him, but face Punk is not a long-term commodity. Putting aside all of the aura-destroying shit he pulled on Sunday and there's still just something I have not been feeling with this return, and it feels like what he wants for himself creatively is just. This. It's lame. Take out the fight and the drama and the scrum and it's still just lame.

[stoptheclocks]

Fans online may be slow to forgive but the live crowds will still pop big. f***, Vince is still mega-over, I'm sure Punk will be.