10 Most Unthinkable Comebacks In Wrestling History

Wherever CM Punk goes next, if he even goes anywhere at all, it will be unthinkable.

Per the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the AEW locker room is mostly united in their loathing of the man, and with good reason. Every painful bump they inflicted upon themselves at All Out meant absolutely nothing in the wake of his profoundly unprofessional conduct at the post-show presser. He all but said that the company meant nothing before he set foot in it; an insulting, complete fabrication. As such, AEW is reportedly in the process of negotiating a contract buy-out - which is proving tricky, because the issue of a no-compete clause is causing a snag.

Could, therefore, the truly unthinkable happen? Could CM Punk return to WWE, where had as much of an issue (if not more so) with Paul Levesque as Vince McMahon?

Could the credibility of his anti-establishment persona withstand such a move? Cody Rhodes buried WWE for a good five years before his return, and all was forgotten by the fanbase. They felt like they get one over on AEW, and Rhodes, simply, is a superstar.

Punk has to be different, surely. So much of his persona and real-life personality is wrapped around his toxic relationship with that company. Then again, he has a way of making you fall for him all over again because he's a genius. Still: unthinkable is right.

But where would it rank amongst the following...?

Brand loyalty is fierce in this toxic, tribalistic landscape - but the fact that the 'E' in AEW stands for 'Elite' obscured, for a time, a core wrestling truth: that loyalty isn't always reciprocated by the workers.

Not that Cody Rhodes actually owed AEW anything. He owed it to himself to make the most money for his family and advance his career on his own terms. Still, that it is named 'AEW' created a certain expectation.

Cody was the most ambitious member of the Elite, and the most savvy marketer of what that particular brand was "meant" to stand for. Screaming revolutionary rhetoric or making small, winking digs at WWE's expense, his work - and it was a work - was so convincing that he, not Hangman Page or even Jon Moxley, was received by the AEW base as the ultimate babyface figure upon the launch of the promotion.

All of which rendered his 2022 return to WWE so unthinkable, even after his star faded and fans were prepared - even very willing - to jeer his conviction over never turning heel. When his quirks were brought into a different focus - the blood, the histrionics, the win/loss record, even if he needed it to remain a star - there was no turning back. He recognised this himself, and made the jump.

It was unthinkable, but Cody is a smart operator. He never received a single boo in WWE despite ripping the piss out of it for five years because he knew he was going to be received as the man who deserted the dreaded competition.