Highlights
- CM Punk was fired by AEW over the weekend, and according to reports, a return to WWE isn't off the cards
- However, Punk had a heated backstage confrontation with one of WWE's most influential names, William Regal, whilst at an AEW show in 2022
- Punk got in the face of Regal after refusing to shake his hand, according to reports, and even calling the WWE legend a 'Triple H stooge'
CM Punk has been accused of 'getting in the face' of former WWE star William Regal during an awkward confrontation backstage at an AEW show in 2022.
Regal's shock release from the WWE in 2022, after a 22-year stint with the company, caused rifts within the industry. A sign of the changing times in the WWE, Regal, who was considered a WWE lifer, was surprisingly fired by Vince McMahon.
After his release, Regal joined AEW where he worked as both an on-screen character and in a backstage capacity. He had a year-long stint with the company until Triple H came to power, and tempted the Englishman into coming back to WWE.
What happened between CM Punk and William Regal?
Regal remains an important figure backstage in the WWE today, as one of the company's behind-the-scenes higher-ups.
In saying that, new details have emerged claiming that while Regal's presence was appreciated by almost everyone backstage in AEW, Punk was against the idea of him being there, which resulted in a backstage altercation between the two.
It has been reported that an incident took place backstage between Punk and Regal at AEW Revolution in 2022, which just so happened to be the show that the former King of the Rign winner made his AEW debut at, at least in an on-screen capacity.
According to a report from Bodyslam, which was later confirmed by Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, the incident took place when Punk took exception to Regal debuting for the company, and refused to shake the veteran's hand/
Not only did Punk refuse to shake Regal's hand, but, according to the report, he got into the face of the new AEW name, and told him that he didn't trust him because he was a 'stooge for Triple H'.
Regal apparently didn't see the incident as a very big deal, and reportedly didn't even tell anyone about it until several months after it took place, which is why the news has only broken now, over a year later. At the time of writing, no further details of the incident have been made public, but GIVEMESPORT will aim to keep you updated on the situation when any further news becomes readily available.
CM Punk has a storied backstage rivalry with Triple H, and the McMahon family in general, dating back to even before the 44-year-old walked out on his WWE contract back in 2014.
Regal and Triple H, however, are life-long friends, and have had a good working relationship for the majority of their careers, particularly once HHH began running NXT, WWE's developmental brand.
Is CM Punk returning to WWE?
CM Punk was fired by AEW, a decision made by Tony Khan, on Saturday evening. Punk's dismissal came from an incident backstage with Jack Perry that took place at the All In show which took place at Wembley Stadium last month.
Now that he's the hottest free agent in all of wrestling, there have been calls from fans all online for the 'Best in the World" to make a comeback to the WWE, something that he's apparently open to the idea of.
Despite Punk still being one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the world and being the top merchandise seller for AEW before his firing, on the face of it, it seemed unlikely that Punk would be returning to the WWE after his AEW exit.
Punk burnt a lot of bridges during his time in the WWE, and with his exit from the company, and is not on good terms with either Triple H or Vince McMahon, according; to various reports.
The Regal situation in AEW adds another name to Punk's list of enemies, and he also appears to have made an enemy out of World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, who went as far as to tell him to stay away from the WWE and called the former WWE Champion a "cancer" during an interview with WrestlingInc back in January 2023.
As of right now, Punk has not responded to his firing from AEW, and he has yet to address his future and whether a WWE return is on the cards or not.
GIVEMESPORT will keep you updated on the future of CM Punk as soon as the latest breaking news reaches us.