If CM Punk had any desire to return to wrestling following his departure from the WWE, there was no better evening than March 3, 2014. Raw was live from Chicago that night, and Punk has always been proud of his residence in the Second City. Also, Chicago is known as one of the hottest crowds for pro wrestling on the planet wrestlers from all over look forward to working there. With even Dave Meltzer reporting that Punk was likely to show up on the broadcast, there was an unparalleled environment of anticipation. Paul Heyman opened up Raw by directly addressing CM Punk, calling him out for leaving the company (and cutting the promo in Punk's signature cross-legged sitting style). In the world of wrestling, such a tease could only mean that Chicago's hero would make his return before the night was through. It never happened. Despite the fans' repeated chants, despite the teases, despite the fact that there was still a month left to build up a program for WrestleMania, Punk wasn't there. He didn't turn his back on the fans that assertion is selfish and juvenile. He did, however, show that he really didn't want to be a part of WWE any longer.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
