CM Punk: 6 Reasons His Return Will Be "Bad For Business"

Do we really want him back?

CM Punk, the Absentee Second City Saint. Where to even begin here......? Lets be upfront about this, the majority of us wrestling fans? We love Punk. We've loved him since the indies, we've loved him since the day he set foot in the WWE, and we haven't stopped. He's brilliant in the ring, he's a face we can all cheer for and when he's a heel, he's probably among the best heels in the industry. And his microphone skills are up there with the best ever; by 2011, I had drifted away from WWE programming like a lot of people had, disillusioned by the diminishing talent and depth of storyline. Then CM Punk dropped the pipebomb and drew us all back in. It was a landmark moment in wrestling history. Most importantly, we love him because he is One Of Us. A wrestling fan through and through, a man with a deep respect and love for the business, and he wears that fact proudly. Its hard not to love a guy who not only shares the same passions as you, but champions them, in the very literal sense. Moving forward to the recent past, then... Immediately following the 2014 Royal Rumble, CM Punk followed the example of Stone Cold Steve Austin and walked off the job. And at the time, many fans speculated that it was a work, just part of the storyline. But as time goes by, the situation is spoken of more in press conferences than on Raw, and the cold hard truth is beginning to dawn on us. Like removing a rock from a pool of mud, the gaps that Punk left behind are beginning to close. Punk himself has remained mostly silent since his departure, whereas the WWE Universe have been anything but. CM Punk signs have been confiscated at nearly every live show and taping since he left, and the fans constantly chant his name throughout programming while everyone in the company plugs their ears and tries extremely hard not to hear anything. This coming Monday, Raw faces their ugliest crowd yet in Punks home town of Chicago Illinois, and they are marching directly into a bear pit. Twitter accounts have been set up with the expressed intent of hijacking the show, with @ChicagoRAWcrowd tweeting things like "we're about to set a match to gasoline on 3.3.14" and "WWE, get ready for hell on Monday". At this point, it's doubtful as to whether an Undertaker appearance and The Shield vs The Wyatts II can mollify this angry mob. Regardless of the potential riot that will occur on Monday, we need to be honest with ourselves. CM Punk is gone, and he may not be coming back, especially on Monday. But what if he does? By walking off, Punk has made the kind of statement that cannot be ignored. I get that, I understand his reasons and even agree with him to an extent. But he has also placed himself in a very difficult situation to come back from. So for all the positives, here are a couple of reasons why his return would be "bad for business". Punk fans, these may be hard to swallow, so make sure you chew.
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Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.