Booking CM Punk's WWE Return

6. SummerSlam And Beyond

CM Punk
WWE.com

Now normally you'd encourage the company to ready an immovable heel champion for a triumphant returnee to challenge, but that has never really been Punk's style.

For the better part of his WWE run, he was trying to save us - but not from a cartoon-like monster bad guy. Rather, from Vince McMahon's corporate agenda, from the inertia associated with years of seeing the same four or five guys fighting in the headline spot to the exclusion of all others.

The good news, then, is that WWE needn't change much heading into 2017's third quarter: Roman Reigns can duly take Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship at SummerSlam - as a maligned baby-face, if need be - before fending off the challenge of a resurgent Braun Strowman.

That's when we reach Survivor Series, where - in this alternative universe - Punk finally makes his return.

Contributor