– CM Punk remains sidelined due to the triceps injury he suffered at All Out, which was the same event in which Punk was involved in a backstage brawl that also included The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. However, his name has slowly begun being discussed online as he nears clearance to return to the ring. A fightfulselect.com report notes that Punk appears to have legitimate heat with Jon Moxley, who helped lead a locker room meeting in the days after the brawl with Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson. Punk recently shared an Instagram story (which he later deleted) that took aim at Moxley while calling out Jericho as “a liar and a stooge.” The two of them went at it verbally after the All Out scuffle, with Jericho calling Punk a “cancer” and Punk shouting choice words back.

– The report goes on to state that if AEW was ever faced with a choice of picking between Moxley and Punk, they would pick Moxley. Punk meanwhile is aware of the heat on him or even the possibility of talent walking out should he return, however, many wrestlers have softened their stance since All Out but there is still heat that exists. Punk and AEW have had “some contact” in recent times and according to some reports, Punk and Tony Khan have either spoken or had a couple of meetings and while Punk initially wanted out of his contract without a non-compete clause in place, he is apparently now open to returning to AEW. Some even believe that Punk has expressed “regret” over what happened following All Out and is willing to apologize for his actions, though it’s unclear whom he would be apologizing to and whether it would be a public or private apology. However after his IG story post (seen below), people who at one point believed that there was a good chance Punk could be back with AEW feel that the chances of that happening are much lower now.