WWE.comWithout a doubt, the biggest wrestling story this year is about arguably the biggest superstar in the company a man who hasnt stepped into the ring for more than five months. Since he left the day after the Royal Rumble, CM Punk has been the subject of numerous rumors relating to his status with the company and when or whether he would return to WWE. With each passing week, it seems theres a new rumor floated about a Punk return to the ring or his standing with the company: fired, hurt, resting, returning next week, or retired. The rumors run the gamut and are hard to keep track of. The one thing that can be said fairly definitively is that the vast majority of the rumors that have been circulating have been dispelled. With Punks contract ending (or is it, according to some of the rumors) this month, lets look at some of the bigger rumors out there about Punks return to WWE and how they passed (or are passing) us by. Whats the biggest whopper thats been spread across the interwebs?
8. Punk Was Released in February; McMahon Says Hes On Sabbatical
WWE.comA story made the rounds in mid-February that Punk was released from his WWE contract. The story was not sourced or confirmed, and obviously was proven false. Still, this was in the first couple weeks after Punk no-showed the Raw after Royal Rumble, so the rumor took hold and spread quickly as the internet wrestling community had a collective freakout. Days after that rumor surfaced, Vince McMahon himself put an emphatic end to it when he was asked during an investors conference call. He told those on the call that Punk was taking a sabbatical. While that left fans just as curious about whether Punk would return to the ring anytime soon, it certainly ended the early rumors that he would be taking independent bookings in the coming weeks. Speaking of independent bookings