6. What Are The Biggest Theories Around Punk Returning?
One theory about Punk's absence is that this is all a reboot of the worked shoot he did with WWE in 2011, and before that his worked shoot past in Ring of Honor. Punk has form for blurring the lines of reality and fiction, and has even admitted to having cut himself off in the past in order to protect a storyline. Could he be doing that now? That's what some fans believe. Perhaps Punk picked up a legitimate lengthy injury at Royal Rumble. Maybe on the fly he worked it out with Vince McMahon to write his character out of the story in this over the top fashion, all in order to lead up to a major comeback moment at WrestleMania. Some fans envision Triple H coming out to the ring in the WrestleMania main event to cost Daniel Bryan the championship, only for CM Punk to reappear and make the save. It would certainly be an outrageously cool moment. As much as the AWOL star seems to have a real dispute, the similarities between this and the 2011 Pipe Bomb worked shoot can't be denied. Punk is unhappy with the company. His contract is coming up. No one is really sure what's real and what's fake. If all this does end up being a work, WWE and Punk will have pulled off the greatest angle of all time.